A Rouen duck hatched 15 babies in a friends yard and then got hit by a car a couple days later. I offered to take the babies and have some questions about them since I've never had ducks. First, should I keep them separate from the baby chicks I already have? The chicks are 2-3 weeks older than the ducks. I have plenty of room in the baby pen to add the ducklings or I can divide the area if need be. Also, if they are raised here, will they stay here? Just wondering if they are going to grow up and fly off to join others (I live in Louisiana and theres plenty of them in the wild) or if I should plan on building some sort of housing for them as adults. Any other input is welcome also
I would brood them separately, ducks make a huge mess. I would think you might need to contain them to keep them home.
If they are rouen they won't be able to fly, I'm new to ducks but from what I've heard they're like men, if you keep them fed you won't be able to get rid of them But you should provide some housing for them to keep them safe I'd say, especially because they can't fly.
I put 2 pekin ducks in with my chicks (the chicks are about 1-2 weeks older)... it has been fine until this past week. They get along great, but the ducks are soaking my brooder - I'm cleaning/drying it out twice a day They are also growing at a faster rate - so they are twice the size of the chicks and when I put them in there they were all about the same size. Growing fast. They are all getting along well it is just that the ducks like to 'play' in the water (go figure). I have pine shavings as bedding, so the area isn't dripping wet, just wet bedding. I just scoop out the wet bedding and replace with dry several times a day. I've also added starter chick grit because the ducks seem to like to eat the bedding from time to time. I take my ducks outside on nice days (we've had few) and they follow me around the yard for a bit. They are also getting daily baths in my bathtub - which they love and then snuggle time in towels till they dry off - which I love. I hope to have my coop in place this weekend so that I can move them outside - my brooder is getting crowded and I don't have a bigger space for them. I will be able to hook up electric to my coop so I can still have the heat lamp out there for them - consistent warm weather is still a few weeks away. It is a personal and space choice. If you can't clean out the brooder a few times a day, then I would keep them seperate. If it doesn't bother you and you have the space (ducks grow fast) go for it.
