New Feathered Baby Parents! Help!!

[leanntorina]

We have 6 ducks total. My best estimate: 3 were born a few weeks before Easter, 2 were born a weekish after and the baby was born the 2nd or 3rd of May. We got the bigger 3 the weekend before Easter, the baby May 4th and the other 2 babies May 10th. The struggle we are having is the bigger 3 freak out on the babies when we try to mix them. I have to shoo them away from the day pen because they will try to peck the babies through the sides. Any advice on WHY the bigger ones are so mean to the babies? They act like they are on a path to seriously hurt the babies when they are put together. We've tried twice to introduce the babies to them and it has not worked at all so they have been separated since.

These are all our babies today outside

 

[Miss Lydia]

We have 6 ducks total. My best estimate: 3 were born a few weeks before Easter, 2 were born a weekish after and the baby was born the 2nd or 3rd of May. We got the bigger 3 the weekend before Easter, the baby May 4th and the other 2 babies May 10th. The struggle we are having is the bigger 3 freak out on the babies when we try to mix them. I have to shoo them away from the day pen because they will try to peck the babies through the sides. Any advice on WHY the bigger ones are so mean to the babies? They act like they are on a path to seriously hurt the babies when they are put together. We've tried twice to introduce the babies to them and it has not worked at all so they have been separated since.

These are all our babies today outside

Welcome to BYC..

The older ones just don't like newcomers and want them to know it. So what you have to do is set it up so they can live side by side. if you have to put some plastic poultry fencing between them so the older ones cannot peck at the babies through the fencing but they can all still see each other. until the youngest ducklings are pretty much the same size as your older ones they should not be in with them yet. As you said they act like they want to do serious harm and they could. So when you can be out with them all you can try letting them all be together on common ground and if you in corporate treats into it hopefully they will be so busy scarfing up the treats they won't notice the little's and will begin to get use to them. It's a slow process getting the dominant older ducks to accept younger ones but it can be done with patience and lots of treats. good rewards for good behavior.
your ducks are lovely.