Please help, sex links attacking duck and other chickens,

[PearlTheDuck]

I have three nine month old golden sex link hens and 3 other hens two weeks younger (one Barnevelder, one cream brabanter and one mix breed.. plus a buff orpington duck the same age)

I had to separate the duck for a few weeks because a dog kept coming around and killed one of my hens (dog no longer comes around after contacting owners) and now I tried adding her back to the flock and the sex links attack her, her eyes are very bloody and skin is missing (they try to peck out her eyes) and they also are very rude and bossy to the other hens (grabbing onto their feathers, pecking them etc..) they have always been bossy and act like they run the flock. I am getting more ducks and chickens this spring and already know they will try to attack them. I'm at a loss and don't know what to do, I can't separate them

I am sure I will have to sell them but I came on here to see if there is any last solutions, or any way to make them stop. I really don't want to get rid of them, I have put 9 months of hard work and money into them, and I need their eggs, I'll have only three chickens that lay every couple of days if I sell the sex links (the sex links lay every day) but I can't have them take out my ducks eyes and bully the other hens.

I am planning to get rid of them by tomorrow if I can't find a solution

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How big is your set up? Aggression gets worse the smaller the area. I have some muscovy hens in my shed with my large breed chicken flock. There are occasional skirmishes between them but nothing serious because the loser can always get away.

In my experiences sex links are more aggressive than other breeds. There's not much you can do but separate ducks and chickens or get rid of the troublemakers. If you are adding more you may end up with more troubles down the road if you don't have plenty of room.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

How big is your set up? Aggression gets worse the smaller the area. I have some muscovy hens in my shed with my large breed chicken flock. There are occasional skirmishes between them but nothing serious because the loser can always get away.

In my experiences sex links are more aggressive than other breeds. There's not much you can do but separate ducks and chickens or get rid of the troublemakers. If you are adding more you may end up with more troubles down the road if you don't have plenty of room.

Area is not the issue, they fee range our huge backyard (we have 2 acres)

Thank you for your help
Any good breeds you recommend? That are friendly and get along better with other birds

 

[aart]

Having big free range space does not always alleviate crowding aggression, especially this time of year.
Where do they sleep at night and how big is that space?

Single bird integration can be hard, maybe worse when another species is involved,
might be best to keep duck separate to protect her until you get her some flock mates of her own.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

Having big free range space does not always alleviate crowding aggression, especially this time of year.
Where do they sleep at night and how big is that space?

Single bird integration can be hard, maybe worse when another species is involved,
might be best to keep duck separate to protect her until you get her some flock mates of her own.

We built our own coop, it's 8x8 feet. The duck is in a separate house that is 5x5 feet

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Area is not the issue, they fee range our huge backyard (we have 2 acres)

Thank you for your help
Any good breeds you recommend? That are friendly and get along better with other birds

I only have recent experiences with muscovy ducks. I think you are asking about chicken breeds? Higher production breeds like sex links and leghorn based breeds are more high strung and can be more likely to be pushy. They do lay the best though.

Dual purpose breeds like Orpingtons, rocks, and Australorp lay less yearly but lay longer in their lives and tend to be overall more calmer, but every bird is an individual so some are troublemakers no matter the breed. The birds I see fighting with my ducks are the lighter breeds like Ancona and appenzellers.

 

[junebuggena]

Chickens are very territorial creatures. They also tend to be aggressive towards fowl that are different in their eyes. Since you separated the duck long enough for the chickens to see it as a stranger, you are going to need to take reintegration slowly. Keep the duck in it's own run, so that the chickens can get used to having the duck around, without feeling that their territory is being threatened. After a few weeks, you can let the duck out to join the flock.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

I only have recent experiences with muscovy ducks. I think you are asking about chicken breeds? Higher production breeds like sex links and leghorn based breeds are more high strung and can be more likely to be pushy. They do lay the best though.

Dual purpose breeds like Orpingtons, rocks, and Australorp lay less yearly but lay longer in their lives and tend to be overall more calmer, but every bird is an individual so some are troublemakers no matter the breed. The birds I see fighting with my ducks are the lighter breeds like Ancona and appenzellers.

Yes chicken breeds I've heard buff orpingtons have good personalitys, I'm going to look more into a bunch of breeds though

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yes chicken breeds I've heard buff orpingtons have good personalitys, I'm going to look more into a bunch of breeds though

I love my buff Orpingtons, they are one of my favorite breeds. They are good all around birds.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

Chickens are very territorial creatures. They also tend to be aggressive towards fowl that are different in their eyes. Since you separated the duck long enough for the chickens to see it as a stranger, you are going to need to take reintegration slowly. Keep the duck in it's own run, so that the chickens can get used to having the duck around, without feeling that their territory is being threatened. After a few weeks, you can let the duck out to join the flock. 

The chickens could see her, it was just chicken wire seperating them. So far they've been getting along great today, hopefully it stays that way. I think they pick on her also because she's the only duck, which will change in a few months