Chicks and Ducklings together

[gabriellecora]

Hello-
I just brought home the cutest day old pullets yesterday! On Sunday we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Pekin eggs to hatch. I plan on keeping 2 of the female ducklings and want them to join the "chicks" in our brooder. Any helpful hints, ideas etc that would help these ladies all stay happy until they are big enough to move out to their coop/duck house? Plan on keeping them together in a brooder 4-6 weeks. Hopefully less but this Michigan weather is relentless!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

By the time your duck eggs hatch, your chicks are going to be a few weeks old. That may or may not be a problem. I just added 2 Pekins and a Khaki Campbell to my brooder. There were already 4 5 week old Easter Eggers and a mix of 20 3 week old Chantechlers, Anconas, EEs and Marans in there. The ducklings, at a couple of days old, were already almost the same size as the older chicks (and the chicks were scared to death of the ducklings, though they're getting along fine now).
My biggest piece of advice would be to figure out how you're going to keep your brooder dry. The ducks will make a huge mess with the water. My drinker is on top of a wooden square that's covered with chicken wire (the drinker sits on the wire). There's a bowl underneath that catches the water when the ducklings dabble it out. It keeps the bedding somewhat dry, but they still manage to get things wet and theres not much to be done about that. Its just what they do. So, understand that you'll be doing a fair bit of cleaning for the well being of the chicks. If I had an extra (empty) brooder for the ducks, that's where they'd be, but everythings full right now, so they're bunking with the chicks. Luckily some of them will be moving out soon, and they'll soon be followed by the rest ( and likely the ducks, because they grow FAST- just an FYI if you've never raised ducklings before, they'll be huge before you know it).

Anyway, I think you'll love the ducklings when they hatch. They're funny little characters!

 

[gabriellecora]

Thank you! I did just that with the water and it is working very well! Lots more cleaning/ feeding and watering is happening with the quacks, but they are so darn cute it is worth it!!

 

[kyexotics]

Just remember, ducks grow quick, within 2 weeks your pekins will be poop shooting machines! The only issue brooding them together is the water is trashed by the ducks and you just have to change it more frequently, labor of love stuff, nothing bad will happen...Actually makes for extra cute activity watching them interact...