Minnesota!

[Minniechickmama]

Wondering what is the best way to introduce my chicks and ducks with each other.

I have 7 (4 BR, 3 BYM) chicks who are all together in their brooder, 3 ducks (1 Pekin, 2 Khaki Cambells) who have been in their brooder next to the chicks for a week and a half. The BR chicks are 3-4 weeks, the BYM are 2-3 weeks, ducks are 3 weeks old. The Pekin has taken on the role of lead duck and the Khaki's hang back to see what happens to the Pekin before trying anything. I have noticed one of the BYM seems to be in the top of the pecking order for the chicks...she even tells the roo's what to do. (I like her

.)

We have 10 new 3 day old duckies (not sure on breeds yet...did a mixed run). I know they have to stay away from the other ducks for awhile yet.

I plan on the ducks and chicks having their own coops/runs, but I will allow for them to free range together and I don't want them to get into tiff's.

When the new ducks are older, I plan on keeping them with the older ducks.

Take my advice, do NOT brood chicks and ducks together. The ducks need water deep enough to put their whole face and head into it, for starters. Ducks are messy, wet and nasty brooders and will trample chicks and soak them down. You can get by for a while for 3 in a 50 qt storage tub and clean it frequently. You could also use a rabbit cage and make sure you empty it every couple of days. In a month you should be able to move them outside providing we don't get that crazy late winter garbage creeping into May. They won't need as much heat after a few days as chicks do either. You are really biting off a good lesson as a beginner, aren't you? LOL

You will also want to consider letting the two species have their own separate areas with that many. Ducks can be brutal on chickens. Ducks will try to mate with ANYthing (Hey Ralphie, maybe you need a couple of ducks for Bert of the ladies of the chicken persuasion don't work out), and that means other drakes if there are no ducks around.
Good luck. It sounds like you have your hands full!

 

[Cearbhael]

I

so I recently bought some chicks from a breeder that said they were 98 percent female or something like that.  What do you supposed she did with the males?  Also, I've noticed some people on craigslist are looking for roosters only, is that just because they want to breed?

I would think the roosters only people are planning on raising them for broilers. My gran had a coop for roosters only and she would have LOTS of them. I loved to play with them and when picking out one for dinner, I always picked the ones I didn't like. I was shown how to sex baby chicks. You can actually see a little roosters penis on day one. Then there is the wing method to see if the wings go straight across or if they are long/ short, long/short.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Hey Ralphie did you get your turkey set up with her homing device yet? After you have a successful go of it at your place you can come on over here and set one up on my hen. Pretty sure she is nesting NOT on my property! 35 acres to choose from and she goes across the road. Just fantastic!

@nordicacres I had to move mine out cause they were just getting to be too smelly for us. I had to run an outdoor extension cord to the building they are brooding in. Not ideal but I don't have a choice. We are working on setting up a temporary coop/run for them until they can go into the main coop later on.

@Minniechickmama I had ordered Welsummers to see if they were a breed I would like. Mcmurray only sells them straight run. I only ordered 4 hoping maybe 50% on sexes. Right now I am most certain that 3 of them are roos with the size of the combs and wattles on 6.5 weeks being GINORMOUS! Yeah I have a lot of roosters in my brooding box. I figured 8-10 but right now I am sure its at least 10-12 with some straight run breeds to figure out still and the lets not forget they only guarantee 90% sexing on the pullets.

I shouldn't say this out loud, but Welsummers can be sexed at hatch. They are considered rare for MM, and they only sell bantams and rares as straight run. That is not a bad thing though, having 3 to choose from. Keep 2 if you are going to breed them. I haven't seen theirs, but I love my Wellies, they have great temperament and the roosters have never been aggressive. Don't hold me to that with hatchery stock, that is where a majority of the bad roosters come from, they don't select for temperament, but I do. If those don't work out for you, give me a call But too many people do know about the sexing at hatch and I may be sold out already if I don't start getting more coming out of the shell! But I have been having hatcher problems lately and have to come up with a new plan of action.

 

[Drea07]

Take my advice, do NOT brood chicks and ducks together. The ducks need water deep enough to put their whole face and head into it, for starters. Ducks are messy, wet and nasty brooders and will trample chicks and soak them down. You can get by for a while for 3 in a 50 qt storage tub and clean it frequently. You could also use a rabbit cage and make sure you empty it every couple of days. In a month you should be able to move them outside providing we don't get that crazy late winter garbage creeping into May. They won't need as much heat after a few days as chicks do either. You are really biting off a good lesson as a beginner, aren't you? LOL

You will also want to consider letting the two species have their own separate areas with that many. Ducks can be brutal on chickens. Ducks will try to mate with ANYthing (Hey Ralphie, maybe you need a couple of ducks for Bert of the ladies of the chicken persuasion don't work out), and that means other drakes if there are no ducks around.
Good luck. It sounds like you have your hands full!

The ducks and chicks are in separate brooders (have been since bringing them home), and will have separate coops/runs. I'm wondering how to integrate them together so there are no tiff's when they are free ranging.

 

[Cearbhael]

@Cyrus83
 Those chickens in your avatar are MIGHTY pretty!!!!

At least you have an avatar. I am on an iPhone and the avatar upload and change button doesn't exist!! "I don't need no stinking Avatar!!" Wait...Yes, yes I do need an avatar!! Someone fix this for me LOL!!

 

[Minniechickmama]

My Standard has never been allowed to run "loose" but I am hoping his "presence" with me settled into my folding rocking chair (yes a real rocker that folds like lawn chairs... Found in a camping store) will be deterrent enough to keep the large arial predators away, as well as wild fowl such as turkey's, ducks, geese and our ever present local pheasants. Actually I have NEVER seen a turkey here but we have pheasants coming out of the woodwork...the roosters are all ready crowing but not into breeding season yet... They sound a tad different when they start posturing for the hens.
Anyway, the dog will be there with me only when the flock is allowed to forage loose in the paddock. He will remain as always never loose. Well, I shouldn't say that... If he adopts the chickens as family he may get lucky. He is not your average fido...he plays hard and rough with our Bengal cat who only knows rough. I have seen him pin that cat by the throat but he is only playing... The Bengal has been known to leap onto the dogs back and sink in claws and teeth... Good thing the dog usually has a thick coat. If he feels one cat is too rough with another and a cat fight is brewing he will break it up (cat policing) if he feels they are threatened he is right there to protect them. My sister's Kuvasc actually stood guard over a baby bird that fell out of its nest (baby bird was TERRIFIED of my sister's dog which was huge but it was safe) of course that breed was bred to protect people as well as livestock, but she had never seen a baby bird before then. I have seen many a female dog get maternal and protect babies no matter what specie it was LOL.

My male is in the shallow end of the gene pool, I think. We used to call him Spigolli, after the burn-out surfer dude on Fast Times at Ridgemont High played by Sean Penn. He is a sweet boy, but he just cannot kill enough birds. The older female was very sneaky and while we were working on building the brooder house (our originally intended coop for layers until I went chicken crazy), she swiped a hen and dragger her into the corn field and began de-feathering her. That was the last straw with her. I used an old-fashioned method that cured her and she wants nothing to do with the chickens any more. The pup (almost 3) likes eating poop more than Ralphie's dog. She heads to the compost pile if she wanders outside of their perimeter. They are very smart dogs, and one of the reasons I got them was because my research said they do well with other animals. Well, after two flocks and a cat, and several squirrels, either the research was wrong or I got a batch that just didn't know that was supposed to be their behavior. I love them, and the current set-up works for us. I miss seeing the chickens roam, but they have ample space to pasture. I hear coyotes some nights running in the fields, had a fox before the fence got done and lost about 8 a few years ago from that. I have owls who swoop in at night and take their dinner to-go if the birds forget to go in. Until recently, the only thing I had ever lost to weasels were some rabbits we had in a hutch in the double corn crib. Now, I have to make more traps to try to get that bugger before I can let any of this year's hatches outside. I have already lost a few birds to that nasty thing or things.
I wouldn't trade my Standards for anything, but they sure haven't worked out as farm dogs.

 

[Cearbhael]

Would anyone want to buy this little fella from me for $15? I think he's going to be a rooster and I'm thinking I don't want a large rooster right now, maybe later on.

I am going to be getting Orps and Lav as well, but I am not ready for them yet. Plus my rooster has to be a lavender cookoo. I have to have that and at least a couple standard partridge hens to breed into every couple of years to keep the Isabelle colour and feathering good. I think, down the road, I will be able to use standard crele hens to do the same thing as long as they are well coloured, well feathered and quality breeding hens. I also want my flock to be 100% English breeding. Odds are your little roo is APA.

 

[Cearbhael]

I have to add, Rainin22, that little roo is going to be a looker. He is very upright and puffing his chest out already!!

 

[rainin22]

Some people looking for roosters only are from some of the Asian communities in the Cities that do prefer the purebreed birds or range raised birds as opposed to the CRXs. I sell most of my cull roosters to them, sometimes 100 or more at a time. However, I have started culling them as chicks due to the space I have and time and feed costs to raise them to a size where someone would buy them for eating. I know to some that sounds terrible. I have gone the way of keeping them all, and it is not practical. I do humanely euthanize them, and I believe you will find more breeders who are hatching for more than just themselves do the same. That is what the big hatcheries do as well with their excess cockerels. When the demand is for pullets/hens only for most people, and you can only have so many roosters in a flock and not have problems from them, what else is there to do with them?

Thanks for being so honest Minnie. Just curious, why are asian communities interested in purebreed birds? It must be a cultural preference? I have 20 chicks so far, but I have a feeling I will have 5 of them be roosters. I was planning on seeing if anyone wanted them, if not, culling them, but since I'm new to it all and the fiance would have to do the culling part- we will see what actually happens because I'm just a little too squeamish to do it myself.

 

[Cyrus83]