Duckling Introductions not going well

[AAcres]

I have two 5 week old mallards as well as six 9 week old khaki campbells. The campbells have been outside and and foraging during the day for about 2 weeks now.
The mallards I just introduced to the outside yesterday and bring them in at night to the garage since they aren't fully feathered yet.
I put them in a large dog kennel outside to separate them from the campbells but my three female campbells since they are free range are charging the kennel. I've seen them also grab a hold of the mallards too. I now have the mallards blocked off a bit but what can I do better?? I really want them to co exist but I obviously don't want anyone getting hurt.
What can I do?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It takes time so what your doing is the best letting everyone get use to each other with separation. When you can be out try tossing some treats down and letting everyone be together. There is going to be some bullying but hopefully in a few weeks the Mallards will be able to forage right along with theKC or at least stay out of their way I have 6 Runners that are now out with the rest of the flock they are 8-11 weeks old and there are a few females that will nip if they get opportunity but the Runners are learning to give them space.

 

[PirateGirl]

You are on the right track. It takes time. See no touch with the dog kennel will help. Once the others start ignoring them instead of charging you can try putting them together. Also if it seems to be one that is particular aggressive you can remove this one and try introducing the rest and then eventually add the aggressive one back into the mix. This process could take weeks. I think my integration was 6 weeks or more with my ducks before I was no longer afraid the older ducks might kill the younger ducks. When the littles were in a dog kennel I had an aggressive duck that would pace and bang on the bars and try and grab them through the bars. They have all been living together for a year now, so it can work out eventually

 

[AAcres]

Thank you both! I'll try not to worry to much. The mallards are about half the size of the campbells so that makes me worry too.

 

[chickens really]

I just let them out during free range time and they figure it out. They are all scared of each other so if they can have a large area to mingle and get away from each other during introductions it goes way better.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Thank you both! I'll try not to worry to much. The mallards are about half the size of the campbells so that makes me worry too.

I'm using 2 simple collapsible dog pens inside my big duck run for my 4 little ones and things are working out fine. There is enough space so that nobody can grab anyone else through the bars and everyone has their own pool and food buckets. At bedtime I let them all be together for a bit before putting them in their separate pens for the night and although it's only been a few days it's not been awful. There has been some bullying and chasing but I'm staying right there with them so nobody can get crazy.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

There will be fights! They all have to find their spot in the pecking dabbling order but the more see-no-touch time they spent together the smoother it will be. And there will still be that one duck that cannot accept any new bill and will make trouble for a while.
I had the joy to join 14 new duck(lings) to my remaining four Runnners this spring and during the first night Katharina Duck went crazy and started chasing the newbies around in the house. Until my drake Limpy had enough, cornered her, slapped her, bit her and finally laid down in the opening between both bedrooms of the duck house. Runners in one room, new ducks in the other and Limpy in the middle. - He didn't care about the new ducks, he just wanted to sleep and was stepped on too many times.
Later the new ducks, especially the White Layers, the "White Panzer Brigade" realized that they are so much heavier and stronger than those flimsy Runners and started pushing them around.
Fast forward three months and now everybody is yelling at me if i dare to pick up one of their friends…
There is still some pecking - no, "billing?", ducks can't really peck - going on, but the Runners are using the White Layers as pillows from time to time and the White Layers are sending Nona Duck - one of the Runners - to me, asking for some treats. They realized that she has a way to approach me that i almost never can resist…

 

[AAcres]

@WannaBeHillBilly oh your ducks are so beautiful! I hope to have a success story like that!

First thing in the morning when I bring the mallards out and let the campbells out of their house is the worst. The ladies start raising the alarm and charging the dog kennel. Then they all quiet down and go about their business. In the afternoon every once in awhile the campbells will go check out the mallards and try to grab them.
I did let them all out together yesterday as they literally have an acre of space to go but the mallards were just bombarded by the Campbell ladies. And I felt bad. They shooed them away from the flock and the mallards started racing away. So I had to go round them up and bring them back to the kennel.
I haven’t tried that since!

 

[Miss Lydia]

When I bring my two week olds outside with everyone I stay right with them if any one wants to bully I stop them. My 8-11 week old have learned to stay away from the bully Muscovy duck(female) she likes to nip if she gets a chance. Your KC will eventually accept the Mallards it just takes a day at a time.

 

[Duckworth]

If you have a section of foldable garden edging “fence” or some chicken wire or some other shorter barrier that you can put around your dog crate just far enough away that the bigger ducks can’t grab the ducklings, it might ease the concern that someone will get hurt. You can remove it as you see worrisome behaviors decrease and the ducklings’ size and ability to fend for themselves increase. I wouldn’t go out and buy something, but you may have something around that would do the job.

I have a hardware cloth enclosed duck pen and two large dogs. To give an increased perception that the ducks are out of reach for the dogs (so they don’t decide to try to breach the wire mesh), I put a section of 24” high welded wire fencing, which I already had, on the outside of the pen, separated from the mesh by pieces of 2x4 attached to the outside of the pen. There is about four inches of space between the fencing and the HWC, but it has been enough that the dogs make no attempt to contact the ducks through the HWC.