Integrating a single duck

[ChaosBirds]

Hi everyone,
I've cross-posted this, so apologies if you see it twice! I was unexpectedly asked if I could offer a home to a single Pekin duck (female, 4 months old). I said yes, but I'm not sure how/where to integrate her with my current birds. We currently have 15 laying hens who spend the warm months in a chicken tractor moving around our farmyard; 6 pullets (also 4 months old) that are currently in our winter coop and we are planning to start integrating with the big girls in the next couple of weeks; and 2 African geese (both female) who free-range. Initially the duck will go into another coop in the same building as the pullets for her quarantine/adaptation period.
My question is: do I plan to integrate her with the chickens or the geese? My first impulse was to have her join the geese since they are all waterfowl, but I worry that the geese are more likely to bully and not accept her. Does anyone here have experience with a similar situation?

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

I was unexpectedly asked if I could offer a home to a single Pekin duck (female, 4 months old). I said yes, but I'm not sure how/where to integrate her with my current birds. We currently have 15 laying hens who spend the warm months in a chicken tractor moving around our farmyard; 6 pullets (also 4 months old) that are currently in our winter coop and we are planning to start integrating with the big girls in the next couple of weeks; and 2 African geese (both female) who free-range.

No... you CAN'T adopt a single duck if you don't already have ducks home, or plan to have some very soon...

My question is: do I plan to integrate her with the chickens or the geese? My first impulse was to have her join the geese since they are all waterfowl, but I worry that the geese are more likely to bully and not accept her.

If you want the duck...
...if you want her happy and NOT letting herself die from loneliness, then you have to buy AT LEAST two other ducks to keep her company.

And by "two other ducks", I mean "domestic ducks" - excluding Muscovies...!

Ducks don't speak the same language than chickens or geese...
Pekin ducks don't speak the same language than Muscovies either...

So : if you bring her home, you will have to buy her friends soon.
If you can't, the best thing to do for the girl would be to not adopt her yourself, but instead to find her a home with other domestic ducks that she could be friends with...

...Good luck!

 

[ChaosBirds]

Hi.



No... you CAN'T adopt a single duck if you don't already have ducks home, or plan to have some very soon...



If you want the duck...
...if you want her happy and NOT letting herself die from loneliness, then you have to buy AT LEAST two other ducks to keep her company.

And by "two other ducks", I mean "domestic ducks" - excluding Muscovies...!

Ducks don't speak the same language than chickens or geese...
Pekin ducks don't speak the same language than Muscovies either...

So : if you bring her home, you will have to buy her friends soon.
If you can't, the best thing to do for the girl would be to not adopt her yourself, but instead to find her a home with other domestic ducks that she could be friends with...

...Good luck!

I'm looking into getting some more ducklings. But they would be a week old at most. How soon would I be able to integrate her with them safely? Do you have a particular breed you would recommend with a Pekin?

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

I'm looking into getting some more ducklings.

...Good!

But they would be a week old at most. How soon would I be able to integrate her with them safely?

Since the Pekin is a girl, you can try free-ranging her with ducklings when they are 5-weeks-old...
...but only during the days at first!

And then, for several days - actually, preferably for 2 weeks AT LEAST : just keep them separated at nights, so they can't fight when you are not there to supervize them...

(At 5 weeks of age, ducklings can eat the same food than adults ducks, so at least, you won't have to worry about it...)

But first, until the ducklings are big enough to freerange with the Pekin, you will have to let them see each others, but not touch each others - so they can learn to know each others...

Do you have a particular breed you would recommend with a Pekin?

Not particularly...?

Any domesticated duck (meaning : descended from Mallards) would do.
Though in my opinion, ducks that are around the same size do better together, since they generally have a similar temperament...

If you could find other Pekin ducklings, it would be good...!
Otherwise, personally, I would recommend White coloured Duclair ducklings.

But really, if you find Saxonies, or Magpies, or Cayuga... even smaller ducks would be enough for your Pekin to not feel lonely, as long as they speak the same language.

...Do you have a preference?