Time to Move the Ducklings Out?

[callnfowl]

I have 5 ducklings that I am brooding naturally with one of my hens (who also hatched them). They are 2 1/2 weeks old, healthy and growing. There is plenty of room in their brooding cage (which is a chicken wire enclosure withing the larger coup so they can see the adult hens, but are separated from them by the wire) for the ducklings, but space is getting tight with my hen. It is time for the duckling's water area to get bigger (a 14" planter saucer surrounded by gravel and rocks to keep the mud down) and for my hen to have less water and more room for dust baths.

Right now I am putting my hen out in the morning for a few hours (so she can get a dust bath and some chicken food). It is tough on both her and the duckling and they mostly just follow each other up and down the wire enclosure peeping and clucking until I put her back in with them. I also let the hen lead her ducklings back and forth through the larger coup for their daily bath in a bigger tub where they can dive and fully submerge. I have not had any of the hens show aggression to the ducklings except for warning pecks when the little ones try to steal greens from the big girls.

So -- do I move the hen out for good and just leave the ducklings in the enclosure for another month? If so, when will the attachment break so that they are not constantly looking for each other?

Or -- do I let my hen move her ducklings into the big coup now so that they can all stick together and where there is plenty of room for duck water/mud and chicken dust baths?

Or -- do I keep things as they are for a few more weeks until the ducklings are older.

Any advice, especially from those with mixed flocks would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jdywntr]

I have 5 ducklings that I am brooding naturally with one of my hens (who also hatched them). They are 2 1/2 weeks old, healthy and growing. There is plenty of room in their brooding cage (which is a chicken wire enclosure withing the larger coup so they can see the adult hens, but are separated from them by the wire) for the ducklings, but space is getting tight with my hen. It is time for the duckling's water area to get bigger (a 14" planter saucer surrounded by gravel and rocks to keep the mud down) and for my hen to have less water and more room for dust baths.

Right now I am putting my hen out in the morning for a few hours (so she can get a dust bath and some chicken food). It is tough on both her and the duckling and they mostly just follow each other up and down the wire enclosure peeping and clucking until I put her back in with them. I also let the hen lead her ducklings back and forth through the larger coup for their daily bath in a bigger tub where they can dive and fully submerge. I have not had any of the hens show aggression to the ducklings except for warning pecks when the little ones try to steal greens from the big girls.

So -- do I move the hen out for good and just leave the ducklings in the enclosure for another month? If so, when will the attachment break so that they are not constantly looking for each other?

Or -- do I let my hen move her ducklings into the big coup now so that they can all stick together and where there is plenty of room for duck water/mud and chicken dust baths?

Or -- do I keep things as they are for a few more weeks until the ducklings are older.

Any advice, especially from those with mixed flocks would be greatly appreciated.

I would intergrate them into the flock. But I let my moms decide when their babies should go out. Though I've never let a chicken hatch/raise ducklings.

If you want to raise the ducklings yourself you can leave them and let mom out. If they are there, within her sight though, she is unlikely to just give up on them. She could also potentially injure herself trying to get to "her" babies. If you want to wait to let them out, I'd move them elsewhere.

I don't think that you need to leave them all in there for longer. If you've not had any outright aggression from other birds, then you should be okay. I'd supervise them at first but things should be okay.

I have chickens and ducks that share a yard and sometimes a coop but they do have seperate housing though I've had ducks brood in the chicken coop and chickens sleep in the duck coop.

I have not had any problems between babies and adults though the littles do sometimes get pecked at ( non-aggressively by chickens and other ducks) and have been stepped on by adults. I've had no injuries though.

Good luck to you and your chicken/ducks.