Dual purpose flocks; effects of processing etc.

[FrankiesquarteracreFarm]

So I have a dual purpose small gang of ducks ( ancona appleyard cross ) our initial plan was lay eggs with benefits of meat from males. We got a straight run of 5.... 4 drakes and 1 duck later we are adding to our flock at the same time as subtracting.

We processed our first male 2 days ago and added a 1 yr old khaki campbell and her Rouen mix mate to the flock the next day.

I'm noticing extremely interesting and borderline aggressive dynamics from my immature (10 wk) original 4.

I guess my question is two fold; how does killing a sibling affect the ducks around it, as I'll be repeating this process a few more times. And also is there an optimal time or way to do it. I am hoping to add another laying or point of lay duck at some point in the future but we will see.

Cross posted in meat bird forum

Thanks

 

[sourland]

In my experience removal from a flock is less significant than addition to.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Any time you add or subtract to a flock the pecking order changes. You both added and subtracted in a very short time span which means the pecking order has to be figured out from top to bottom. Honestly if you didn't see some aggression I would be surprised. Think of it like highschool. Basically what's happening is that you took away the jocks, added new girls and the cheerleaders are being cliquey. Bullying is to be expected, but monitor for injuries or extreme signs of aggression (missing feathers, bleeding, limps) otherwise they need to figure out things on their own.