Is an all female flock ok?

[JHDucks]

We are first time duck owners, anxiously awaiting our ducklings from McMurray Hatchery this May. I've done a lot of research, and settled on an all female flock (11 ducks, different breeds). Has anyone else had a flock this large with no drake? Should we add a drake or 2? And if so, what breed would be the gentlest on the ladies once he's looking to mate? We are expecting 3 colors of runners, a blue swedish, pekin, buff, cayuga, silver appleyard, welsh harlequin, khaki campbell, and a white layer. Thanks for your insights!

 

[nuthatched]

You usually only need a male if you want fertile eggs.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I think a all female flock would be just fine unless you want fertile eggs.

 

[bhaugh]

Drake's are not the best protectors like you read about with roos. But girls do seem more calm with having a Drake around. They are a handful however some more aggressive than others. If you do decide to get one, I'd be looking for someone who breeds ducks. Be careful if you opt for CL as the ones sold off or given away are usually the trouble makers. My last Drake was good but could be a handful to vet and at 15+lbs (Muscovy) and a vicious wing flap, it took two people to do it.

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

We are first time duck owners, anxiously awaiting our ducklings from McMurray Hatchery this May. I've done a lot of research, and settled on an all female flock (11 ducks, different breeds). Has anyone else had a flock this large with no drake? Should we add a drake or 2? And if so, what breed would be the gentlest on the ladies once he's looking to mate? We are expecting 3 colors of runners, a blue swedish, pekin, buff, cayuga, silver appleyard, welsh harlequin, khaki campbell, and a white layer. Thanks for your insights!

What a great variety of breeds! That's very similar to what I did with my first ducks, I ordered 10 females of a few different breeds. But one was mis-sexed so I ended up with a drake anyway.

If you do end up wanting a drake, I'm not sure that one breed is gentler than another, I think that's an individual thing. Probably a smaller breed would be best for your smaller females' sake. My Ancona drake is so gentle that I have trouble with infertile eggs from his 4 ducks. But I've heard otherwise from other Ancona owners.

Enjoy your ducklings when they arrive!

 

[JHDucks]

Thanks everyone for your input I feel better about having just the ladies now.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Great variety you have. I would wait in case one is miss sexed and you end up with a drake
Also drakes are always bedding homes as you ca. only have so many with a flock of girls. So you maybe able to give some local ones a hood home once the girls are bigger
I have a few drakes and my khaki is the most loving towards his favourite girl.
I also have Swedish boys but they are huge good temperament but big boys
My pekin x khaki are also good boys a bit bigger then dad but not a bad Size

 

[CoriM]

I have an all female flock and it's pretty easy. You'll be surprised to see that the females will try to "mate" with each other when there's no male, but generally you don't have to worry about them hurting each other. Sounds like a fun and interesting variety you have picked out. Be aware that pekins get huge fast and sometimes need extra niacin - you probably should have liquid vitamin B complex on hand to add to their food as a supplement. Enjoy!

 

[JHDucks]

Thank you so much for the help. I love this group and how helpful and responsive everyone is.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have my 9 Girls and 5 boys. The boys however are 4 small Call Ducks and then my one Mallard. The problem with my group is that the Mallard only likes another Mallard and picks on her all of the time. No matter how few drakes you have they can still pick on just one Hen that they like the most and leave the others all alone. My Hens did try to mate each other when I had just girls and it was funny but they never did any harm. Drakes pull their head feathers out and can be a real handful. I don't think there is any one breed better than another because they can all be different no matter what breed. My Khaki Campbell was a monster to all of the Hens so he got his walking papers. My Muscovy Drake was also a monster to both Hens and Drakes, you would have thought he was on a Merry Go Round as he rode everything in site. Good luck with your Hens and I am sure you will have a delightful flock.