Quarantining Ducklings?

[Kangasox]

If my ducklings hatch, they will hatch 4/18. If I place an order for ducklings shipping on 4/27, they will presumably be born 4/26ish, so 8 days younger. Can both sets be raised together? And would I need to quarantine the shipped ducklings from the ducklings I hatched?

 

[Amiga]

I would keep them in separate brooders for a few weeks - or a split brooder. If you are buying from a reputable source, there is not much concern.

However - to be absolutely sure, you would need to keep them separate for a bit of time.

The bigger concern I would have is the size difference, and how rough even ducklings can be to newcomers. They need to be able to see each other for a while first - and each brood is unique. You may have very little conflict.

 

[Kangasox]

Thanks @Amiga . I'd like to put you on retainer for all my duck questions . You always have such knowledgeable respones in threads. I'm just not sure what to do. 6 eggs in the incubator, but if none hatch, I don't want to be duckless. The shipping coordination is just not exact. Would I be better off with a 4/13 ship date with mine hatching 4/17 or 4/18? I'm thinking of ordering from Metzer.

 

[TLWR]

I'd order for a 4/20 ship date.


We hatched some at school, but also ordered a small batch for my coworker and I so we were sure we had 2 females as we were each only keeping one of the hatching ducklings.
I had the school ducklings in a brooder at school and picked up the new babies on the way to school one morning and just added them in. The school ducks hatched before we expected them to, so their hatch dates were about a week apart. We had no issues with mixing the school hatch and Metzer order.

 

[Kangasox]

Thanks. 4/20 was my plan, but not available, of course. only options are 4/13 or 4/27. Not sure what to do!