Chicken in With Ducks

[Mylied]

So I hatched a duckling and I got him a chick companion since I couldn't find any other ducklings. Then I got some more ducklings a few weeks later. It was obvious very soon that the chick is a cockerel, so I just planned on processing him when he got older and didn't bother to get other chicks. Turns out Duckie, my original duck (a drake), is very attached to the cockerel, whom I now call Red. He spends a lot of time grooming him and they go on adventures around my bathroom getting in trouble since I haven't been able to move them outside due to the cold. They are about 7 weeks old. Can Red live with the ducks okay? I don't want to use him for breeding or anything as he is just a random bird I got for free, but he's been nice enough so far, so I don't want to process him. I was planning on keeping Duckie in with the two female ducklings I got and Red. I'm not yet sure if I'll mix them with my adult ducks (a drake and 3 females).

 

[Welshies]

If you're lucky, he'll be ok.
Your drake imprinted on your chick.
But the issue is, if a drake tries to mate with your chick (regardless if he is a pullet or cockerel) he could easily kill him, because ducks have external sexual organs, that are corkscrew shaped, while chickens have no external sexual organs.

 

[Mylied]

If you're lucky, he'll be ok.
Your drake imprinted on your chick.
But the issue is, if a drake tries to mate with your chick (regardless if he is a pullet or cockerel) he could easily kill him, because ducks have external sexual organs, that are corkscrew shaped, while chickens have no external sexual organs.

That's been my concern. Hopefully he'll find the female ducks more attractive than the cockerel.

 

[Welshies]

That's been my concern. Hopefully he'll find the female ducks more attractive than the cockerel.

If he has 5-10 females, he shouldn't mate with your cockerel.
Are you sure it's a cockerel, though?

 

[Mylied]

If he has 5-10 females, he shouldn't mate with your cockerel.
Are you sure it's a cockerel, though?

100% He has the curved tail and big comb. He grew his comb super early too so I knew pretty much from when I got him when he was around two weeks old.

 

[Mylied]

Also, that's a lot of ducks... My adults are only 1:3. I had read that's a good ratio. Was I wrong?

 

[Welshies]

Also, that's a lot of ducks... My adults are only 1:3. I had read that's a good ratio. Was I wrong?

You're right because you only have one drake, however it might cause issues to arise with your cockerel. When they come of age they will likely fight over the hens. Keep an eye on them both.

 

[K3nzi3]

No, one to three is usually a good ratio. I honestly would let it play out and if you see problems then attempt to do something. (Cull, seperate, sell the chicken etc...)

 

[sylviethecochin]

Also, that's a lot of ducks... My adults are only 1:3. I had read that's a good ratio. Was I wrong?

1:3 is a decent ratio, and we didn't have problems from it back when we had only four ducks. I do prefer 1:4. Note that 1:3's a good ratio if you only have one drake.

This may not be relevant to you, but if you have more than one drake, you need more ducks per drake. Drakes gang-rape when they can, and the more females to distract them, the better. We used to have mallards, and after our second generation (we kept some ducks and got some new males to prevent inbreeding) we had nine females and three males--which is how I figured out that 1:3 does not work in larger numbers. The females all went broody, of course, except two, and every time one of the ducks got off the nest for a drink, all three drakes chased her down and piled on.

EDT: it may depend on setup and breed, of course, but I use the above as general guidelines with blue swedes, pekins, and mallards and do not have a problem. See what works for you.

 

[Mylied]

Ok, that makes sense. I had a similar problem with some cockerels I was growing out that I had to temporarily put in with my regular flock. They were brutal to the hens. I had to quickly process them. I'll have to think over what I want to do in the long run.