Accidental male in small flock - what am I in for?

doreentheduck

In the Brooder
May 16, 2022
4
12
16
So I'm new to ducks, was randomly given two Magpie ducklings 6months ago and they're now part of the family. They are females. Free-range on our residential property.

We recently, added two similarly aged MagpieXPekin ducks, which we thought were female.. until today.

The obvious curled feather has made a shock appearance... which set off a realisation that he/she is a little bigger than their sibling she arrived with, aaaand i'm pretty sure has the different quack.

What are we in for by having 3 lovely ladies, and 1 drake? I hadn't at all planned on having a fella in the mix, can anyone enlighten me on what this will entail?
 
Please realize that my only experience is with runner ducks, so this may or may not apply to yours. Since you only have one drake with three females, things may be fine. My problems arise when my drakes decide to fight over the girls.

My drakes are well-behaved guys most of the year. But, in the spring when hormones run rampant, they constantly want to romance the girls -- to the point that some girls have no feathers left on the top of their heads. None of my girls has been injured (unless you count being extreme ragged looking). Once the hormones kick down, all is well.

In fact, yesterday my younger drake demonstrated some "gentlemanly" behavior. One of the girls prefers to lay her eggs far outside the shelter in a makeshift nest. Layne stood guard over Sloane the entire time, until she finished her work and returned with him to the flock.

Good luck with your boy!
 
Having a 3-1 ratio isn't necessarily something that's going to go bad. Four to six hens is recommended per drake but sometimes drakes aren't too crazy with the mating. It just depends.
That being said, I would just keep an eye on him. You will be able to tell from observing your girl's behavior if he's too much for them. If they start get developing wounds or missing feathers or are avoiding him excessively, he probably will need to be separated during the spring months. And, like Ms lydia said, unless you are completely at the max as far as space goes for them, you could always get a couple more females.
 
Welcome to BYC.
Having 3 females with a drake isn't bad at all. 3 to 1. And there are always ducks that need adoption so maybe down the road add another female.
Pictures of your lovelies would be nice.:pop
Thank you for the reassurance! Was all a bit panicked initially! I think we'll keep an eye on the new guy and hopefully it all works out, and a good excuse to get another female in the future!

Will try to add picture of the quackers!
 

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Having a 3-1 ratio isn't necessarily something that's going to go bad. Four to six hens is recommended per drake but sometimes drakes aren't too crazy with the mating. It just depends.
That being said, I would just keep an eye on him. You will be able to tell from observing your girl's behavior if he's too much for them. If they start get developing wounds or missing feathers or are avoiding him excessively, he probably will need to be separated during the spring months. And, like Ms lydia said, unless you are completely at the max as far as space goes for them, you could always get a couple more females.
Thank you! I'll keep an eye on him, and seperate if he seems a little too aggressive on the ladies during mating season. Am loving the excuse to get a couple more also hehe Thank you for your help!
 
Please realize that my only experience is with runner ducks, so this may or may not apply to yours. Since you only have one drake with three females, things may be fine. My problems arise when my drakes decide to fight over the girls.

My drakes are well-behaved guys most of the year. But, in the spring when hormones run rampant, they constantly want to romance the girls -- to the point that some girls have no feathers left on the top of their heads. None of my girls has been injured (unless you count being extreme ragged looking). Once the hormones kick down, all is well.

In fact, yesterday my younger drake demonstrated some "gentlemanly" behavior. One of the girls prefers to lay her eggs far outside the shelter in a makeshift nest. Layne stood guard over Sloane the entire time, until she finished her work and returned with him to the flock.

Good luck with your boy!
Oh I'm hoping he's like your boys and a reasonably well-behaved gentleman the majority of the time! Thank you for the reassurance, I will keep an eye on him and the dynamics with the three girls. I feel far more relaxed now than I did initially!
 

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