Removing ducklings from hen question....

[Patriciaosborne]

May I ask why people take the ducklings away from their mamas? I’m a first time duck mom with newly hatched ducklings and was just curious. I would feel horrible after all the work mama went through just to take them away from her. Thanks for any input

 

[bhaugh]

Unless the ducklings are being picked on why separate them from the group. They learn so much more from the flock than we can ever teach them as humans. The moms take turns babysitting and the ducklings learn how to be ducks. Loving on baby drakes can create aggression so I let the drake or ducks put them in their naughty place. My drakes only downfall was that he was so big they would get underfoot and get squished. As soon as moms heard the peeping, they came straight away or the drake would lift his foot off so they could get out from underneath him. I don't keep mean drakes so if he can't get along with the group, he's out. At about 3 weeks the ducklings become more independent and easier to pull from the flock.

 

[Ksebasty]

May I ask why people take the ducklings away from their mamas? I’m a first time duck mom with newly hatched ducklings and was just curious. I would feel horrible after all the work mama went through just to take them away from her. Thanks for any input

Here on our little hobby farm, we take the ducklings to keep them alive. Our land is mostly wooded with LOTS of predators. They have a coop area or the barn they can go into at night, but are completely free range. We tried twice to let mama duck do it all and we always lost one to two ducklings a day until they were all gone. When I put them in a brooder for a few weeks, until they’re a bit bigger, our survival rate is much better.