Integrating new duck to solo mallard.

[Lin97588]

Hi all!

I have a 9 week old mallard that has been raised solo because it’s mate passed early on. We were able to get it a friend and she’s about 8 weeks old.

The oldest mallard has been transitioning outside in its coop and run for about 3 days overnight, and has been in the coop and run for about a week and a half during the day with supervised foraging around the yard. It recently flew to the lake, but wasn’t able to fly off the water because its wings are not fully developed. I’ve kept it in it’s run since then but was thinking about letting it out in the coming days once its used to the coop and run.

We got another mallard around the same age, and our oldest duck seems to be happy but also showing signs of dominance by chasing her and pecking at her feathers. She seems unfazed because she came from a farm with several other ducks.

What would be the best way to make her feel comfortable, and when should I let them both free range outside of their run? I’m afraid she is still so new to our home she might try to run off, but she seems pretty happy to not have to fight several other ducks for food and water. She’s so sweet and tame

 

[Miss Lydia]

When integrating it is best to do a see-no-touch method where you put the new duck and resident duck side by side with fencing and let them live this way for a while there is no timeline becasue every situation is different and might take a week maybe longer. A dog crate works for over night in the coop. Then as they have been side by side for a while you let them be together while tossing a yummy treat out for them and see how they react. I would give your new duckling time to get used to her new home before letting them out, especially at the lake. Hopefully, the dominance will subside after they get used to each other and become a small flock.