Can I raise a baby duckling with my chick?

[maysorum]

I rescued a baby duckling on the side of the road today (it's mother had been killed). I have baby chicks on the way this week. Does anyone know anything about raising chicks and a duckling together? Does anyone have advice on raising a duck? I'm not sure how old he/she is, but it looks like there might be some feathers starting on its tail.

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, you can brood them together. I don't have ducks, but from what I understand, they require more frequent brooder cleanings as they are messy buggers. Also, my understanding is food and water have to be close together as ducks need to wash down their food with water. Not sure what kind of food they need though.

 

[Silkie Sue]

i am in that predicament myself....
a baby mallard was brought to me about 3 weeks ago and just so happened i had some Polish babies hatching that day in the incubator... i put the duck in with the chicks and they have been inseparable. he just gets chick starter along with the rest of em and everyone is doing great
Good Luck

 

[maysorum]

Thanks for your responses! Any other bits of advice?

The duckling is pretty traumatized, he/she is frantically trying to jump out of the brooder.

 

[wbruder17]

Ive got my 2 ducklings in with three chickies. They all really like each other quite a bit and get along great. The ducks don't like that the chicks can fly and perch and they can't but thats ok.

They are VERY messy. It is impossible to keep the duck water off the floor and also equally as impossible to keep the chick water clean, as now ALL of the water supplies are duck water. They are super cute and I love having them all together, but can't wait for them to go outside permanently, as I am using a lot of bedding and the constant wet does not smell so pretty, even with cleaning every other day.

Since they are all in together and I can't stop one from eating the other's food, I just mix duck starter with chick starter. Its basically the same, with like a difference of 1% for protein. They get all kinds of other treats as well, so I'm pretty sure they all have a balanced diet.