Yes, the two chucks (ducks that think they are chickens) are a pair of male ducks added to our farm for the crime of having relations with chickens. They were raised with chicks and when mature tried to mate with them. This pair thought they were chickens.
The owner was done with ducks and wanted the gone. So we picked them up and locked them in a cage in the coop with our chickens and ducks. After a week they were set free at night in the coop. Instantly they went for a hen. However my three roosters had none of that. The chucks were jumped and spurred and sent into the corner to think about things. They were not used to roosters as the previous owner did not have any, just hens. The next day, freedom and the chucks tried to figure out what they can and cannot mate with. My older female ducks attacked them as the chucks were low on the pecking order.
After three weeks the chucks have learned to go into the coop at night and be with the rest of the ducks. They have learned to be ducks and had no diseases. No more beat downs from the roosters and our male ducks are fine with new competition.
It is not easy to re-home a farm animal/pet. Too many times it ends badly for both the new and established animals via fights, diseases or wandering off. These chucks did get bloodied and that scent sets off my guard dogs as well as other predators. It takes a lot of planning and participation on my part to keep them all happy and alive. The cold weather also helped keep predators at bay. If the chucks had not joined I would have no choice but to sell them at auction. Many new to homesteading are not prepared for what happens after animals mature and are no longer cute babies.
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