Hello! New Soon to be baby Chick and Duck enthusiast!

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Riivo said:
That's great to hear that! Thank you for the warm welcome! My concern because I will be raising both the duckling and the chicks around the same time, is how messy ducklings can be and whether to raise them in different pens in the house. However I know ducks need buddies growing up because they're super flocky. So i'm unsure how to mesh them together when they're little babies. My grandma recommended shavings!

Should I perhaps start a different thread for this question? Thanks!
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You'll definitely get more answers if you post in the duck thread. Like I said, I brood them in different brooders because ducks are so messy. Yes I do use wood chips/flakes. Chicks don't do well when they get wet. Introducing the ducks to the chickens, I'll run them in separate tractors but close enough to see each other until they are big enough to integrate into the main flock. I have less problems with the ducks then I do with the chickens.
 
rjohns39 said:
You'll definitely get more answers if you post in the duck thread. Like I said, I brood them in different brooders because ducks are so messy. Yes I do use wood chips/flakes. Chicks don't do well when they get wet. Introducing the ducks to the chickens, I'll run them in separate tractors but close enough to see each other until they are big enough to integrate into the main flock. I have less problems with the ducks then I do with the chickens.
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Great advice thank you so much!
 
Welcome to the party.
Let's say the chicks are pretty much grown up and now you want to get some ducks. Just raise the ducks separately until they are about eyeball to eyeball with bigger chickens. They need a special diet, if you use regular chick starter feed you have to add brewers yeast. Also, Google blood feathers. When their pinion feathers start to grow they grow incredibly fast. Basically lots of delicate feather shafts grow fast and can get hurt and bleed. If it does bleed isolate that baby fast or the other ducks will eat the bloody duckling. Yes, they eat meat. Then put them together and make a fence or barricade between them for awhile. The point is to let the birds get used to each other. They need to be able to see each other but not touch. Feed them around the barricade or fence, feeding birds together makes them more calm and used to the other birds.
Then let them join. They probably will not be flock buddies, ducks going over here and chickens going somewhere else. The ducks will most likely be above the chicks in the pecking order. I've seen a 3 pound Khaki Campbell hen run right into a 5 pound full grown rooster and make him leave the food tray. Ducks are very strong, they dont care. My main Khaki drake will even nip at the African goose. Nobody gets hurt, feathers aren't flying, ducks are just tough little packages. They run about 107 degree temp and dont usually get sick. Yes, I have a quack problem.

you can see my brooder rig here;
 

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Lucky13Farm said:
Welcome to the party.
Let's say the chicks are pretty much grown up and now you want to get some ducks. Just raise the ducks separately until they are about eyeball to eyeball with bigger chickens. Then put them together and make a fence or barricade between them for awhile. The point is to let the birds get used to each other. They need to be able to see each other but not touch. Feed them around the barricade or fence, feeding birds together makes them more calm and used to the other birds.
Then let them join. They probably will not be flock buddies, ducks going over here and chickens going somewhere else. The ducks will most likely be above the chicks in the pecking order. I've seen a 3 pound Khaki Campbell hen run right into a 5 pound full grown rooster and make him leave the food tray. Ducks are very strong, they dont care. My main Khaki drake will even nip at the African goose. Nobody gets hurt, feathers aren't flying, ducks are just tough little packages. They run about 107 degree temp and dont usually get sick.
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My only issue, and I know it's not recommended is that I can only get one baby duckling, and I understand how flocky they are. I don't want the duckling to get separation anxiety if raised alone so I'm a bit stuck with the decision, I could possibly not decide to even go for ducks altogether, but I'm definitely trying to make it work! Thank you for the advice!
The baby duck and chicks will be hatched about the same time, perhaps I could get a dual nursery box of some sort or make one of my own so they could all be together but have different environments! Thoughts and more thoughts!
 
Also, if you put some hay on top of the shavings it keeps the mess down.
Ducks need water, lots of it.
I use a decent plastic paint tray. Get one of those metal paint roller things and bend it so it fits level inside the paint tray. Cover this with a little hay and put the waterer on top. The paint tray catches the water the ducks sling everywhere and makes it easier to clean. Which you have to do like 2-3 times a day.
 
Lucky13Farm said:
Also, if you put some hay on top of the shavings it keeps the mess down.
Ducks need water, lots of it.
I use a decent plastic paint tray. Get one of those metal paint roller things and bend it so it fits level inside the paint tray. Cover this with a little hay and put the waterer on top. The paint tray catches the water the ducks sling everywhere and makes it easier to clean. Which you have to do like 2-3 times a day.
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This is amazing, i'm literally watching this video on youtube that perfectly describes your idea. I love this so much thank you!
here's the video haha too funny!
 
Riivo said:
My only issue, and I know it's not recommended is that I can only get one baby duckling, and I understand how flocky they are. I don't want the duckling to get separation anxiety if raised alone so I'm a bit stuck with the decision, I could possibly not decide to even go for ducks altogether, but I'm definitely trying to make it work! Thank you for the advice!
The baby duck and chicks will be hatched about the same time, perhaps I could get a dual nursery box of some sort or make one of my own so they could all be together but have different environments! Thoughts and more thoughts!
Click to expand...
Well, if you got the baby duck in with the baby chicks then it would probably be OK. The duck might bond with the chicks. I think you need at least 3-4 ducks for them to be happy. That's hens or drakes only. If you mix the sexes then on drake per 4-6 hens.
 
Riivo said:
This is amazing, i'm literally watching this video on youtube that perfectly describes your idea. I love this so much thank you!
here's the video haha too funny!
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Yeah, seen that guy a lot. He is pretty good. Still uses those red heat lights though. The ceramics are better IMO but they dont put out as much heat. They do not put out visible light so the babies can sleep better at night.
You know the ducks dont need as much heat as chicks. Probably be hard to get it right with both chicks and ducks in a brooder together. Unless your brooder is like huge with two separate sources of heat far enough away so the duck can not be as warm as the chicks but not too cold.
Baby ducks dont put out oil until they are about 2-3 months old. The mommy duck oils them when they are babies. So, without a normal mom they can get drenched with water and get a chill. If it is a warm day you can let them bathe as long as there is enough sun to warm and dry them afterwards.
 

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