2 drakes?

[quackfishing]

I am taking in 2 Ancona’s, a Duck and a drake. I have a male Rouen and 2 Rouen hens. I am planning to get 2-4 more females. My rouens where born in late June, and the anconas were born in February. The Ancona hen just started laying this week, and my rouens have gotten their oil feathers and are in their first molt I think. Are my Rouens to young and the Ancona drake to old that he would try to mate and it would be bad for them? Should I put the girls together and the boys together? Or the anconas in a pen and the rouens in there run where they can see them? Also, how many females would I need for a Rouen and an Ancona drake?
the first pic is the ducks I’m taking two of
The second is my current ducks

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I have more drakes then I should have and finding homes is very hard
So I have separated them to give the girls breaks
I do let them out together every few days for short periods of time and supervised to make sure there is no ganging up to mate
My girls do great being separated they do what they normally do
My boys are the ones upset
They spend the day walking back and forth along the separated fence
The first few days I did this I broke up many drake fights as they were completely put out but after a few weeks now it’s calmed right down
At night I have always separated my girls and boys in the pen so the girls could lay their eggs in peace
I use pet fencing and it’s kept the boys on their side
I have also given the boys each their own area with pets fencing to separate so there is no drake fights at night
The girls never fight they are so much easier

 

[Quatie]

A lot of the time I see relief from my females when I have separated out a drake. They are usually a lot happier. The biggest problem will be your youngest females are not ready to mate yet. So they need that separation. Sometimes you make them unhappy to do what is best overall. Once everyone is old enough, they won't need to be separated all the time.

 

[quackfishing]

I ran out of fencing for the separation lol

I ran out of fencing for the separation lol

 

[Quatie]

I got rhe 2 drakes and the female because the sellers chickens kept getting killed by the boys mating
Right now I have them separated from my ducks( 1 drake, unknown, and a hen). I will probably make a separate smaller run for the girls because I think the unknown is starting to sound like a boy. That would be 4 drakes. I will probably get more female s anyway but keep them away from drakes unless I add one for ducklings which I probably won’t do.

Yeah those definitely sound like boys that may need a few ladies. That hen may need to go with your younger ducks. Those two drakes will likely be too much for her.

That is also a clever solution to your fencing problem. Sometimes we have to use what we have on hand

 

[Quatie]

With drakes it is always hard to say what they will do. Some drakes would definitely try and mate females before they are mature. That is not always the case, but it would be best to err on the side of caution.

Also knowing how many hens they will need is hard to say as well. Every drake is different. Some drakes so fine with just 1 or 2 hens (this is not common), while others are not as easily satisfied. I had one drake who needed more like 12+ females. I rehomed him because he was too much on my flock. My other drake could be easily satisfied with a few hens. Usually you should lean towards more females than less. 4 per drake is considered the minimum, but you may need more. To put this in perspective, I have 17 females and 1 mature drake and 2 new ones starting to come of age. I am worried three drakes is going to be too many. I am building a pen and second coop to house these new drakes in case they are too much for my flock. You will likely want a way to separate the males and females during the height of the mating season. During the off the season, they are usually not as hard on the females.

Some drakes also don't necessarily get along with other drakes. I don't hear about it nearly as much, but drakes can potentially fight. While others get along great with no issues at all. Until they mature, you really don't know what they are going to be like.

 

[Quatie]

Will mine pick on her because she is new? I have another thread explaining what I did in total

It is very possible they may, or she may pick on them. My worry would be the two drakes will try and mate her together. It is possible for them to drown her or injure her when they do this. It is definitely better to slowly integrate her with the other ducks. I am not sure you have the ability to put her in her own area too. It is something you may need to consider.

 

[quackfishing]

It is very possible they may, or she may pick on them. My worry would be the two drakes will try and mate her together. It is possible for them to drown her or injure her when they do this. It is definitely better to slowly integrate her with the other ducks. I am not sure you have the ability to put her in her own area too. It is something you may need to consider.

I think mine can deal with a smaller run until they are friendly with her and until I make the girls a run

 

[Quatie]

I can make her a separate pen it would be pretty small
The pen I have them in is small but she can take more of the run so she is safe
The area my ducks are in is roomy enough
How long should it take for them to get used to her
And how big would her pen have to be

Usually you want 10sq ft, but for short period she could handle a smaller area.

Usually you want to do a week, but sometimes ducks get along sooner. I have had ducks integrate seamlessly with little time and other take longer. If they sleep in a coop, putting her in a crate in the coop with them at night can make it easier. You could always try them together after a day or two and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, stick to slow and steady. Multiple food and water areas also help when there is bullying.

 

[quackfishing]

With drakes it is always hard to say what they will do. Some drakes would definitely try and mate females before they are mature. That is not always the case, but it would be best to err on the side of caution.

Also knowing how many hens they will need is hard to say as well. Every drake is different. Some drakes so fine with just 1 or 2 hens (this is not common), while others are not as easily satisfied. I had one drake who needed more like 12+ females. I rehomed him because he was too much on my flock. My other drake could be easily satisfied with a few hens. Usually you should lean towards more females than less. 4 per drake is considered the minimum, but you may need more. To put this in perspective, I have 17 females and 1 mature drake and 2 new ones starting to come of age. I am worried three drakes is going to be too many. I am building a pen and second coop to house these new drakes in case they are too much for my flock. You will likely want a way to separate the males and females during the height of the mating season. During the off the season, they are usually not as hard on the females.

Some drakes also don't necessarily get along with other drakes. I don't hear about it nearly as much, but drakes can potentially fight. While others get along great with no issues at all. Until they mature, you really don't know what they are going to be like.

I got rhe 2 drakes and the female because the sellers chickens kept getting killed by the boys mating
Right now I have them separated from my ducks( 1 drake, unknown, and a hen). I will probably make a separate smaller run for the girls because I think the unknown is starting to sound like a boy. That would be 4 drakes. I will probably get more female s anyway but keep them away from drakes unless I add one for ducklings which I probably won’t do.