Introducing new duck to my small flock

[Johnny00]

Hi everyone,

As the title says, I will be soon adding another duck to my flock. So far, I own 3 ducks, all of them are around 2 months and there is 1 confirmed male and 1 confirmed female (both mini Silver Appleyards) and 1 (still unknown gender) Khaki Campbell.

I am planning on picking up a 4 months old female mini Appleyard this week and was wondering what would be the best way to introduce her to my babies given the small age gap since I would like to avoid any trouble. Thank you in advanced for any tips and advice

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I would have them separated so there is a look no touch set up. Ducks are usually easier to integrate than chickens. If it were me, I would get 2. It always seems like integrating 2 is much easier.

 

[Run Amock DucksNChickens]

I'm having that problem at the moment. I'll be interested in what to do.

 

[Quatie]

I agree with @Crazy Maizie. 2 is much better to integrate.

Typically when I integrate ducks, I start with the look and no touch approach as well. Do this for at least a week, maybe more. Once your ducks are sleeping near the new duck, I move to next stage. Where they share the area during the day, but at night they are still seperated. You will need to set up a barrier in the coop. I tend to use a dog crate in the coop. I do this for another week. And then they should be able to be locked in together full time with no barriers. It still can take time for ducks to fully integrate after this. To fully integrate it could take weeks or months. Sometimes it is as little as days. Expect the new comer to get picked on a bit as they will need to establish a new pecking order.

I find ducks who have experienced integration before are pretty good about it, but the first time is always the hardest. Newbies are not as welcoming.

Also, I should mention some people recommend quarantining new animals before integration to prevent the introduction of new diseases. I have never done it. But if you feel the need, it takes about a month. Again why 2 might be better than 1.

 

[Johnny00]

Thank you so much guys for your help! So far, my confirmed female is the only one who seems to have an issue with the new comer

my boy is loving the new girl and won’t leave her side at all. In fact, she has been sleeping with him since her arrival in a separate room indoors.

they free range all day in my garden and I separate them at night to avoid my other girl harassing her in the coop.

I will keep doing this at night until my girl stops hissing her away. I have also set up another feeder and waterer in the garden.

 

[Isadora]

I will keep doing this at night until my girl stops hissing her away. I have also set up another feeder and waterer in the garden.

I'm glad you set up extra feed and waterers. That's always helpful when there's hierarchy issues.

 

[EmmaGRS]

I have integrated ducks before right away with no problem. There’s a little pecking but never anything bad. It sounds like your ducks are doing great, typically with younger and a smaller group of ducks, it’s easier. I had integrated one female to 8+ Ducks before, it was a little rough on her for about a day but once they were acclimated she was fine, and now she lives happily in a big pond with all of them. They are also free range, so that could be a factor. But so far it seems your ducks are doing fine, I’d be concerned if a male was being aggressive, but if a female is she’s usually just establishing a pecking order.