Drake pulling Darlings feathers off while mating!

[jducour]

My poor female duck looks like a homeless person. She can't bathe in the water because the 2 males try and drown her. I separate the 2 males from her and let her have the water to herself whenever I can . Her neck feathers are getting pulled out so I cut a baby sock and gave her a turtle neck.we'll see if that helps. The males have already drowned another duck.can the males be fixed? She is a great egg producer would she still produce?

This is serious. She could be killed. Are you saying they have already killed another female duck? Getting a sock won't solve the problem - and it wouldn't stop them either. You need to get rid of one of the males, and add at least two other female ducks to your flock. Do you need male ducks? Are you trying to produce offspring? A female will be a great egg layer without any males present. She might actually produce more regularly, because she isn't constantly being bred with. If you don't want to get rid of one or both of the males - I completely understand, but you have to separate them completely from the female. If you can manage two flocks, get one more female, and have a male flock and a female flock, and never allow them to be near the other flock. If you want only one flock, you either need to get rid of one or both of the drakes, or add at least 4 female ducks to your flock. If they have already killed one female, this one doesn't stand a chance. Sorry.

 

[cymbaline]

So this new drake we got recently, well, couple months ago has been mating with my Babygirl and I've noticed he's been pulling the feathers off the back of her neck. The skin underneath is starting to show and it's getting red. Im afraid he's being too rough with her but don't know how to separate them since they sleep in the same coop at night.

Is there anything that can soothe for now?
I was thinking warm compress but I'm not sure if that would help at all.


I have a cage thats big enough for him but its cold out and not sure if he'd be okay by himself. Usually we just place the cage outside their coop so they can come out from their enclosed house in the mornings, but having him out all night, would that be bad?

You've got some great advice from everyone here so far. I'd like to add that not only will those pesky boys pluck them bald and possibly even make their skin raw, but if they start grabbing to the side of her head, they can injure the female's eyes.

Not sure how big your coop is, but you might consider putting up a removable fence. I use some of the leftover hardware cloth from building the pen, but I'm sure even a small roll of poultry wire would suffice for this purpose. I've done this many times in my pen to give my Ruby a break (she's everyone's favorite for some reason). She hates being brought in the house away from them, but she's perfectly happy if she can still see them and they can't get to her.

 

[critter lover]

I have been reading these posts because I have been having the same problem. We have three male Pekins, one female and two female mallards. The males were taking turns with the two mallards until recently. I know that one male is more aggressive than the rest and he has started going after the female Pekin now. They have all been locked in the coop due to the weather being too cold and when I went to let them out I noticed that the female pekin had a huge bald spot on her neck. She is hiding in the coop because the aggressive male chases her down. We can't keep her separate because of limited coop space and the weather here in ohio. Do we need to get rid of the aggressive male? If we do, will the others pick up where he left off? We just need to get thru the winter and then we can figure out what we need to do after. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[chickens really]

I have been reading these posts because I have been having the same problem. We have three male Pekins, one female and two female mallards. The males were taking turns with the two mallards until recently. I know that one male is more aggressive than the rest and he has started going after the female Pekin now. They have all been locked in the coop due to the weather being too cold and when I went to let them out I noticed that the female pekin had a huge bald spot on her neck. She is hiding in the coop because the aggressive male chases her down. We can't keep her separate because of limited coop space and the weather here in ohio. Do we need to get rid of the aggressive male? If we do, will the others pick up where he left off? We just need to get thru the winter and then we can figure out what we need to do after. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

This is a very old thread....I will answer you, although next time start a thread and you will receive your own answers quicker...

You have way to many Drakes....Get rid of more Drakes......One Drake is all you need for your Hens.....



Cheers!

 

[critter lover]

Thank you for getting back with me! I hate the idea of doing it, but want everyone to be safe and happy.