ok, so you may have seen that i am getting a cool new duck house.... when i got my 2 pekins and 2 runners the man had a 3rd runner...as i had only gone for 3 ducks and came home with 4, i couldnt take a 5th. but....it has bothered me that i left the poor girl there.....he has lots of other duck breeds and chickens etc.... but....if...i was to go back and get her once i have the new bigger house, can i just bring her home and put her in with the others? will they remember each other? i have mine about 4 or 5 weeks i guess..... its def a duck and not a drake....and if i have the room whats one more hahaha story of my life.... will the runner have been missing her other runner friends or will she be fine there with all the other ducks? with my 4 i cant say its 2 and 2, they all seem to get along fine, would i be messing with the balance? i feel guilty for having rejected poor fawn runner just because i wanted a pretty white one....
When I got my new duck I just threw him in with my girls. He did fine, the chickens had to give him some crap, but he and the ducks got along great from the get go. Just watch to make sure there aren't major squabbles, but I don't think ducks mind new additions as much as chickens.
The first time I introduced ducks to my drake (one of which was his daughter..) he freaked out and attacked my dad and I. I think it might have been because his mate was laying on eggs and he always got protective of his space when she was laying/sitting on eggs. Then we moved and unfortunately my bubba boy lost his mate so a few months (it was hard to find muscovies for a reasonable price) I got him some new girls and I completely stressed out about introducing them to him because of what we went through the first time and he was a complete gentlemen!! He didn't attack them at all! And from what I hear he hasn't even mounted them either. I'm not sure if they will recognize them. It might be best to just play it out and see how it works. It's always hard to predict animal behavior. Good Luck
I recently reconfigured my flock by selling one of my 2 drakes and adding one female. I bought one female for myself and 4 for a friend and kept them in a kennel separate from my flock for 2 days. Once my friend came and picked up his 4 females and my drake, I just took her out of the kennel and put her in the duck house with my drake and two ducks. Everything went just fine. A little light pecking but no fighting at all. I agree that ducks are MUCH easier to introduce than chickens. If you're worried, you could always take your duck that is lowest on the pecking order and put it in with her for a day or two. Then reintroduce both of them into the flock together but it probably won't be necessary.
oh so they do have a pecking order, i wasnt sure, its not that obvious even with my lot, they all live in happy bliss..... i think i will try get her so they all move into the new house at the same time, just incase theres any territory issue.... not going to tell Him i'm getting her, hehe she'll just arrive and i'll tell him she must have flown in haha he wont know any better.... (except their garden is covered but hey...magic duck....can fly in but couldnt get out
I have 2 groups of ducks, but they all sleep happily together in the duckhouse. They sometimes hang together in the yard, sometimes divide into groups. My first batch were 2 Pekin drakes with Mallards. My second group is girl Pekins and Runners. I purposely put the Pekin girls in with thier intended boyfriends a couple weeks before adding the Runners. Once the Runners were added, the Pekin girls went back with the Runners. One is apparently breeding age now, yet the Pekin boys and girls are in separate groups. What I know about ducks is that they are creatures of habit!!! They have favorite friends in the flock. I think your ducks will remember their old friend.
