What to do with Rouen Duck Drake

[CieloAngel]

Hello all. I currently have 7 chickens and 1 Rouen duck Drake. I had two (brothers), but one passed away 2-3 weeks ago. I haven't been able to let them roam around with my chickens, as they always try to mount them and terrorize them. Now that the brother has died (and even before if I am honest) I feel bad that he (they) doesn't have female ducks around or a big pond or lake to swim in. I have been debating what to do with him for a while now. There is a local large park near me that has an unofficial bird sanctuary with hundreds upon hundreds of ducks in it as well as geese, swans, and cranes. I went there to see if there were other Rouens there, as I didn't want to let him go without his kind around. There are 3 or 4 that look like they could be Rouens, but with fall colors present, it is hard to tell. I know there are tons of mallards and without my boy with me, I couldn't tell quite how big these ducks were compared to the mallards (the mallards usually stay off to a less populated area of the lake). Other than that, there are a ton of Muscovy ducks there.

I have called my local zoo to see if they knew of a place that would be good for a Rouen. Everyone that I talked to didn't even know what a Rouen was. They did suggest either letting him go in their park (not their zoo, they won't take him unless he was injured), or I told them about me thinking about this other park, and they said that would be fine as well. I do have a voicemail left with a curator (I got to tell my story a few times to a few people) to see if she has any ideas.

Yes, I admit I did not do quite enough research on keeping ducks... especially Rouen Drakes. I don't have a farm, just maybe a 50'x50' backyard. I also admit keeping a swimming pool or tank for them didn't pan out quite as well as I had hoped either. Please don't reply with hate messages of how I should have known better. I really thought I did my research pretty well but turns out I didn't,

With that being said, there are a couple of other questions I have... If I do let him go somewhere I can visit, would a leg band be bad to make it easier to tell who he is?

Also, if anyone thinks I should keep him, is there a real danger in letting him out with my chickens? I think I read somewhere that a duck can, in fact, impregnate a chicken, and with him being so large, the egg could cause complications... not to mention I am just worried he would be too rough with the hens and seriously injure or kill them. Also, is there any kind of pumps that actually work on like a mini stock tank or anything so I could give him fresh water. They really are as messy as they say.

One final note... I live in the New Orleans metro area, so if anyone knows of a place that actually has Rouens nearby, please let me know.

Thank you and I appreciate every piece of advice/help I can get. I really do want to do what is best for my beautiful boy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

A drake can't get a chicken pregnant but if he mates with her he can kill her because chickens don't mate by penetration from the roo, ducks do and a drakes penis is very long. So you don't want your drake running around with your hens.

But please don't dump him in your local park. You feed him who will feed him there? who is going to make sure he is safe from Predators?
Go here first https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/louisiana-la-yers-peeps.160883/page-4727#post-21731867 Post this there and I'll get a another one to post on too.

No chance of picking him up a friend? And keeping him in a pen? or making an area just for him an a friend so they don't have to be penned all the time?

Make a thread here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/animals-in-need-of-free-re-homing.16182/

Do you go on face book? there are groups on there that rehome ducks you may find one. I don't use face book so I can't help you there.

 

[Duckie doodle]

Hello all. I currently have 7 chickens and 1 Rouen duck Drake. I had two (brothers), but one passed away 2-3 weeks ago. I haven't been able to let them roam around with my chickens, as they always try to mount them and terrorize them. Now that the brother has died (and even before if I am honest) I feel bad that he (they) doesn't have female ducks around or a big pond or lake to swim in. I have been debating what to do with him for a while now. There is a local large park near me that has an unofficial bird sanctuary with hundreds upon hundreds of ducks in it as well as geese, swans, and cranes. I went there to see if there were other Rouens there, as I didn't want to let him go without his kind around. There are 3 or 4 that look like they could be Rouens, but with fall colors present, it is hard to tell. I know there are tons of mallards and without my boy with me, I couldn't tell quite how big these ducks were compared to the mallards (the mallards usually stay off to a less populated area of the lake). Other than that, there are a ton of Muscovy ducks there.

I have called my local zoo to see if they knew of a place that would be good for a Rouen. Everyone that I talked to didn't even know what a Rouen was. They did suggest either letting him go in their park (not their zoo, they won't take him unless he was injured), or I told them about me thinking about this other park, and they said that would be fine as well. I do have a voicemail left with a curator (I got to tell my story a few times to a few people) to see if she has any ideas.

Yes, I admit I did not do quite enough research on keeping ducks... especially Rouen Drakes. I don't have a farm, just maybe a 50'x50' backyard. I also admit keeping a swimming pool or tank for them didn't pan out quite as well as I had hoped either. Please don't reply with hate messages of how I should have known better. I really thought I did my research pretty well but turns out I didn't,

With that being said, there are a couple of other questions I have... If I do let him go somewhere I can visit, would a leg band be bad to make it easier to tell who he is?

Also, if anyone thinks I should keep him, is there a real danger in letting him out with my chickens? I think I read somewhere that a duck can, in fact, impregnate a chicken, and with him being so large, the egg could cause complications... not to mention I am just worried he would be too rough with the hens and seriously injure or kill them. Also, is there any kind of pumps that actually work on like a mini stock tank or anything so I could give him fresh water. They really are as messy as they say.

One final note... I live in the New Orleans metro area, so if anyone knows of a place that actually has Rouens nearby, please let me know.

Thank you and I appreciate every piece of advice/help I can get. I really do want to do what is best for my beautiful boy.

I agree with miss lydia. Please don't dump him off at,a lake, pond or park. He relies on you for food. Since you live in New Orleans aren't there alligators nearby too? That would be so sad. You can try to rehome him or get him a friend.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you. I'm so glad you're trying to be responsible for your boy and hope you find an answer.

 

[DuckyDonna]

A park "dump" is very very cruel! He cannot take care of himself and it will only be a matter of time until he is taken by a predator! If you can't find someone responsible to take him just get a bit of extra fencing and keep him apart from your chickens.

Put an ad on Craig's list or Facebook and actually "interview" anyone interested to make sure they will take good care of him.

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm sorry you are going through this. It is difficult when pets don't work out as we'd hoped/planned and it sounds as if you are being responsible and trying to find a good situation for him.

I agree with the others in that a drake cannot cross-breed with a chicken, however he may try and mate and injure or kill your chickens since he does not have other female ducks to mate.

I also agree that releasing him at a park is not a good solution and probably illegal as well.

Maybe you can post an add on the farm and garden section of your local Craigslist here. If you do make arrangements to meet someone it's best to bring a friend and meet in a public place if you can, so be prepared to transport your duck in a cardboard box or dog crate or something.

https://neworleans.craigslist.org/d/farm-garden/search/gra

I don't know how far you are from Benton, but it looks as if there is a poultry swap there this weekend and you can probably find him a good home with someone who is already familiar with raising poultry. Even if it's a few hours, it might be worth the drive to get things taken care of quickly and alleviate some stress.

https://www.ktbs.com/community/what...cle_e4d547fe-eb5a-11e9-9579-374c58c3bc3a.html

Here is a link to the LA poultry swap facebook group. You may find a taker through your group or another swap event that is closer to your home that you can attend. I'd bet someone in the group could point you in a good direction even if they cannot give your drake a home.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/238230753031089/

 

[Parront]

Yes, ducks are messy with their water. They do not have to have a pond, but they sure do like it when they do! I do not like his chances out at the lake, Rouen do not fly. He would be first on the menu. You could order him some girlfriends at Metzerfarms.com. You say he is a beautiful boy and he wants some girlfriends, just not the chickens! More baby Rouen would be very cute! There are floats that you can put on the water dish to keep it full, and put it on some well-drained gravel to keep the mess down. He already has a much better life with you than any duck at the park, so do not feel guilty if he does not have a whole lake to swim in! You can have very happy ducks in a 2500 sq. ft. yard, if you take a little extra time to give him what ducks need. Best wishes!

 

[CieloAngel]

I do want to reiterate, the park I was thinking about is super nice and again, is a bird sanctuary. Just not a federal one or anything. This is a link that shows tons of photos of how nice of a place I am talking about: Lafreniere Park (I hope that link actually works). There is also this short little news story about the birds at the park here. And one more link here from a birding enthusiast. I guarantee there are no alligators

I just wanted to clear that up, because everybody said don't "dump" him at the park. I wouldn't even consider it if it wasn't a veritable duck/bird haven. I also would ask permission directly from the park. It is basically the second or third largest park in the New Orleans area (City Park and Audubon are the other two). They would probably say no, but they do have some chickens as well, and I will lead with "the zoo told me you wouldn't have a problem taking him."

Anyway, my other concerns are making sure that if I offer him on Craigslist or anything of that sort, that someone could be like, "oh yeah! We will love him forever" and then take him home and eat him.

As far as lady friends... I feel if I am having a hard enough time finding someplace good for him, then I certainly would have an even harder time finding someplace for his ducklings.

And trust me, I really do care for my animals. I had a chicken that got pecked near her vent down to muscle by her sisters and I spent close to $1000 getting her surgery and kept her in the house for around 4 months. Nobody I knew could understand why I would pay that much when she was "just a chicken" but I couldn't just let her go knowing I had promised to take care of her. She did live and did really well except for a limp for another year or two, but then disappeared from my yard one day a couple of months ago. There were no bones or feathers or anything. I looked around everywhere and questioned all of my neighbors, but she was never found My only guess is that maybe a local possum or very large hawk took her since she was a bit slower than my other chickens. She was a gorgeous Buff Brahma. I am crying just typing this...

Anyway, back to the duck. Again, all I want for him is to be happy. I just need to find out the best way to do that.

 

[CieloAngel]

Oh... another quick thing I did think about was if I did keep him, could I take him on field trips to bodies of water so he could swim? Like is there an actual duck harness or something that would work (he doesn't love me enough to come back when I call him lol). I do see some on Google, but are they any good for swimming?

 

[Duckie doodle]

Oh... another quick thing I did think about was if I did keep him, could I take him on field trips to bodies of water so he could swim? Like is there an actual duck harness or something that would work (he doesn't love me enough to come back when I call him lol). I do see some on Google, but are they any good for swimming?

You can do that. I use a xs dog harness for my ducks when I take them to the pond and then I use a 40 foot cable leash tie it up and let them swim around. I attatched some pictures. Idk if you can tell that there is a harness on but they can still fly and swim with it on. The only one not wearing harness is the white pekin drake.