Duck Introduction

[Gone]

I have a white pekin duck that I keep separate from my chickens because of bullying from the chickens. She is about 2 and 1/2 years old and lonely. I am raising up three French ducks that will look like her but stay smaller. At what age can they go in Stella's pen (white Pekin)? They are about three weeks old now. Will Stella accept them?

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

I am raising up three French ducks that will look like her but stay smaller.

Are you talking about White coloured Duclair ducks?

If not, what breed are your ducklings?
(Pictures would be appreciated!)

At what age can they go in Stella's pen (white Pekin)?

Since your duck is a hen and not a drake, you can put them together when your ducklings are big enough - meaning in the second half of their juvenile stage.

But first, you need to let them meet through a fence : your Pekin and your ducklings need to be able to see each others, but not touch each others... as soon as possible, and until you put them together in the same pen!

They are about three weeks old now. Will Stella accept them?

Even though she is a lonely girl... probably NOT.
(You really don't want to take any risk...)

3-weeks-old is really too young to be put together with adult ducks : if your girl decides to bully your ducklings, you might find yourselves with wounded - or even DEAD - ducklings...!!

Wait for the babies to be grown up enough.
Then put them together, and monitor them carefully...

 

[Gone]

Hi.



Are you talking about White coloured Duclair ducks?

If not, what breed are your ducklings?
(Pictures would be appreciated!)



Since your duck is a hen and not a drake, you can put them together when your ducklings are big enough - meaning in the second half of their juvenile stage.

But first, you need to let them meet through a fence : your Pekin and your ducklings need to be able to see each others, but not touch each others... as soon as possible, and until you put them together in the same pen!



Even though she is a lonely girl... probably NOT.
(You really don't want to take any risk...)

3-weeks-old is really too young to be put together with adult ducks : if your girl decides to bully your ducklings, you might find yourselves with wounded - or even DEAD - ducklings...!!

Wait for the babies to be grown up enough.
Then put them together, and monitor them carefully...

Thank you for your response. I wouldn't put them together until I talked to someone with experience like you. Yes, these are white colored Duclair female ducks. When you say to start introducing them to Stella at the second half of their juvenile stage, what age would that be? When I looked these ducks up before picking a breed, they were to be quite a bit smaller than a white pekin. They are growing very fast for being three weeks old. I saw one white pekin duck at the park who paired off with a male mallard duck. Then, when someone put two more white ducks with them, the original white duck left the mallard to hang with the white ducks. That's why I picked this breed to be with Stella.

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

Thank you for your response.

You are welcome.

When you say to start introducing them to Stella at the second half of their juvenile stage, what age would that be?

(At least) 3-months-old, preferably...

Older and bigger they are, easier it will be for Stella to accept them.

You can try once your ducklings are 2-months-old (if you want), but in this case, you need to monitor them carefully AND still keep them separated from Stella at night - just in case, because even if your girl appears frienly, you can't be certain she won't kill them once you are not watching over them...

They are growing very fast for being three weeks old.

If they are like the actual French Duclair ducks, then it is a breed that grows fast.

At 3-months-old, my (French) Duclair were heavier than my 3-months-old Saxony drakelets!!

I saw one white pekin duck at the park who paired off with a male mallard duck. Then, when someone put two more white ducks with them, the original white duck left the mallard to hang with the white ducks.

"At the park"?
...Are they abandoned ducks?

That's why I picked this breed to be with Stella.

You have chosen a good breed!!

In my experience : in addition to being beautiful ducks, Duclair are really decent layers, and let you approach them even if they have not imprinted on you!

 

[Gone]

Hi.



Are you talking about White coloured Duclair ducks?

If not, what breed are your ducklings?
(Pictures would be appreciated!)



Since your duck is a hen and not a drake, you can put them together when your ducklings are big enough - meaning in the second half of their juvenile stage.

But first, you need to let them meet through a fence : your Pekin and your ducklings need to be able to see each others, but not touch each others... as soon as possible, and until you put them together in the same pen!



Even though she is a lonely girl... probably NOT.
(You really don't want to take any risk...)

3-weeks-old is really too young to be put together with adult ducks : if your girl decides to bully your ducklings, you might find yourselves with wounded - or even DEAD - ducklings...!!

Wait for the babies to be grown up enough.
Then put them together, and monitor them carefully...

Hi.



Are you talking about White coloured Duclair ducks?

If not, what breed are your ducklings?
(Pictures would be appreciated!)



Since your duck is a hen and not a drake, you can put them together when your ducklings are big enough - meaning in the second half of their juvenile stage.

But first, you need to let them meet through a fence : your Pekin and your ducklings need to be able to see each others, but not touch each others... as soon as possible, and until you put them together in the same pen!



Even though she is a lonely girl... probably NOT.
(You really don't want to take any risk...)

3-weeks-old is really too young to be put together with adult ducks : if your girl decides to bully your ducklings, you might find yourselves with wounded - or even DEAD - ducklings...!!

Wait for the babies to be grown up enough.
Then put them together, and monitor them carefully...

Hi.



Are you talking about White coloured Duclair ducks?

If not, what breed are your ducklings?
(Pictures would be appreciated!)



Since your duck is a hen and not a drake, you can put them together when your ducklings are big enough - meaning in the second half of their juvenile stage.

But first, you need to let them meet through a fence : your Pekin and your ducklings need to be able to see each others, but not touch each others... as soon as possible, and until you put them together in the same pen!



Even though she is a lonely girl... probably NOT.
(You really don't want to take any risk...)

3-weeks-old is really too young to be put together with adult ducks : if your girl decides to bully your ducklings, you might find yourselves with wounded - or even DEAD - ducklings...!!

Wait for the babies to be grown up enough.
Then put them together, and monitor them carefully...

Hi.



You are welcome.



(At least) 3-months-old, preferably...

Older and bigger they are, easier it will be for Stella to accept them.

You can try once your ducklings are 2-months-old (if you want), but in this case, you need to monitor them carefully AND still keep them separated from Stella at night - just in case, because even if your girl appears frienly, you can't be certain she won't kill them once you are not watching over them...



If they are like the actual French Duclair ducks, then it is a breed that grows fast.

At 3-months-old, my (French) Duclair were heavier than my 3-months-old Saxony drakelets!!



"At the park"?
...Are they abandoned ducks?



You have chosen a good breed!!

In my experience : in addition to being beautiful ducks, Duclair are really decent layers, and let you approach them even if they have not imprinted on you!

We get white pekin ducks every spring at this park. There is a lady that captures them by December of every year and takes them to a rescue, she says. I saw one white duck that was smaller that surprised me. It was hanging with the mallards and took off flying with them eventually. I don't know what breed that was. It wasn't muskovy. Thank you for this valuable information. I love my chickens and ducks and wouldn't want to do anything to harm them

 

[Gone]

We get white pekin ducks every spring at this park. There is a lady that captures them by December of every year and takes them to a rescue, she says. I saw one white duck that was smaller that surprised me. It was hanging with the mallards and took off flying with them eventually. I don't know what breed that was. It wasn't muskovy. Thank you for this valuable information. I love my chickens and ducks and wouldn't want to do anything to harm them

The white ducks at the park are abandoned. I picked up one little yellow baby two days after Easter one time. I checked very carefully to make sure mom or pop wasn't around. It was cold and shaking. I took it to the feed store. The worker opened up a bag of feed and the baby jumped at it. People are not responsible enough to care that an animal feels fear and pain and hunger. It was under a bush and scared to death of all the other wild ducks. People do this all the time at Easter. After the novelty of the cute baby duck wears off and they realize how messy they are, they don't want the work to take care of them and throw them away. We took this baby home and raised him up. It ended up to be a white pekin.

 

[Yardmom]

Personally my ducklings are raised with my adult ducks. Sometimes they are hatched and raised by a duck hen. Other times they are placed in a small pen inside the large pen. I usually open this pen by 3 weeks. My adult ducks are fine with ducklings.
If you have enough space that your adult duck doesn't feel threatened by the new comers, you could see how they interact together. (Watch how the ducklings treat the adult as well. I have seen posts where ducklings ganged up on lone adult ducks).

 

[CoriM]

I have had Pekins and Duclairs, and also introduced ducklings to an older flock several times. Sad that you have an only older girl, but in a couple weeks I would start introducing them through a fence. Make sure they get used to seeing each other and comfortable with the each other with the fence between, then let them free-range together under your supervision, with multiple containers of food and water so they don't have to compete for that. Give it time and take it slowly before you put them in a contained area together. Just make sure you have plenty of space for them and multiple water buckets and food sources. They will eventually bond and be fine! My duclairs are actually pretty large - my pekins had all passed on by the time I got them, but I would say the duclairs are maybe 3/4 the size of the pekins.

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

People are not responsible enough to care that an animal feels fear and pain and hunger. It was under a bush and scared to death of all the other wild ducks. People do this all the time at Easter. After the novelty of the cute baby duck wears off and they realize how messy they are, they don't want the work to take care of them and throw them away.

Seriously... what is wrong with these people?!

We took this baby home and raised him up. It ended up to be a white pekin.

This duckling is so lucky to have met you...!!
You saved its life, and gave it a chance to a good, long life...!!

Is it Stella?

My adult ducks are fine with ducklings.

My adult Indian Runner ducks are afraid of ducklings... but it could be a breed thing?
Runner ducks are scared of everything, after all...

 

[CoriM]

Yes, bless you for rescuing her! My Duclairs - just the white ones from metzer - are my friendliest ducks. All my ducks are sweet, but these girls let me love on them and they are so nice to the two little call ducks I recently adopted. My first Duclair came with a couple of runners, and I started to see in my flock that the similar ducks often paired up, so I ordered another Duclair the next spring and they became best friends quickly. Every time I integrate ducklings my grown ducks are terrified of them. It just takes time for everyone to get used to each other. You'll get there, and it's so sweet of you to provide a loving family for this duck!

On the note of duck dumping, if it's a regular problem in your area maybe you can start a public awareness campaign! You could start by visiting the stores the ducklings are sold at and letting them know it's a problem in your area. Perhaps they will change their policy about selling ducklings around Easter. I wrote a document for people considering ducks, due to the duck-dumping problem, and asked my local granges and tractor supply if they wanted to use it to hand out to customers considering ducks. I only heard back from Tractor Supply, and they requested it and said they might use it next year! Some people are just terrible and selfish and some people just don't know that domestic ducks shouldn't be left at ponds and lakes. My family did this a couple times when I was a kid and I am horrified now to think about it - like I lay in bed sometimes and feel awful thinking of how the ducks must have felt. We loved the ducks but I think my parents just didn't know any better. Sad! Anyway, I try to make up for it now!!