2 drakes and a hen

davez

Songster
5 Years
May 19, 2018
65
111
123
Illinois
I had a flock of three drakes. After 7 years, a racoon got into their pen and killed two out of the three. We went and bought two hen ducklings. --or so we thought-- It is beginning to look like one of the hens might be a drake.
Does the fact that they were nest mates matter? I've seen some interesting unexpected animal behavior over the years. Has anyone seen this work out when the numbers are "wrong"??
Has anyone ever successfully kept a duck flock with more drakes than ducks, or same number of drakes as ducks?
Or do you feel I need to immediately dispose of the new drake, or get additional hens?
I still need time to pass to confirm that this is not a hen, but bill color is pale and there is a slight tail curl developing -- but the voice sounds like a hen, not a drake.
(Australian spotted)
Thanks for your feedback!
Can drakes be "fixed" like chickens?
 
Even if the new ones were both hens, the ratio was probably *still* wrong. Its rare for domestic ducks to do the "mating pair" thing, drakes can commonly get too aggressive on less than 4 hens and those 4 have to be exclusively his, not shared with another drake. You can re-home your girl or get 7+ more girls.

Since we're headed into winter I'd say take care of the gender imbalance ASAP so you have the chance to actually find the new duck(s) and they have time to get used to each other before spring mating drives them crazy.

I'd also look for ducks of a similar age or larger breed than your existing male so he doesnt overpower them.
 
I appreciate your interest in posting a reply. Thank-you. I also notice that this is the first year you have ever cared for ducks. How many do you have?
 
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Waiting for the gender reveal.... the duck on the right is in question.

EDIT: A seven year old drake is not at all the same as a two or three year old drake. He probably has two or three years of life left in him. The greenhead came from Dave Holderead before he retired.
In doing a little more checking, I learned that you can also "light neuter" a drake who is too aggressive by putting him in the dark for long periods of the day for a few days. [Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks] Basically doing the opposite of what you do to try to keep hens laying for longer in a season.
I have the ability and motivation to keep all of the animals and separate them if I need to but I enjoy free-ranging them in my yard and pond.
 
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It turns out that the questionable one is a female. So we have two hens and a drake. The drake has taken a liking to one hen and runs the other one away when she gets to close to her buddy. He has, on occasion, mated that hen, but mostly he follows the other girl around the yard. Spring is just starting, but so far there have been no problems with over mating. Knock on wood.
 
So, the result is that this worked out just fine. The drake started preferring just one hen and chasing the other off. After a while he started mating the one he chased off rather aggressively - it looked like a dominance move. But then he fell for her - so now he spends his time alternating who he follows around the yard If the girls a separate. If they are together he just follows behind them. And if either of them ever sound the alarm - he flies over to whoever is making noise to protect them. It is pretty cool to watch. If the hen gets tired of him being on her - she will honk and he will jump off. I was kind of amazed at observing that. He will also let them eat before he does - so when I give them treats he stays back and lets them get all they want before taking any for himself.
 

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