New Ducklings

[2 Magnolias Egg]

Hello- I had 3 ducks, 2 girls 1 boy. Unfortunately, the boy and 1 girl were killed by predators. I have since gotten my older female a new home, she seems pretty happy. My daughter now has two baby ducklings who are 3 weeks old, and I wonder when I can place the babies in the pin? The remaining big girl duck was always the most social, caring, and Momma like duck of the 3 originals.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Trisseh]

Depending on the climate/weather there, and your set up, you could introduce them in a see but don’t touch way, same as with chickens. Mine did really well with the babies sequestered in my “duck jail” (just the corner of the duck house, with a nice dark alcove to hide in) and a wire panel between so the older ladies could see and hear them. They stayed in there at night and in a small pen in the larger duck pen during the day so again, they were nearby but not underfoot. I think I did about a week of that, and then they all went in together at night with no issues. I supervised them outside in the larger pen for a while before leaving them to their own devices though, until they established their relationships. My one girl is terrified of baby ducklings so she was the easy one. The other girl tried to beat on them at first but quickly settled down once the ducklings stopped getting in her face. They’re a lot easier to integrate than chickens.