Pekin Drake Issues

[Hilfox84]

This past spring I bought three pekin ducklings not knowing what gender they were. Well my luck they all three ended up being drakes. This is my first time raising ducks so I'm still learning as I go along. They are around 20-23 weeks old now and from what I can't tell mostly full grown. They all are definitely makes with big drake feathers. I haven't had any issues with them till recently I noticed them fighting a lot more. One of them is the leader. He picks on the other two. One of them was born with a slipped tendon and I didn't catch in time to fix it. He's a happy duck just hops along on one leg...and loves to swim. Just today I had the one with the lame leg in there pool and the leader one got in after him doing what I assumed trying to mate. The gimpy one is noticeably smaller and I was scared the bigger one was going to drowned him. I guess my question is will they always fight and try to mate with eachother or will they grow out of this? Also do you think I should keep an eye out for when the lame one is in the pool and keep the leader one off of him or should I just leave them alone? I read a couple threads saying their drakes got along just fine....I just wanted to make sure mine were being normal lol. Thanks!

 

[sourland]

Drakes tend to be very sexually aggressive. It is very possible that the dominant drake may inadvertently drown the lame drake while trying to breed him. Sometimes all drake flocks work - sometimes they do not. It all depends upon the temperament of the drakes involved. I would be concerned about the safety of the lame drake.

 

[Hilfox84]

So you don't think they will grow out of this?

 

[pattyhen]

Is there anyway you can trade a couple of your males for a couple of female ducks?


Patty

 

[Hilfox84]

I'd rather not lol they are pets. I will if I have to I don't want my lame one to be killed, but I love all of them they all have good personalities.

 

[pattyhen]

I'd rather not lol they are pets. I will if I have to I don't want my lame one to be killed, but I love all of them they all have good personalities.

I understand. I just hope they can all get along eventually.

Patty

 

[Hilfox84]

I understand. I just hope they can all get along eventually.

Patty

Thanks!

 

[EmeraldOaks]

Simone and Garfunkle are my two Pekins, and Garfunkle is quite amorous, to the point of harassing my Rouens who are much smaller right now. One solution I tried was to hobble Garfunkle with binder twine. He can still walk fine, and the twine is loose on his legs so that it doesn't cut into them, but he cannot run! The Rouens now have a fighting chance to get away from his unwanted attentions. After about a week of being frustrated, Garfunkle gave up chasing them, and he stays with Simone. It's so funny, she seemed to scold him when he paid attention to the Rouens! If you look closely at the photo, you can see the twine on Garfunkle's left leg, before I removed it. He's much happier without his "leg shackles", and much better behaved too! (I wouldn't use wire or anything that could harm his legs, and rubber bands are a definite no-no!)
All that being said, you really need to get your drake a female for companionship. Perhaps you could trade two drakes for two hens? Your remaining drake would be a lot happier!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Simone and Garfunkle are my two Pekins, and Garfunkle is quite amorous, to the point of harassing my Rouens who are much smaller right now. One solution I tried was to hobble Garfunkle with binder twine. He can still walk fine, and the twine is loose on his legs so that it doesn't cut into them, but he cannot run! The Rouens now have a fighting chance to get away from his unwanted attentions. After about a week of being frustrated, Garfunkle gave up chasing them, and he stays with Simone. It's so funny, she seemed to scold him when he paid attention to the Rouens! If you look closely at the photo, you can see the twine on Garfunkle's left leg, before I removed it. He's much happier without his "leg shackles", and much better behaved too! (I wouldn't use wire or anything that could harm his legs, and rubber bands are a definite no-no!)
All that being said, you really need to get your drake a female for companionship. Perhaps you could trade two drakes for two hens? Your remaining drake would be a lot happier!

Very pretty Pekins Welcome to BYC