Integrating adult ducks to existing adult group

[CrazyDuckLady2727]

Hi everyone! I have 7 very sweet 1.5 year old runner ducks who have been together and raised by me and my husband since they were ducklings. 5 girls and two boys.

We live on a few acres surrounded by farm and they are fully free range and put themselves in their coop at night, we lock them in, and then let them out in the morning to do whatever they want until they walk themselves back into their house. . They’re very good about staying in a little one area section that has a creek in it and don’t wander far from their coop.

A local animal shelter just put two 2 year old girl pekin ducks up that need to be rehomed. They were raised as outdoor penned ducks. We would love to take them into our group and give them a good home! A few questions logistically if anyone has experience bringing adult ducks into an existing pack - especially one that is so trusted free range.

1. We live in Montana and the creek has officially frozen until March so our ducks just hang out on the lawn. Will the new ducks feel the need to explor and potentially wander since the creek isn’t grounding them? Also, won’t be able to swim for a few months.

2. Is there a concern with messing up our really good system we have going, and our ducks might forget to go home at night? Or the other ducks might not feel welcome into their space? Worried they won’t stick around since our ducks are so free.

3. Any integration problems / concerns in general??

Any thoughts or comments are so appreciated!! We don’t want something to go horribly wrong and we loose one of our original ducks or they run away bc of a “bad duck” (ha ha) I know I’m probably overthinking it but want to be thorough!!

 

[ruthhope]

Oh do rescue those to ducks from the Shelter!!!

I rescue, rehab and rehome ducks. I took in 2 pekin females at the end of September. At the time my son's flock of 3 pekins [1 drake and 2 females raised together and bonded for more than 2.5 years] were staying at my house. The new two ducks stayed in a dog crate in the duck house for the first night but I let them out with the other three during the day as they did not need quarantining [they came from a known source.] The two new girls spent most of the day on the back steps by my special needs pekin drake that was in a ducky wheelchair on the other side of my screen door from the steps. I think I put them back in the dog crate that night with the other three loose in the duck house. The next day the new girls again spent the day on the back steps with my special needs drake and had little interaction with my son's three that were out foraging. We took all 5 back to my son's house that night and my son put them all in his coop together before I got the divider in place to keep them separate over night. They were all one flock by the morning and remain a sweet little gaggle.

I have not been able to integrate a muscovy female with the flock so quickly. When I needed to rehome a muscovy hen, my son's pekin drake would not accept her and after a month of trying, my son's drake was rehomed to my house and the muscovy female integrated with the pekin females immediately he was gone! She shared a nesting box with one of the pekin females and they all three had a whale of a time in the kiddie pool together. But the difference between integrating a muscovy and integrating mallard derived ducks is that muscovy speak a different language to mallard derived ducks.

I would quarantine your new ducks for 28 days -- in a dog crate at night perhaps in a shed or garage away from your flock. As you don't know where they are from, you might want to deworm the two new girls. Then after 28 days, go in to see but no touch. A dog crate in the coop at night and a separately fenced of part of the garden -- a temporary dog pen on your lawn would work just fine. Watch how the new girls react to your flock and how the drake reacts to the new girls. You may find that there is no hostility/aggression and you can integrate the news girls with your flock in only a day or two. But you may need a little longer [a week] if the drake needs convincing he wants more ducks in his flock. Your new pekins are unlikely to want to wander off anywhere on their own. They are likely to stay near the coop most of the time and only venture a little further as they get settled in. They will learn from your flock about going in to the coop at night!

Good luck!