When to move ducklings to coop

[TheAmundsons]

Hi! We have 10 chickens (9 hens, 1 rooster) that are all roughly 5-6 months old that live in our coop. We also have a khaki campbell hen around the same age that is part of that flock. We had 2 pekin drakes (we rescued one from a friend) but had to get rid of them, as they became aggressive (which makes sense). Because we were left with one duck, we knew we needed to get more. We got 2 ducklings a few weeks ago, and are brooding them in the laundry room. We are very anxious to get them out to the coop though. At what age/stage of life is it recommended to move them: 1) to the coop and 2) in with an existing flock? Our ducklings are almost 6 weeks old, so I know we still have a little while, especially with the weather cooling down.

Some information about our current flock situation: we know we need to make our coop bigger, but that's for another post...I believe our run is 12x24, and it has a 5'x5' space that juts out from that where the pool is. I let the flock out at lunch to free range on our 8 acres until bedtime. We have had no issues with any of the current flock not getting along. They are all very friendly with each other.

That being said, we've also been trying to socialize the current flock to the new ducklings since the day we got them. We supervise them as the flock is free ranging. This past weekend we locked the ducklings in the run while we went to the grocery store. When we got home, the flock had somehow managed to get in with the ducklings! We were a little nervous at first, but saw that everyone was getting along great! Yesterday we had the ducklings out with us while we did chores, and we actually saw Mr. Rooster (yes, that's what we named him) protecting the ducklings and trying to corral them back with the rest of the flock! (Mr. Rooster is super amazing and we love him a lot)

Basically, we aren't afraid of the how they will integrate into the flock, just how they will fare in the weather. Any suggestions and personal stories are much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[PirateGirl]

At that age they likely have most all adult feathers and can be off heat and outdoors. When the can be integrated really depends on the rest of the flock and how they treat them. You can start with supervised time and work your way up. It will be pretty clear pretty quickly if it's working or not. Be gradual with increasing outdoor time as well. Start with the warmest part of the day and watch them (you will be able to tell if they are cold, they will stop being active, they will huddle, they will shiver). If they get cold, bring them in. Increase time until they are out all day and inside only at night, and eventually leave them out over night. You just don't want to shock them. I think mine started when days were in the 50s (around 5-6 weeks age) and nights were about 40*F. Good luck. Get those little stinkers outside.

 

[PirateGirl]

Personally I had much more trouble getting them used to the older ducks than used to the temperature. My adult drake was on a duckling rampage and tried to kill them. Even when they were separated by a fence he would pace back and forth and try and attack through the bars of the fence. Putting them together was not an option for quite some time.

 

[CayugaJana]

At that age they likely have most all adult feathers and can be off heat and outdoors. When the can be integrated really depends on the rest of the flock and how they treat them. You can start with supervised time and work your way up. It will be pretty clear pretty quickly if it's working or not. Be gradual with increasing outdoor time as well. Start with the warmest part of the day and watch them (you will be able to tell if they are cold, they will stop being active, they will huddle, they will shiver). If they get cold, bring them in. Increase time until they are out all day and inside only at night, and eventually leave them out over night. You just don't want to shock them. I think mine started when days were in the 50s (around 5-6 weeks age) and nights were about 40*F. Good luck. Get those little stinkers outside.

X2!

 

[TheAmundsons]

Wow! Thanks for the feedback! I guess I didn’t realize they were that close to being ready to go outside! It’s been 70-85 during the days here and 50-60 at night. We’ll try leaving them out more each day. Thank you!

As I mentioned in the original post, they have already been completely accepted into the flock which is amazing! They’re it there with the flock right now unsupervised, and I’m not even the least bit worried that anything will happen, based on the days they’ve spent together already!