Chicken behavioral response to chicks question

[nao57]

So I have 2 chickens. And the rest are ducks.

When I had a new batch of ducklings a few months ago, the response for the drake duck (male adult) was to want to eat the ducklings.

I don't know however, how the chickens would respond because after the above mentioned incident I didn't leave them out again for another chance for anything else. I also only have 2 chickens, both female.

So I'm not sure what a typical response to both chicks and ducklings would be by most chickens? And would it all be the same, or vary? And this is assuming they are likely not broody, and that said chicks or ducklings aren't theirs.

I'm curious what you think about this?

Thanks.

And I wanted to gather data on this before putting another batch of ducklings outside because my 2 chickens can hop fences but my adult ducks don't even try to.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you're asking why the male was agressive, its common, especially if the mother isn't high ranking. Birds seem to wither accept babies without any problems or they try to get rid of them

 

[JaeG]

Chicks/ducklings that don't have a broody mother to protect them are seen as competition for food and resources so adult birds will chase them and bully them. If the older birds are given time to adjust to the idea of sharing their space by putting the chicks/ducklings where the older birds can see, but not touch them, then after that giving the chicks/ducklings spaces where they can avoid and escape from the larger birds then things generally go more smoothly.

Drakes are often duckling killers. Ducklings are viewed by the drake as competition for the ducks attention (drakes are sex maniacs who don't like to share).

 

[NatJ]

So I'm not sure what a typical response to both chicks and ducklings would be by most chickens? And would it all be the same, or vary? And this is assuming they are likely not broody, and that said chicks or ducklings aren't theirs.

Typical response by a hen:
"Go away, this is my food."
"Go away, this is my roost."
"Go away, this is my personal space."
etc.

Whether that causes a problem will depend on the size of the pen. If the chicks can just go away, they will be fine. But the hen does not care if they have run into the fence--if they are still too close, she will continue chasing or pecking them.

I have read of some hens that adopt chicks even without being broody first, and I have read of other hens that just ignore babies, but I think both of those are rare.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My hens usually ignore babies. The hardest time for babies is when they're being weaned since they don't have a mama to protect them anymore. My hens still sleep in nest boxes (didn't know a lot if things when the coop was built, so now we clean them out every morning), and my chicks from this batch would occasionally and still do, get in the wrong nestbox. As long as they weren't bothering the girl in the box besides looking for warmth, they didn't care.