Raising baby chicks and ducks

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Jdwyer3919

In the Brooder
Sep 20, 2023
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I am new to raising baby chickens and ducks. I have built a fully enclosed run for the chickens with a chicken house and an additional enclosed house and area for the ducks.
My questions are these;
When is it too cold for them to be outside? Both chickens and ducks. The chicks are 4 weeks old and currently in my guest room under a heat lamp. The ducklings are 4 weeks old and outside in the house, which is heated.
Can I introduce new chickens to the ones I have now? I got 4 chicks and turns out 2 are male. From what I have read I cannot keep 2 males in the same pen. I also read that each male should have 8 females, so I am MANY short. Is this correct?

Thank you!
 
hello and welcome to BYC!
sounds like your set up is good so far. how cold does it get where you live?
when ducks are 2 months old they are fully feathered and can handle the cold, where i live it gets down to 5 degrees F some nights in the winter, and they are fine in their coop without a heater. as long as they are protected from wind and rain/snow..
my coop has 12 windows of ventilation up high to let the humidity out so my birds don’t freeze.
someone else can answer about the chicks 🐥
 
Jdwyer3919 said:
I am new to raising baby chickens and ducks. I have built a fully enclosed run for the chickens with a chicken house and an additional enclosed house and area for the ducks.
My questions are these;
When is it too cold for them to be outside? Both chickens and ducks. The chicks are 4 weeks old and currently in my guest room under a heat lamp. The ducklings are 4 weeks old and outside in the house, which is heated.
Can I introduce new chickens to the ones I have now? I got 4 chicks and turns out 2 are male. From what I have read I cannot keep 2 males in the same pen. I also read that each male should have 8 females, so I am MANY short. Is this correct?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Welcome to BYC!!
 
Jenbirdee said:
hello and welcome to BYC!
sounds like your set up is good so far. how cold does it get where you live?
when ducks are 2 months old they are fully feathered and can handle the cold, where i live it gets down to 5 degrees F some nights in the winter, and they are fine in their coop without a heater. as long as they are protected from wind and rain/snow..
my coop has 12 windows of ventilation up high to let the humidity out so my birds don’t freeze.
someone else can answer about the chicks 🐥
Click to expand...
Thank you!
It gets to about 40 here rarely, currently it is 60's at night. It may get to 50 in a week or so I just don't know how long to leave the heater in. My duck house also has vents up high.
 
Welcome to BYC.
You can keep multiple roosters/cockerels together, depending on their personalities. You will usy need more than the commonly recommended square footage. I don't believe in the 8 to10 hens per rooster ratio either. That also depends on the personality of the rooster.
 
Welcome to BYC! Thanks for joining us!

Jdwyer3919 said:
When is it too cold for them to be outside? Both chickens and ducks. The chicks are 4 weeks old and currently in my guest room under a heat lamp. The ducklings are 4 weeks old and outside in the house, which is heated.
Click to expand...
What's the weather like where you are? At 4 weeks old I wouldn't have mine on heat anymore. Once all the birds are around 10 weeks old they are fully feathered and can tolerate cold weather so long as they have a properly ventilated coop.
Jdwyer3919 said:
Can I introduce new chickens to the ones I have now? I got 4 chicks and turns out 2 are male. From what I have read I cannot keep 2 males in the same pen.
Click to expand...
Yes, you can introduce new birds to your current flock. I'd try and find birds that are around your current birds age for smoother introductions, but older birds can also be integrated into the flock. How big is your coop?
Jdwyer3919 said:
I also read that each male should have 8 females, so I am MANY short. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
8 females is a good breeding ratio, not necessarily how many must be kept together. How many females you need greatly depends on the temperament of the roo. Some do perfectly fine with 3, others need 10 to prevent the ladies from being over mated. Also, multiple roosters CAN be kept together if they have good personalities, as well as a few other factors. Bachelor pads are a thing many people do.
 

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