Ducklings pecking at chicks

[noahbouchard]

So I got 2 female ducklings (mix between pekin, rouen, and welsh harlequin) and 2 female chicks (black sex link and columbian rock plymouth) a few weeks ago. The ducklings are currently about 4 weeks old and the chicks 5 weeks old, but the ducks are significantly bigger. They were in seperate brooders for a while, but I have given them a larger space, with a chicken wire seperator down the middle, so they can see eachother but not reach eachother. Eventually, I would like to have them living outside together, sharing a coop, but everytime I put them in the same area, the ducks peck and lunge at the chicks. 9/10 times this happens with the columbian rock, who is slightly smaller than the rest. I assume they are simply establishing a pecking order, which is fine, but I am concerned this could be dangerous for the chicks. What do you guys think?

 

[casportpony]

It sounds like you need to separate them.