How to have adult deck raise ducklings after hatching under chicken?

Tonyh413 · Sep 10, 2016

We have 2 ducklings about to hatch under our brooding chicken. We also have a female adult Pekin who isn't brooding but is laying.

Is it possible to have the duck raise the ducklings after they hatch?

pattyhen · Sep 10, 2016

Welcome to BYC. I don't think the duck will except the babies. She might even try to hurt them. The momma hen will do fine with the babies she might have a heart attack when they get in the water but she'll get used to it. In my experience a mother hen is a much better mother then a mother duck. Good luck with the little ones and let us know how they are doing.

Tonyh413 · Sep 10, 2016

So to complicate matters, my wife just picked up several chicks from the feed store. They look about a week old or so. We want to get them under our brooding hen tonight, but the ducklings haven't hatched yet. Can we move the ducklings to our Incubator, move the chicks under her tonight then put the ducklings there when they hatch? The ducklings are already working on their shells.