Introducing young (new) ducks to older ducks

[lovemeduckins]

Well, we did it again. Actually, we had discussed getting two or more ducks at some date and I guess that is now!

We have one-year-old Pekin bachelor ducks, who are primarily kept separated by framed chicken wire in their large, 10x20 enclosure. They still try to battle one another, but we can and do let them outside their enclosure with us to roam and they are less prone to fighting. These guys are really imprinted on me and I spend "duck time" with them every day for treats and snuggles. They are brilliant!

Now we have two ducklings we bought two days ago, I think they are about one 1/2 weeks old. Little babies again! One is a Khaki Campbell, one is a Swedish Blue. They will be raised just like the other two handling-wise, as pets.

Soooo, when is a good time to introduce them to the other ducks, and what is the best way to go about it? The Pekins can hear the ducklings in our sunroom, so they know something is up.

We are hoping to build a large aviary in which we can have all four, so that everyone can have enough room and we can let all of them live together.

Any advice, ideas, stories of introducing your new ducks to your old ducks?

Thanks!

 

[ChickenToes]

The easiest way to is to just put them in there with the older ducks. If any problems arise, have another place where you can put them for awhile. When I put ducklings in with my older ducks last year, the little ones chased the adults around for about an hour, and then everything calmed down. Drakes can be a bit rough though, so keep an eye on them.

 

[zatsdeb]

I wouldn't put the babies in with the adults, we had adult pekins try to attack young ones we hatched, and we thought they were big enough and they were 2 months old.. but still not big enough. I would wait till they are size wise bigger, you could pen them side by side so they can see each other.

 

[JJchiknshak]

I introduced mine little by little. I have a 1 year old female runner and a black call.
I have 4 week old runners I ordered from mcmurray. I started bringing them out to the big duck pen as soon as it was nice enough to take them outside. At first for a little bit and I would sit out there with them.

Gradually as they got bigger I increased the time. My black call went broody on me, so she doesn't come out much. When she does, she does chase them around a bit cause she's super cranky, but I am not able to leave them all together in the pen all day. I still keep them in if it gets chilly or rainy. And I bring them in at night still.

 

[10ducks]

My older ducks chase the ducklings away from the food and are really rough on them. So I keep the ducklings separate until they are 4-5 weeks old. Then I start putting them in the coop with the big ducks at night, but I fence off an area for the ducklings where the older ducks can't get to them. Their area still has a heat lamp on chilly nights, and this way the big ducks can't crowd the ducklings away from the heat. My coop is 8x8 ft, and I use a portable child fence to make the divider. During the day, the big ducks go down to the pond, and the ducklings are in a 10x10 pen attached to the coop. When the ducklings are fully feathered and able to spend the days on the pond, I take down the divider and open the pen, and the big ducks teach the ducklings the routine: run down to the pond and spend the day there; come back to the coop at night for a treat and safety from raccoons and fox and coyotes.

 

[duckface]

and the big ducks teach the ducklings the routine: run down to the pond and spend the day there; come back to the coop at night for a treat and safety from raccoons and fox and coyotes.

That made me laugh.

 

[lovemeduckins]

10ducks...Hee hee on the older ones teaching your younger ones! I am sure the Pekins will show them all about pea addiction.

I will definitely keep these guys inside for a while, but I will take them out to 'introduce' them outside the pen probably next week when they settle.

I breathed a sigh of relief that some of you have successfully introduced younger ducks to older ones and it has worked out. I guess we will see what happens in the coming months, especially once the sex of the ducklings is established and they have grown.


Keep the stories coming, please!

Every little bit helps!




Angela

 

[jbear]

me too--this was good to read.. I have a fairly large yard, with 3 mature call ducks--two hens on nests and one very protective drake. Trying to introduce my 3 younger calls --hatched by silkies-- has been really stressful for all involved! Is he EVER gonna quit chasing them? Is it because of the two nests that he is being such a brat to the babies? The babies are actually about 1 1/2 months now--almost fully feathered.

 

[columbiacritter]

I have my ducklings in a separate area of the run with just a line of netting between them the adult ducks and the laying hens so everyone will ge tused to each other at the ducklings get bigger. I won't let them in with the adults until they are at least 2 months old and big enough to handle being picked one. Plus I think they need at least two months of grower before they switch to eating the same layer mix as the big birds.

 

[animallover227]

Hey,I have a question similar to lovemeduckins

I currently have three bachelor ducks, all male, who get along great. its funny, but they actually freak out when they cant see each other. theyll put up a fuss until they are reunited. my question, though, is if i ever bring in a few girls, will this make them instead fight with each other? thanks!