need tips for adding to our flock

[HSerChickLady]

Our new ducklings are almost 6 weeks old and need to go outside asap if the weather will cooperate. We want to move them in with our flock of 2 yr old adults at some point this summer. They will be getting temporary quarters very soon (dog kennel and a small house that hubby will make). I plan to place the temporary quarters next to the older birds so they can get used to each other through the fence while the young birds finish growing. My older birds consist of 2 mallard drakes, 4 mallard girls, 2 Cayuga girls, and 2 Swedish girls. I will be adding 5 white crested and 1 rouen all of undertmined sex. When the time comes to merge them all together what tips can you share for making the move?

 

[TLWR]

You have a good start - make it so they can check each other out, but not get to each other.
Then supervised time together.
Then I do some time alone together.
Then I put them in the same house at night - I divided at first, hope I can avoid that this time.


Time and patience

 

[Mashallaharabia]

We just keep all of ours together in one flock, all ages, both sexes. The mothers are watchful and protective; but I've never seen the adults or older ducklings harm hatchlings. In fact except for some pulling of tail feathers ( which is nothing) I've never had any of our ducks harm each other.

We have ducks ONLY, no chickens ( I will never have chickens!!) or other poultry.

 

[TLWR]

We just keep all of ours together in one flock, all ages, both sexes. The mothers are watchful and protective; but I've never seen the adults or older ducklings harm hatchlings. In fact except for some pulling of tail feathers ( which is nothing) I've never had any of our ducks harm each other.

Which works fine if you are doing a hands off approach and letting the ducks hatch/raise.

For those that have their ducks as pets or even food/eggs but are brooding with no mother duck, existing adult ducks often want those little buggers gone, so we have to do a more introduce and see what works approach.

 

[HSerChickLady]

Thanks, we'll go slow with the introduction. We will be moving our older ducks to a better draining area of the yard this summer as well. So I'm hoping that moving the adults will also help to curb some territory disputes since everyone will be going someplace new (coop will be the same but new run and new location). I'd love to move the ducklings into a section of the coop right now with a heat lamp to get them out of this house but I wouldn't have a way to let them outside and I don't want all that water in the coop. These 50 degree days and below freezing nights really need to go. It was spitting snow again this morning. Ick!

 

[lynnee]

You definitely need to wait until they are fully grown which is about six months old and make sure that you don't have to many males to female ratio because they will start fighting and they can kill each other and the female ducks

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

You definitely need to wait until they are fully grown which is about six months old and make sure that you don't have to many males to female ratio because they will start fighting and they can kill each other and the female ducks

Six months seems so long. I am getting more ducklings this week to add to my 2 month old flock. I plan to raise the newbies very close to the current flock, with barriers of course. Because my 2 month olds are so big now, I was planning on removing the barriers when the newbies are 2 months old and the currents are 4 months old.

Maybe it makes a difference that mine will all still be quite young.

 

[lynnee]

What I have found is that the bigger ducks will attack the smaller ones no matter what the age so just make sure to keep to separate

 

[Mashallaharabia]

I have 18 ducks at present, both sexes, have had two clutches of young ,all live together in one flock, and I have NEVER had any ducks injure each other, much less kill!!

 

[K9Dave]

I personally think that it has to do with how happy they are. Birds/Ducks that are happy in my experience barely even pay attention to each other. I don't know why some people have problems with aggression and some don't. Besides breed differences, that's the only thing I can think of why they would be SO different.