The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: PJB on July 31, 2013, 07:52:50 pm
-
I recently put 6 duck eggs under a couple of Lavender Bantams and hey presto i get 5 out of 6 ducklings
4 are Drakes i think judging on size and manner and the 5th is a lot smaller and weaker so im thinking this is
a female and im keeping an eye as its getting a bit bullied by the others.
Anyhow my question is can i put them back with my Adult Pekin Ducks 1 drake 2 female (their parents)
will they get harmed? its been about 8 days but they are growing fast or shall i leave them with bantam for another couple of weeks?
Thanks , look forward to comments
-
I would be inclined to leave them with the bantam but put them in a run so they have close contact with the ducks, then gradualy start letting them out for a bit but keeping them apart on a night.
This way when they come to move in full time with the parent ducks they will be used to them.
-
Yep, I'd leave them with the broody for a bit longer - they'll need the heat for a bit longer as well, won't they? Although I guess it's already getting a bit squished until her by now. My ducklings went in with the adults at about 5 weeks, I think. By then they were big enough to look after themselves and it was no problem. At the moment I have six drakes and eleven ducks in together (along with the chickens and geese) and all has been well so far but I am going to sell off a couple of pairs/trios once I've managed to pick the ones I want to keep for breeding (twelve of them are only nine weeks old so I want to see the older plumage first).
H
-
Many thanks, i will leave them for a few weeks and then gradually transfer them over
-
As an aside I always find that vent sexing is easy and useful with ducks if you don't want to be overrun with males! Also selling them at day old is easier than trying to find homes for full grown drakes. The females get chased far too much if you have to many males. Of course you can always eat them, they are delicious!