Drake drowning duck ?

[dotknott]

I have the same problem here. I'll be watching this thread

How many males and females do you have?

 

[Amiga]

Each flock, each duck or drake, has their own personality - there is a general rule of thumb of three females per drake, but we have a trio - and many folks have trios - of one drake and two ducks and all is well.

 

[Kerrismama]

You mentioned you have 9 chickens, and you are running out of space. Does that mean you are keeping the ducks in the coop with the chickens? If that is the case, you really should get as many ducks as you can for your drake. Every drakes personality is different, but when their hormones are going they will mate with pretty much anything they can catch. If you raise and keep them around chickens, that will likely include your hens without enough ducks to keep them occupied. They are not physiologically compatible, and this will severely injure the hens internally. I would suggest a minimum of 4 ducks, honestly. I have had drakes who needed as many as 7 to keep everyone safe and happy. Add as many as you can, as soon as you can. Like, today if possible. If he's just starting to mount her, then this is only the beginning stages. As his hormones increase, so will his sexual aggression. I'm not trying to scare you. Some drakes can be very mild mannered and do fine with just a couple females, but that is less common. When it comes to the safety and well being of your animals, it's always better to be safe than sorry. I will use a recent experience with my neighbors as an example. They bought the farm next to us earlier this year. Neither have any real experience with farm life or livestock. They had 4 older ducklings and 11 chickens, but very little actual knowledge about either species. Not a big deal, we all have to start somewhere. So they began asking me lots of questions, including if I knew how to sex their ducks. When I went to look/listen to them, I immediately saw they had 3 drakes and 1 duck. They were keeping all their birds together in one coop/run. I told them then that they should really consider getting rid of two of the males and getting a few more females, or getting at least 4 per drake if they couldn't stand the thought of rehoming or butchering them. I also suggested building them a separate pen, or at least have a separate coop and feeding/watering area. Adult ducks in a flock can be very territorial. They also make huge messes in their water, which can lead to respiratory infections from mold in chickens if they are all kept together. Not to mention, chickens can't swim and quite commonly drown in swimming pools and stock tanks set up for ducks. Fast forward several months. They didn't listen to me, because they just didn't believe their sweet little boys would be like that. So far we've had to help them put down 2 hens from internal damage, and they are currently trying to nurse their single female duck back to health. Her hip was dislocated after being repeatedly gang raped. I use this example to illustrate what can happen. Worst case scenario. It's entirely possible to keep mixed species flocks with no issues. As long as you acknowledge all of the needs and differences between the species, and plan accordingly. The more females you have, the less likely you will have issues with your drake hurting any of your females. However, once your ducks are in a real flock their attitudes towards your chickens may change. So plan accordingly space wise, if you don't free range or have a very large run. Ok, I'm getting off my soap box now. Lol. Hope this helps.

Could I just get 1 more duck or would I need a few more ? The thing is we keep chickens (9 to be exact) and space is filling up fast

 

[abooot99]

How many males and females do you have?

I have what was thought to be three females but I'm seeing one mount the Other all the time so I think I have two females and a male. He doesn't bother the other female though

 

[Kerrismama]

What makes you think you have a male besides the mounting? Females will do that with each other. It's just dominance play. Not really an indicator of sex.

I have what was thought to be three females but I'm seeing one mount the Other all the time so I think I have two females and a male. He doesn't bother the other female though

 

[AmandaMBG]

My hens mount each other all the time.

I have what was thought to be three females but I'm seeing one mount the Other all the time so I think I have two females and a male. He doesn't bother the other female though

 

[dotknott]

I have what was thought to be three females but I'm seeing one mount the Other all the time so I think I have two females and a male. He doesn't bother the other female though

I agree with the other posters, hens do it too. Unless you can voice or plumage sex them, this behavior isn't enough to go on.

I would add that in my experience males don't exert this behavior until after it's possible to sex them based on plumage, so unless you're dealing with pekins or 'scovies (the latter I admit I know very little about) it should be pretty easy to tell.

 

[Eringm]

are drakes like roosters at all ? If I had 2 drakes would they constantly fight ?

 

[dotknott]

are drakes like roosters at all ? If I had 2 drakes would they constantly fight ?

Usually, no.. but that assumes you have a will balanced flock.

Scenario 1: Flock of 2 or more drakes (a.k.a. bachelor flock)
Generally no infighting amongst the drakes once the hierarchy is settled.

Scenario 2: Flock of 3 birds: 2 drakes, 1 hen
Fighting is absolutely going to happen on a regular basis and the hen is likely to be injured or killed by the drakes who will mount, be chased off by the other drake who in turns mounts the hen only to then be chased off by the first drake for the whole thing to be repeated.

Scenario 3: Flock of 4 birds: 2 drakes, 2 hens
Fighting is very likely as there are not enough hens for the drakes to steak out as 'theirs'. Hens in this scenario may not be as abused as in scenario 2, but they are still likely to suffer repeated matings, and are still likely to be caught in between the two males fighting.

Scenario 4: Flock of 8+ birds: 2 drakes, 6-8 hens
Fighting is less likely as drakes aren't competing for hens as much as in scenario 3. Squabbles may occur if both drakes are courting the same hen at once. Usually this is settled quickly and since the drakes have other hens to court it's usually not an issue. It should be noted that hens also mount other hens, so in a scenario like this, it is just as likely that another hen interrupts the drake making for a similar squabble. I witnessed this in my own flock this AM where a drake had just mounted a hen only to be kicked off by another hen who mounted her sideways in a show of dominance. There was a small squabble, the dominant hen turned around and re-mounted the original hen and the drake sulked off looking for another mate.

TLDR: Drakes will argue over females, if there are females.. but it isn't usually an issue unless there is a lack of hens available. Don't have more than 1 male unless you're interested in having more than 6 birds.

 

[littlelisa2412]

Old thread I know but maybe someone can help.

Back story I took in rescued ducks including a pekin hen, muscovy drake, Ancona drake and a rouen hen the pekin was in a bad shape and eventually passed. I got 4 appleyard hens as ducklings to help even out the ratio. My muscovy drake is not aggressive at all and mates but not with the porn start quality of my Ancona. He's just rude! Well now my appleyards are grown and bigger than my Ancona. They've been together over ayear with no issues other than when he mates with one of the appleyards his "wife" (the rouen) becomes jealous and bites the girls head the whole time my Ancona is doing his business. Long story getting shorter: I understand what the mating looks like.
Fast forward, recently my Ancona has been attacking one hen in particular. Not mating but full on just holding hee under water and his wife helps. I've been breaking it up as I see it because I can tell the hen is frantic.
Yesterday they were out in our woods which is currently flooded. It's not deeper than 1.5'. Last night I was missing the one hen and just found her today. My drake drowned her!
I don't know why he suddenly had a problem with just her. Will he do this to my other hens? Please help!