This spring I'll be getting ducklings and chicks (i have 6 hens and a duck right now that will be a year old when i get the babies) How will i introduce them? I plan to introduce them when the chicks and ducklings are 5-7 weeks old
The easiest way to introduce new birds to an existing flock for me, was the "look but can't touch" way. Let them all get used to seeing one another without being able to make physical contact. I was able to divide my coop and run with poultry netting with the littles on one side and the bigger girls on the other side. I kept the littles on their own side for about 3-4 weeks (so they were larger) before letting them actually mix. There was still some sorting out of the pecking order but only minor issues (no blood shed, mainly some chasing around). Maybe others have different ideas, but that worked well for me.
