Ducklings mother hen

Hello there,
I've had no experience with ducks but from what I have read and heard the mother hen will lose interest when she is ready and will rejoin the other hens at that point.  I'm sure someone more experienced will be along to answer your question more fully.   

My hen raised a brood of ducklings last year and this year. Each time, she decided when she/they were ready to fend for themselves. I cannot remember how old they were, but I think it might have been around 8 weeks or so. Anyway, once they get to teenage-hood, and 5 weeks is about that, then they will begin to grow apart. My hen just decided to go to the roost one night rather than to the duck house. I would guess that by now she is not really rosey much for them to come when she finds food, and not keeping them warm anymore. I found that my mummy hen was very good at integrating the babies into the flock (of her sisters) as she provided protection for them until they will big enough.

I would therefore suggest that if you are going to eventually free range them all together then you do this before she abandons them and before they get any older as she will lose her maternal instincts once they grow up, and she may not welcome them into the flock at that point. They will then have a much harder time with both the flock and their own mum bullying them. Mine have had that protection and it has meant that a hierarchy has been settled from the start. The ducks are at the bottom, Mum now no longer actively sticks up for them (but never bullies them), and there is harmony.

Hi Kathie, I didn't realise you were the same person when I replied to your other thread about water!

Another thing I thought of, if you do let them onto the big pond for any length of time in the future, unless it is pretty much the size of a small lake then make sure you either have a brilliant filtering system or can empty it as they will poop in the water and cause algae to grow like crazy as their poop contains a lot of ammonia and nitrogen. They will also eat all your pond plants, fish, frogs, tadpoles, etc if left unattended.

I note you say you are trying to be part of their flock. Ducks are bound to be flighty and nervous, as this is how they naturally avoid being eaten by predators. I understand that they have fewer centuries of domestication than chickens. If you want tips on taming them, see http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=65100.0 for my epic on peas!