Dynamic of the flock

[smmorris]

I had 4 chickens and 2 ducks who all grew up together and a few weeks ago something got into our hen house and killed 2 chickens and injured the duck. I was able to nurse the duck back to health but one of our chickens who died was the leader of the pack. Now that she is gone the group dynamic is off. My duck is being a bully and the two remaining chickens now have what seems like PTSD. This happened about a month ago and hasn't gotten any better, should I get a rooster or guinea fowl?

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us, though wish it was under better circumstances.

Not sure what advise to offer about your situation as it seems like things should have worked themselves out by now. If you have not already done so, you may want to do a search on BYC regarding housing chickens and ducks together and see if anyone there has any advise to give.

Also, I am not sure if getting a rooster or guinea fowl will help the situation as the duck could still end up being the dominant bird. Or, were you considering that more for predator protection?

 

[smmorris]

Well up until the attack they all got along and even now he doesn't ALWAYS bully. Yes, I was looking to get a rooster or guinea fowl for preditor protection or at least to make my girls feel saferand give a louder alert upon coop intrusion (hopefully it won't happen again, we've beefed up coop security but I can never be certain, I live in the mountains so there are a lot of potential predictors)

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sorry about the loss of your chickens. It's always so sad to lose some of our flock. I don't know much about Guineas (never had any), but I've had loads of chickens over the past 50 years. I would recommend getting some more hens, but would strongly recommend NOT getting a rooster unless you get a LOT more hens to go with him. The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is 1 rooster for every 10 hens. As they mature and their hormones kick in, too many roosters (or too few hens in your case) will become very hard physically on your hens; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10-15 hens in this regard. In addition, your hens will likely lay better without the stress of having a rooster around. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

I would recommend keeping the duck away from the chickens. If it is a drake, he will end up trying to breed them. Duck anatomy is not consistent with that of chickens. A duck can damage them severely or kill them.. attempting to breed. Get the duck a girlfriend or two and move him elsewhere. The remaining chicken hens will work their situation out., and be less stressed without the duck being around.