advice?? mean duck

[blaze208]

So my one female hatched a single baby. When she left her nest and went to the pond. The drake attacked the duckling and killed it before I could stop him. It broke my heart. But I was wondering. Why did he do it?

 

[Amykins]

So my one female hatched a single baby. When she left her nest and went to the pond. The drake attacked the duckling and killed it before I could stop him. It broke my heart. But I was wondering. Why did he do it?

Because he's a drake. Baby ducklings have a tough time being introduced to larger ones and they're just so, so fragile. I'm sorry for your loss. Next time try keeping the broodies away from the drakes, perhaps by lock the drakes away in a separate pen.

 

[blaze208]

Thanks for the advice! I'm hoping shell have another clutch.and I'll lock him up for a good two weeks until the ducklings are older and bigger

 

[corrinekay]

They almost always do. Sometimes it is a way of showing dominance, there is always a hierarchy with ducks, other times because the male wants to mate them, and kills them in the process. You have to keep mom and baby seperate from drakes and even other females until it's big enough to defend itself. They all need time to get used to eacother without being able to touch. Normally partitioning the pen with hardware cloth is a good idea.So sorry for your loss, it is a hard lesson. I wish you all the luck if you try again in the future. Are you planning on finding a day old replacement for the mama? Does she seem to be handling the loss, or is she searching for the baby?

 

[blaze208]

Well to be honest. Her eggs were rotten. So I went and found a wild mallard with day old babies who I have known about for a while. And knew she had just hatched them the day beore . So I took some andput it under my hen. She accepted it as her own. And the duckling thought she was the mom. I had 2 ducklings last year. And the drake was the same. But they were Rouen baby's so they didn't die. But one eventually got sucked into a pump in our irrigation pond and the other got to close to one of my game hens with babies. So I have been trying to get more ducklings so I can start a flock because I currently only have 2 ducks. And she has gone back to sitting on an empty nest

 

[corrinekay]

Awe, poor thing. You've had a rough go. I have 6 babies that are three weeks old, and five more coming any day now. If you lived close I'd get you one for her. They are mallards. I'm in Tennessee. Not sure where you're at, but hopefully you can find one close if you decide to go that route again.

 

[blaze208]

Thank you! I'm going to keep trying though. I love ducks. They are my favorite. But yeah I live in Idaho. Not a quick drive

 

[corrinekay]

Not too close by, lol. Hope you have better luck next time