I have four, 9 week old Cayugas and six, 6 week old Welsh Harlequins. 2 Cayugas are drakes. The remaining 8 ducks are girls.
The Cayugas have been outside for 2-3 weeks in their coop and run. We have a larger fenced off area within the greater back yard where they forage and we also have been putting the “babies” in that area during warm days and evenings. They’ve had MANY days spent with chicken wire between them and they lay about 2-4 feet apart, with the wire between. We have allowed them to be together and the female Cayugas chase after the babies and grab their necks or peck at them. They can be together but separate all day and act lovely, and we’ll try putting them together for a bit and those older girls chase after them and it makes me nervous to allow this to happen so I intervene.
On weekends or afternoons I’ll even have the Cayugas in the forage area and put the babies in the run, again, they all lay close together. We’ve tried having one Cayuga with the babies, and the Cayuga won’t leave the area their siblings are in, and they lay next to each other with wire between them. We’ve done this both with a single male and single female and everything was fine, they are more bothered being apart than they are with the babies. The girl Cayuga did wander a bit more to forage but stayed quite close to her mates on the other side of the fence. As soon as there is more than one big duck with the babies, they gang up and chase after them and peck at them.
The Cayugas have been incredibly friendly and inquisitive since day one. They call for me and we have a nice bond. The Welsh Harlequins are completely spazzy 24/7. They are scared to death of me and my husband, despite me doing all the same things with them as I did with my Cayugas. All this to say, they get extra spazzy with the Cayugas, they act as if they are scared of their own shadow and all touch at all times as they walk around the yard. They take teeny steps everywhere they go, very cautious.
So how do I go about integrating these ducks and is there a way I can calm the harlequins down so they aren’t so spazzy? They will not eat dried soldier fly larva, or anything else I give them besides their food.
The Cayugas have been outside for 2-3 weeks in their coop and run. We have a larger fenced off area within the greater back yard where they forage and we also have been putting the “babies” in that area during warm days and evenings. They’ve had MANY days spent with chicken wire between them and they lay about 2-4 feet apart, with the wire between. We have allowed them to be together and the female Cayugas chase after the babies and grab their necks or peck at them. They can be together but separate all day and act lovely, and we’ll try putting them together for a bit and those older girls chase after them and it makes me nervous to allow this to happen so I intervene.
On weekends or afternoons I’ll even have the Cayugas in the forage area and put the babies in the run, again, they all lay close together. We’ve tried having one Cayuga with the babies, and the Cayuga won’t leave the area their siblings are in, and they lay next to each other with wire between them. We’ve done this both with a single male and single female and everything was fine, they are more bothered being apart than they are with the babies. The girl Cayuga did wander a bit more to forage but stayed quite close to her mates on the other side of the fence. As soon as there is more than one big duck with the babies, they gang up and chase after them and peck at them.
The Cayugas have been incredibly friendly and inquisitive since day one. They call for me and we have a nice bond. The Welsh Harlequins are completely spazzy 24/7. They are scared to death of me and my husband, despite me doing all the same things with them as I did with my Cayugas. All this to say, they get extra spazzy with the Cayugas, they act as if they are scared of their own shadow and all touch at all times as they walk around the yard. They take teeny steps everywhere they go, very cautious.
So how do I go about integrating these ducks and is there a way I can calm the harlequins down so they aren’t so spazzy? They will not eat dried soldier fly larva, or anything else I give them besides their food.
