Will ducklings kill chicks?

[lavendermarie]

Hey! I have a lot of chickens, and about 20 baby chickens to add to the flock! Some are almost two weeks old, and some may be a week or two older. The issue is, we also want to add ducklings to the mix! They will have their own separate area of course, but I was wondering, since ducklings are big and have large… mouths? (sorry i’m unsure of the proper term) Will the ducklings kill and eat for example a small chick such as a silkie if the silkie managed to get into the duckling’s box? And will this become an issue in the future when the ducks are grown and new spring when we get new chicks? Thank you to everyone who reads this I hope it made enough sense! Any information helps!

 

[IvysAnimals]

They shouldn't be able to eat the chicks if that's what you're saying...They might peck at the chick but it's more likely for a chick to do more damage than a duck...They might bully them but usually there's no problem between them

 

[nchls school]

Hey! I have a lot of chickens, and about 20 baby chickens to add to the flock! Some are almost two weeks old, and some may be a week or two older. The issue is, we also want to add ducklings to the mix! They will have their own separate area of course, but I was wondering, since ducklings are big and have large… mouths? (sorry i’m unsure of the proper term) Will the ducklings kill and eat for example a small chick such as a silkie if the silkie managed to get into the duckling’s box? And will this become an issue in the future when the ducks are grown and new spring when we get new chicks? Thank you to everyone who reads this I hope it made enough sense! Any information helps!

I have my ducks with the chickens/chicks. The ducks/ducklings have never hurt a chick/chicken. Chickens may be hurt by a duck trying to mate with them; different anatomy. I have never had this happen, but others, I hear, have. The ducks I have are/were muscovy, mallard, runner, and call ducks.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Ducklings won't eat chicks. I would be more concerned about the chicks pecking at the ducklings if anything. The other potential issue you may come across is since ducklings need a water source deep enough to dunk their head you don't want anyone able to jump in the water and drown. You can circumnavigate this by using a small plastic container with a lid and cutting holes in the lid if it's short enough or in the sides if it's taller. As they age some drake's will try to mate with the chickens and with them having a corkscrew shaped penis this can actually permanently damage
to chickens reproductive system. It doesn't always happen, but you will need to watch out for it. I have two drake's now who could care less about the chickens and just spend the day following their harem of ducks around.

 

[lavendermarie]

They shouldn't be able to eat the chicks if that's what you're saying...They might peck at the chick but it's more likely for a chick to do more damage than a duck...They might bully them but usually there's no problem between them

Okay, thank you so much!

 

[lavendermarie]

I have my ducks with the chickens/chicks. The ducks/ducklings have never hurt a chick/chicken. Chickens may be hurt by a duck trying to mate with them; different anatomy. I have never had this happen, but others, I hear, have. The ducks I have are/were muscovy, mallard, runner, and call ducks.

Thank you, this was truly helpful!

 

[lavendermarie]

Ducklings won't eat chicks. I would be more concerned about the chicks pecking at the ducklings if anything. The other potential issue you may come across is since ducklings need a water source deep enough to dunk their head you don't want anyone able to jump in the water and drown. You can circumnavigate this by using a small plastic container with a lid and cutting holes in the lid if it's short enough or in the sides if it's taller. As they age some drake's will try to mate with the chickens and with them having a corkscrew shaped penis this can actually permanently damage
to chickens reproductive system. It doesn't always happen, but you will need to watch out for it. I have two drake's now who could care less about the chickens and just spend the day following their harem of ducks around.

Thank you so much for this! We aren’t planning to get any drakes and if we do we aren’t going to keep them to keep our chickens safe. Thank you again!!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I raise both. I HAVE had ducklings kill chicks before, my first year - but not in the way you might expect (and it was entirely my fault). I placed day old just purchased ducklings in the same brooder box/pen with day old chicks - RSLs and similar. There was plenty of room, wasn't an issue. In less than a week/10 day's time, the ducks had put on so much weight relative to the chicks that when I added feed and they all stampeded, the ungainly ducks would sometimes walk all over the smaller chicks. One was crushed.

Keep them seperated until the chicks have at least 3-4 weeks of growth, and you won't have that issue.

 

[lavendermarie]

I raise both. I HAVE had ducklings kill chicks before, my first year - but not in the way you might expect (and it was entirely my fault). I placed day old just purchased ducklings in the same brooder box/pen with day old chicks - RSLs and similar. There was plenty of room, wasn't an issue. In less than a week/10 day's time, the ducks had put on so much weight relative to the chicks that when I added feed and they all stampeded, the ungainly ducks would sometimes walk all over the smaller chicks. One was crushed.

Keep them seperated until the chicks have at least 3-4 weeks of growth, and you won't have that issue.

I’m sorry that happened and thank you for all the info! The tips really helped, I have a separate area for the ducklings so I think it’ll be okay! Thank you again!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I’m sorry that happened and thank you for all the info! The tips really helped, I have a separate area for the ducklings so I think it’ll be okay! Thank you again!

Thanks - it wasn't that costly a mistake (from my perspective - obviously the chick had a different view), I'm not really wired for emotion. Happy to share in hopes of helping others avoid my mis-steps. Good luck on your poultry journey!