Help my ducks are plucking my chickens

[claireree]

Posted in duck section as well.

Was wondering if anyone out there has ducks and chickens in together I have 5 chickens and 2 ducks (mallards) but have recently found my ducks plucking the chickens feathers out, does anyone have any idea why they are doing this or how to stop them.

 

[carrlr]

I had ducks and chickens together from day olds. They seemed to get along great for about 1 year. At that point I noticed the ducks would chase the chickens but didn't think much about it until one chicken turned up dead. I monitored them for awhile and didn't like the agression. I did a little researching and it seems that male ducks (drakes) can become agressive if they don't have female ducks around. I'm assuming that's what happened to mine. So, I ended up rehoming the ducks.