Question Re: Unforeseen Duckling Issue (New Owner)

[ScarlettFever]

Hello, all! I've had chickens for about five years, but I'm brand new to ducks. I've wanted some for several years (ever since I started reading all the posts on here about how great they are)! But I was always concerned about ending up with a drake, since I had chickens (now just the one). But I've recently become friends with someone who has a farm & a few ducks of her own, and she says she'd be happy to take any drakes (or overly noisy ducks) that I ended up with. That seemed like the perfect solution, so I finally took the plunge! Now I have an issue that I'm hoping someone can help me with!

Thanks largely to all the great breed suggestions here, I went with four Runners, three White Cresteds, and three Welsh Harlequins. I realize that the Runners may prove to be noisier than I can justify keeping (my neighbors all say they won't mind...but I don't want to push my luck). But I just couldn't resist at least TRYING!

I got the Runners and Cresteds from Metzer, but they were out of the Welshies. And I had my heart SET on some of those! So I ordered the Welshies from Cackle, and had no choice but to get the "Small Trio" consisting of two girls and one boy. Unfortunately, the hatch dates ended up being a week apart. This wouldn't have been a big deal with chicks, but I forgot how much faster ducklings grow! After just one week the White Cresteds are already DOUBLE the size of the new Welsh Harlequins!

If the size difference wasn't enough of a concern, Cackle marked the male's whole forehead with permanent red marker ---which made him an instant target for the bigger ducklings when I tried to integrate them! According to Cackle this has never happened before, which surprises me because I know CHICKS will always go after any red/raw spots on their brooder-mates!! They told me I could just "gently pull out the red-dyed feathers". But that seems counter-intuitive since it'd only leave him with a bald (& likely reddish) head---just another target, right?! Opinions?

I currently have the Welshies in a separate make-shift brooder. I figured I'd at least give them a few days to recover from their travels before trying to introduce them to the "big kids" again. But if this dye really is permanent, I'm concerned about that little drake! Do ducklings have the potential to be as brutal in their pecking as chicks can be? Or is it safe to let them peck a little at first and just give them time to settle down? And if it's NOT safe, what on earth do I do? One brooder is hard enough to maintain, I definitely didn't think I was signing up for TWO! Plus, I'd like them to grow up together if possible. Even though I know I can't keep the drake, I planned to raise him along with the others until I found out for sure if he was the only boy, & then give my friend all the males & probably a female or two to keep her male/female ratio balanced. (She currently has two females of her own.)

I've also been surprised by how much more bonded ducklings are to their "siblings" than chicks are! For instance, when I took the drake to see if there was any hope of wiping the marker off with a wet cloth, one of his sisters shrieked at me the whole time! (The drake was surprisingly calm and quiet, himself!) When I gave up & returned him to the brooder, she nudged him & then finally settled down! With chicks, if I picked one of them up the others were always more like, "Thank God you grabbed HER not me!!" They were more concerned with not being my next target than with getting their sister back!

This super-bond concerns me, knowing a permanent separation looms in their future. Will they adjust pretty quickly? Or is there anything I can do to help both the ones leaving and the ones left behind make the smoothest transition possible? I wouldn't want to traumatize anyone! But I also can't subject my one hen to future drake-rapes ;-)! (I don't want to create separate yards for them either, because the hen's quite accustomed to enjoying her full 25’x60’ run! Plus we JUST bought a new predator-proof 10'x10'x8' enclosure for night, and can't afford to buy a second one!)

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

Ducklings can be tough on one another, so perhaps you can split the brooder in half with plastic poultry fence. Introducktions are tricky sometimes, and that red dye, well, I would not pull his feathers out, just let them grow out and go from there.

If he is destined to go to the other place, there will be some separation anxiety all around. Treats, and developing as good a relationship as you can with the ducks will help. In fact, you may want to decide with the other person what the treats will be, and what kinds of special fun he can have at the new place that he is familiar with at your place.

 

[ScarlettFever]

Ducklings can be tough on one another, so perhaps you can split the brooder in half with plastic poultry fence.  Introducktions are tricky sometimes, and that red dye, well, I would not pull his feathers out, just let them grow out and go from there.

If he is destined to go to the other place, there will be some separation anxiety all around.  Treats, and developing as good a relationship as you can with the ducks will help.  In fact, you may want to decide with the other person what the treats will be, and what kinds of special fun he can have at the new place that he is familiar with at your place.  

Thanks for the tips! Splitting the brooder in half is a great idea! Of course, it'll mean creating a whole new brooder since my current largest one still isn't big enough to split AND give both sides room away from heat lamps. But then again, since I didn't stick to my original plan of no more than 4-5 ducklings (woops!) , I was probably going to have to make a bigger brooder eventually, anyway!

And that's also a great idea re: treats! I can figure out what his/their favorites are and make sure to send plenty along with them! Do you know if they'd also find comfort in familiar food/treat DISHES? I could make sure to always feed in a certain dish & then send it along, as well, if that might make them feel more at home!

One last question...I was assuming I should separate them as soon as they're old enough to distinguish drake from duck. But would they transition better if I kept them right up until sexual maturity/adulthood? Perhaps there's never a great time to say good-bye!
Thanks again!