Ducks 1 week apart in the same brooder

[MindfulMeg]

I received my order of 11 ducklings from metzer this last Thursday, unfortunately one of them did not make it so I will be receiving a replacement of two ducks sometime this week. By then my ducklings will already be a week old and I am wondering if I can put the new arrivals in the existing brooder with the other 11. I have one heat plate which is working fine for now, but if I must separate them I will need to order another heat plate. When the 11 arrived there was a golden 300 that was significantly smaller than the rest and they all picked on her for the first 2 days. She is pretty desist though and they have accepted her now. But I worry about what they will do to the new babies. Should I just plan to separate them? I will most likely be working that day and will have to pick them up from the post office and basically leave them alone shortly after so will not be able to keep an eye on them right away.

 

[Kiki]

Is the brooder inside your house?
What temp is it inside your house?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Can you make 2 areas in your brooder with something to keep the older ones on one side so your 2 new have time to adjust and the older ones can see them? I had to do this and took out the heat plate and used my heat lamp so both sides could have heat. It took less than a week for them all to be together I would also supervise time where they could all be together outside of the brooder so they all had plenty of room to move around. You'll be surprised how much larger your older will be to the new ducklings. I used some extra hardware cloth and covered the edges in gorilla tape and used that to separate

 

[MindfulMeg]

Right now they are in a kiddie pool (inflatable) in my bedroom which is probably around 75 degrees. It would be hard to put up a divider I think.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Could you put a small dog crate in the pool with food and water just to give the little one time to get over the trip and gain strength? Thats is going to be pretty overwhelming for the 2 new one to be put in with the older ones. Then gradually introduce daily until they are accepted?

 

[MindfulMeg]

Yeah I think I may try to pound a plastic tote to put in there and a separate plate so they can see each other.

 

[MindfulMeg]

Find*

 

[KathiQuacks]

What Miss Lydia said. Putting 2 little, tired ducklings with a bunch of big ducklings would be a bad idea. I’d separate them for sure, but thankfully, you shouldn’t have to have them separate for too long. I’ve had 2 week olds with hatchlings, and there was some conflict for sure, but it simmered down after a few days, and they got along well from then on.