I have 3 silkie chicks 5 weeks old..

[LaceyandPoppie]

Hi so I am quite new to the chicken world! But I'm loving it already! I have 3 silkie chicks that are 5 weeks old and amazing. Today a friend told me that he had a muscovy duckling that he could not keep so would I be able to take it in as I am a huge animal lover. Now I have quite a few animals and atm no space for a duckling to live alone so would it be ok to put him with my silkie chicks? Any advise would be great!!
Thanks in advance

 

[Poultry parent]

Ducks tend to pick on chickens, and they're much much bigger (even if the duckling is the same size now, he will soon outgrow the chicks). You can put them all together once they're mature. If the duckling is male, and he doesn't have any female ducks he will probably try to mate with your hens. I'd get another duckling or 2 to keep him company

 

[LaceyandPoppie]

That's great thank you for your replyWould it be ok temporarily then? For a couple of weeks say?

 

[Chicken Chat]

You could always try it and monitor the contact to see how it goes but have a back up plan in case things go south. Are they in a big enough space that the chicks can get away from the duck if needed? I also want to point out that silkies' skulls are not closed fully at the top so if they get a good thump on the head, it could be an issue. They don't usually fair well with aggressive flock mates if they can't get away from them to some kind of cover like a bush.

 

[Poultry parent]

Supervise them when you put him in, and make sure the chicks have somewhere to hide if needed, a roost would be good since ducklings can't roost. I'd still get him a buddy

 

[LaceyandPoppie]

Well at the minute my chicks are just in a cage with them being too small to go in the coop so they have plenty of room but not so much for shelter! I think maybe I will try it for a day or 2 until I can sort somewhere for the duck himself! Thank you both for your help! It's hard starting out and having no experience haha.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I've had chickens for about 30 years and I still find I learn new things and still have to wing it sometimes. You are always learning because each hen and roo has a unique personality and what worked before may not work this time.

 

[LaceyandPoppie]

Thats very true. I'm just glad I found this site! As I know I will have a lot more things I need help with haha.