When I put all the ducks together?

[ozark hen]

I have some Muscovies who are 2 weeks old (nine of them) and 2 Muscovies who are 6 weeks old. They are in separate pens. Babies are inside a pen inside the coop and the older two are in a tarp covered pen outside. My question is: when can I put the two groups together? I will be keeping them outside in the tarp covered pen together. You know smelly ducks can be and these babies sure are smelling up the coop.

I clean my coop daily but don't want the babies outside if they will be pecked on by the older ducklings nor outside if they will be too cold now that the weather has changed and it is in the lower 40's at night now. Neither group has been allowed outside their pen as yet. I also have three four month old Mallards who go to the outside pen to visit the older two Muscovies...not friendly with each other as yet.

 

[bantymum]

I have the same dilemna! I have 2 little undersized ducklings, mallards.
I keep them inside at night and let them out in the morning in the sun.
At first the bigger ones grabbed them so I grabbed the littlies to save them.
I had them separated for 1 week through fine mesh in the same run.
Now this week I tried again to let them together, the littlies ran over to the biggies and the biggies scared them away by putting their heads down and chasing them. That is as far as they went. They chase them away to a invisable line that they arent allowed to cross then everyone settles down on the grass. No more pecking.
I need to have 2 feeders going and 2 waterers.
The biggies wont let the littlies share food or water so I have to watch that they too get nourishment.
Can you try this too, have them so they can face off through wire for a week then release them.
Good luck with them!

 

[ozark hen]

Thanks Helen, I can put the three mallards in the same pen with the older muscovies for a couple weeks at night as the mucovies are in a large cage within that pen. That is where they fuss at each other through the wire. Good idea. then when they are all ok I can move the nine babies into the cage within the pen. things you don't think of when you get different age groups..

 

[okiechick57]

I was also wondering to let my 2 runners and one Rouen in ......or should I say out with the 3 adult Muscovies I have ? My babies are kept totally separate since I got them...they all check eachother out....but I can tell my Drake would not be nice if he were to get into their pen now.......at what age is it safe to let them free range together? The babes are about 8 weeks old now......... I will watch this posting to see how those things work for you both !

 

[Katy]

I never combine groups until they're the same size...of course if you're dealing with different breeds that may never happen. I guess if there's gonna be a big size difference I'd wait until the younger group is mature to combine them. I have a group of male call ducks and the 3 youngest have been in the older ones pen for a year and they still don't hang together. The older ones don't chase and beat on them much anymore, but you can tell the younger group is still leery of the older ones.

 

[ozark hen]

My two 7 week old muscovies have been kept in a cage within a pen that holds three 5 month old mallards...I have kept them in together but separated by the cage for a week now. I turned them all loose in the yard today together. I was holding my breath....the two drakes..I assume the lavender and white is a drake as he is so much bigger than the black one..muscovies. My mallard drake pinched the muscovie several times but the muscovies ran with the guineas for a couple hours. By the end of the day all the ducks were together quietly. I herded them all to their pen (with the cage door left open|)and they all went in together and bed down together peacefully!!! woo hoo I am so proud of them!
we moved all the 3 week old muscovies into an enclosed pen outside with several bales of straw lining the north end. It has a tarp over the back of the top. Wire is buried under the pen to keep predators from digging in. this will be their first night outside. Oh, they also have a large dog house in there filled with straw. Don't know if they will use it yet. I will see how they do in the morning. The small coop they were in ...you couldn't catch your breath from the smell and I turn the shavings every day but ducks just stink. They are comical and marvelous creatures but they just stink.

 

[bantymum]

Oh Im so glad they were well behaved.
I now have my littlies roaming with their bigger siblings and they havent fought once.
Its so much easier on us when they can all be together.
Mumma duck is incubating again and is due in three weeks.
Daddy duck is with mumma duck for now until the babies come, then he will be on his own unless the bigger ones are his size then he can hang out with them., heres hoping.
Yes they do smell, i had a little mud pond for them which i tipped their dirty pond water into. Never again!! by 3 weeks it had started to really smell and it didnt smell healthy and was attaracting flies etc.
So I filled it in with sawdust, pine needles everything I could find to dry it out.
Now I have their little pool in the middle of the grassed area so I can use it to water the lawn with without getting muddy. They still get their mud intake from little puddles.

 

[ozark hen]

Here are a couple pics of the muscovies yesterday during their outting. They pretty much stayed with the guineas yesterday but they are melding into the flock quite nicely now.

the babies we put into the large pen. We went out last night when we heard it was going to frost and made a "pen" for them with bales of straw to stay in so they would be warm. My dh said they would be fine but I worried about their first night outside. ha

 

[ozark hen]

Well this morning when I let the two older muscovies outside they wandered the yard until they discovered the pen with the younger muscovies in it. Wow, they stayed right beside the pen all morning so this afternoon I followed my gut instinct and opened the pen and herded the two older ones inside with the younger ones. They all acted like long lost friends. Yes, they did come from the same farm but had not even seen each other. The younger ones were one day old and kept in a separate building where I bought them. Here they are all together.

 

[bantymum]

Gosh they are so pretty,
its lovely that they have started to be nice to them, its so much easier for you now.
I just love ducks, they have such pretty faces.
I will go and buy more hay today too and make a nice little nest just like yours.
It has been raining here on and off so any hay I did put out got wet and smelly after they slept in it. More for the compost!! wow my compost is going to be rich this year!
Have fun and thanks for the lovely pics.