introducing ducklings

motherduckling

Songster
Sep 1, 2020
41
75
109
Hi I am new here but have found this to be a very interesting and knowledgeable forum.

I am hoping I may get some advice.

the story is. I live on a marina and one day found an egg abandoned.

Rather than it just get kicked into the river or left to rot (which I would never had forgiven myself if i had left it) I took the egg up to the stables where I keep my horse as the owner has chicken and incubators. so we put the egg in the incubator and low and behold. 28 days later we saw life.!!. I have now taken the duckling to my boat (i live on a very big boat by the way) anyway little "crispy" is now 5 weeks old and a very playful mischievous little fellow (well I think it is a drake I have no idea yet, but that is a surprise i am waiting for). I have been thinking that he will now need a friend as I hate leaving him all day while I am at work, it pulls on my heart strings , so we have decided to introduce another rescue duckling to him. (another duckling who was a single hatch and the lady wants to re house it.) I have now made a huge run on the top deck of our boat and will introduce them to the river soon so they have a free range river to play in. but my question is. how do i introduce a single duckling to another of the same age that have both never seen another duck before. Crispy has a mirror he bobs up and down to but this is not the same as a real friend. I cannot seem to find anything about introducing a single duckling to another will this work.? will crispy become all territorial and want to fight the new duckling? Crispy is very spoilt and has our whole boat to run around in and out, A big fluffy bed with loads of teddies, and he has a play pen with lots of bells and string toys and also a tambourine that he loves to sit in and play, he also has his own paddling pool on top deck. he has not been off the boat yet. Sorry for the waffling just trying to give you the picture of his home.. but anyway any help or advise on introducing crispy a new friend would be great.


although i want to keep my options open as would not want to make the wrong decision. Crispy has only been on top deck to run around and for a swim once twice a day the rest of the time he runs around inside, he has not been off the boat yet, as I have been worried in case he jumped in the river and the tide was too strong. but I have thought of another option of maybe when i introduce him to the outside permanently when he goes and plops in the river for a swim he will be surrounded by ten to twenty other ducks all swimming around , wild they may be but would he eventually interact with them or would he be an outcast? so would getting him a friend not be such a hasty move when he has access to loads of ducky friends eventually
 
Last edited:
How far are they apart in age? That will play a big difference, you'll also see other factors that might cause them to fight or not, such as setup or each ones individual personality.

Sometimes you'll get the other one a friend, and they'll bond together like super glue in no time, other times it takes a few days or maybe even weeks for them to properly bond, so it's really just a toss up. If they were mine, I'd let them in with each other and see how they get along, of course do this supervised, so if there's any fighting you can separate them. A little biting will be expected at first, but if it starts to get out of hand, you'll likely need to separate the two so they can see and hear each other, but can't touch.

Do this for a few days, or week, then slowly start letting them out with each other, and see how they do. Eventually, they should be able to be put out with each other. Just takes time and patience.

Also, note, the more space they have available the less fighting will occur, the same thing applies with feed and water dishes, the more the better so they don't have to fight over resources.
 
How far are they apart in age? That will play a big difference, you'll also see other factors that might cause them to fight or not, such as setup or each ones individual personality.

Sometimes you'll get the other one a friend, and they'll bond together like super glue in no time, other times it takes a few days or maybe even weeks for them to properly bond, so it's really just a toss up. If they were mine, I'd let them in with each other and see how they get along, of course do this supervised, so if there's any fighting you can separate them. A little biting will be expected at first, but if it starts to get out of hand, you'll likely need to separate the two so they can see and hear each other, but can't touch.

Do this for a few days, or week, then slowly start letting them out with each other, and see how they do. Eventually, they should be able to be put out with each other. Just takes time and patience.

Also, note, the more space they have available the less fighting will occur, the same thing applies with feed and water dishes, the more the better so they don't have to fight over resources.
Hi Thanks for this. they are both 5 weeks old. maybe give a day or two
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom