Chicken acting like a jerk towards ducks x post

[DuckDuckSook]

Update: So, my Brown ISA chicken is actually getting more aggressive with my ducks. I thought we were past it and she was warming up to them, but yesterday, after I had her and her chicken sisters free-ranging all day and put her back in the run, she went after the ducks and this time, she pulled out feathers. She really went nuts. I picked her up and brought her in the house. She spent the night down my basement in a makeshift coop (exercise pen with netting). I gave her some time away from the other birds to see if her attitude improves. However, I'm not so sure it will. Today, I carried her back into the coop so she could lay her egg and I used my exercise pen to create a barrier in the run. On one side, it's the chickens and on the other side it's the ducks. So far so good. Tonight, I might have to have her sleep back in my house. I'm too nervous to lock her up with the ducks in the coop. At this point, what would you do? Do I still hold out hope and keep trying to acclimate her to the ducks or do I try to find her a new home? My other 3 chickens are all Black Stars and they haven't had any issues with the ducks. I don't know if it's the breed or just her place in the pecking order but I won't stand for a mean bird. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[demonic]

Update: So, my Brown ISA chicken is actually getting more aggressive with my ducks. I thought we were past it and she was warming up to them, but yesterday, after I had her and her chicken sisters free-ranging all day and put her back in the run, she went after the ducks and this time, she pulled out feathers. She really went nuts. I picked her up and brought her in the house. She spent the night down my basement in a makeshift coop (exercise pen with netting). I gave her some time away from the other birds to see if her attitude improves. However, I'm not so sure it will. Today, I carried her back into the coop so she could lay her egg and I used my exercise pen to create a barrier in the run. On one side, it's the chickens and on the other side it's the ducks. So far so good. Tonight, I might have to have her sleep back in my house. I'm too nervous to lock her up with the ducks in the coop. At this point, what would you do? Do I still hold out hope and keep trying to acclimate her to the ducks or do I try to find her a new home? My other 3 chickens are all Black Stars and they haven't had any issues with the ducks. I don't know if it's the breed or just her place in the pecking order but I won't stand for a mean bird. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I would probably put the isa brown chicken in a cage with food and water for a few days so when she’s back with them she’ll be lower down the pecking order. If she still is mean with your ducks I’d probably eat or give away. It’s one thing to be mean, but pulling out feathers and attacking is a whole different scenario

 

[aart]

Did they all grow up together, or are the ducks a new addition?
How old are they all, in weeks or months?
Does she harass them when they are all free ranging?
How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Did they all grow up together, or are the ducks a new addition?
How old are they all, in weeks or months?
Does she harass them when they are all free ranging?
How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

They did not all grow up together. The ducks are new. I had them inside my house in a brooder for 8 weeks.

I've done the whole "slowly introduce" scenario where I had the ducks spend time outdoors with the chickens while inside an exercise pen. I had them outside the run at first and then moved them into the run. No evidence at that point of any aggression. She didn't attack them through the pen or anything like that, which is why I thought everyone was going to get along. She made some loud "bock bock" noises, but that was it. She has never shown any signs of attitude towards the other chickens or me until now with the ducks.

The chickens were a year old in March. The ducks are 9 weeks old.

She only harasses the ducks when they invade her personal space, like if they walk by her too closely. When everyone keeps their distance, she's fine. At first, she just puffed up and got loud but during the latest incident, she really went for them and feathers were pulled out.

My coop is 5x8 with a 10x10 attached run. My chickens free-range a lot, but I've been keeping the ducklings in the run so they know that is their home and will return there more easily when I have to round them up.

Hope that info is helpful.

Last night, I had her sleep inside my house because I'm afraid to lock her up with all the other birds in the coop at night. Being in an enclosed space like that, I'm afraid it could get nasty and the ducks have no way to really escape. I brought her back out to the run/coop this morning and put her on the chicken side of the run. (I separate the run now with metal exercise panels to keep the chickens on one side and the ducks on the other.) This seems to be working but, I don't want her to have to sleep in my basement alone for the remainder of her days. I'm thinking about having a bigger run and coop built which may help the situation, but she might still cause problems.

 

[aart]

I'm guessing she is the low bird of the chicken flock, they tend to be less tolerant of newbies.
How many ducks are there?
Pics of your cop and run?
Might think about keeping the chickens and duck in separate enclosures.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I was figuring that too about the pecking order. I have 4 chickens and 4 ducks. I'll try to take some good pics of my run and coop later today if I can. I was thinking about different enclosures too. Every day is a new adventure!