G'day all!
My wife and I have begun our foray into looking after ducks (eggs are great for baking) and had, until today, two Pekin ducks we raised from 6 days old (now 4.5 weeks old) and a 9 week old Muscovy drake.
I am unsure of the genders of the Pekin, but one seems to quack/ honk while the other still chirps.
The Pekin quickly outgrew the Muscovy and we introduced them while the Muscovy was 7.5 weeks old. They are both apparently dominant over him, with one Pekin being the clear "alpha" of the flock.
However we recently had the opportunity to introduce a Cayuga female at 6 months old into the flock. She is roughly twice the size of the Pekin. She was very loud at first, which we chalked up to settling in, but tonight (her first night here) she pecked the pekins, which removed some fluff. No blood was drawn and no actual injuries. I was only worried as it happened inside their duck house.
I understand pecking order and how they need to sort out their hierarchy, but I am having the female outside the coop tonight in our undercover area, as I do not want her badly injuring them while they begin to become accustomed to each other.
Is this going to be an issue? My current plan is to let them interact and forage together during free range time (the majority of the daylight hours) and hope this graded exposure (and the younger ducks growth over time) will help her be more accepting of them. Are there any obvious issues with this?
As a side note, she is also quite scared of being approached at the moment, and will honk loudly if you try to handle her. Just her nerves of settling in?
Thankyou
My wife and I have begun our foray into looking after ducks (eggs are great for baking) and had, until today, two Pekin ducks we raised from 6 days old (now 4.5 weeks old) and a 9 week old Muscovy drake.
I am unsure of the genders of the Pekin, but one seems to quack/ honk while the other still chirps.
The Pekin quickly outgrew the Muscovy and we introduced them while the Muscovy was 7.5 weeks old. They are both apparently dominant over him, with one Pekin being the clear "alpha" of the flock.
However we recently had the opportunity to introduce a Cayuga female at 6 months old into the flock. She is roughly twice the size of the Pekin. She was very loud at first, which we chalked up to settling in, but tonight (her first night here) she pecked the pekins, which removed some fluff. No blood was drawn and no actual injuries. I was only worried as it happened inside their duck house.
I understand pecking order and how they need to sort out their hierarchy, but I am having the female outside the coop tonight in our undercover area, as I do not want her badly injuring them while they begin to become accustomed to each other.
Is this going to be an issue? My current plan is to let them interact and forage together during free range time (the majority of the daylight hours) and hope this graded exposure (and the younger ducks growth over time) will help her be more accepting of them. Are there any obvious issues with this?
As a side note, she is also quite scared of being approached at the moment, and will honk loudly if you try to handle her. Just her nerves of settling in?
Thankyou
