Two week old ducklings and day olds. Help!

[HouseMouseHens]

Hi all! I have a Welsh Harlequin and a Kakhi Campbell (both female) that were hatched on the 25th or 26th of last month, and yesterday we picked up four day old Ancona ducklings (straight run). We are chicken keepers and this is our first time with ducks, so we asked around, and everyone we talked to said that ducks are the same as chickens and up to a four week age difference is okay. Well we brought the littles home, and the two bigger girls were trampling all over them and nipping at them. We separated them, but the big bucket we have them in is going to be WAY too small in even a few days. Our two older duckies outgrew it within a week and there was only two of them.
So my question is, what should we do? We dont have room in our garage to get another big baby pool, so they will have to go in the same space together soon, but the girls are just SO much bigger than them! Anything we can do to get them used to each other fast? We are putting them in with the big girls for an hour or so a day while we can be out there watching them, but they still get trampled. And I am worried about the littles drowning in the big water fount we have in there (Its one of those 5 gallon metal fount things, not just open swimming water.

 

[jdywntr]

You will need to keep them seperated until they are similar size or at the VERY least for a few weeks until the younger ones are able to move around better. Even then, you will need to keep a close eye on them so that the older ones don't injure the younger. Keep them seperate and get started on their adult home (if you haven't yet) you can then move the older ones out. Other than time and being able to see each other there really is nothing that you can do to make them get along.

If you put them together, you will need to change the waterer so the younger don't drown. It would be safest to keep them seperate until they are bigger.

 

[tull14]

I had 2 pekins and 12 mallards that are 1 week apart I separated their brooder with a screen so they could see each other for the first 2 weeks. Once my mallards got a little size to them I started giving small visits between the two increasing the time more and more until I felt that my pekins would not harm my mallards. Now they are all living out in their permanent home (my barn) together and are doing great!

 

[HouseMouseHens]

So I called the chick/duckling "expert" at the local farm store I frequent, and she advised me to try splitting the two older ones up and putting the babies in with the calmer of the two and see how they do. So I put the Campbell in the bucket with a stuffed cow and the babies in with the Welsh Harlequin. I also took out the big waterer and put in a baby one. We'll see how they do. The Campbell is a bit sad, but I think she will be okay. And no one has gotton trampled yet.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

I had 2 pekins and 12 mallards that are 1 week apart I separated their brooder with a screen so they could see each other for the first 2 weeks. Once my mallards got a little size to them I started giving small visits between the two increasing the time more and more until I felt that my pekins would not harm my mallards. Now they are all living out in their permanent home (my barn) together and are doing great!

Oh, I hadn't thought of putting in a screen! Maybe I'll do that and see how it goes. Not sure how to go about putting a screen down the middle of a plastic baby pool though.... Hmm...

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Oh, I hadn't thought of putting in a screen! Maybe I'll do that and see how it goes. Not sure how to go about putting a screen down the middle of a plastic baby pool though.... Hmm...

Well, I made the duckies an area in the pool. It's working out well so far.
Thanks for the idea!