Advice on getting more ducks (or not).

[jobyducks]

I posted not too long ago about sexing my 2 ducks... they were both drakes. (mallard and a pekin). I finally built a duck house and separated them from the chickens (though they still play together during the day right now as I am waiting for an additional waterer to put on the duck side.)

I don't want to get 8-10 more ducks (females) for the two boys because that just sounds like a lot of ducks in total. But, TSC has fall chick days going on right now and I really want to try my luck again with ducks for egg reasons and also just because I love them so much. So here are my questions regarding getting two more ducklings:

1- If both are boys, will they get along well with the older drakes? Will all 4 of them be okay together with no females around?
2- If one is a boy and one is a girl, will the girl be okay with the chickens by herself and the boy be okay with the other two drakes? Will they be really depressed if I have to separate them?
3- In scenario 2 or if both are girls, are the older hens gonna be cool with them? (I have 6 hens. Also had y'all sex those for me about a week ago).

Other information that might help you answer the above-
-My duck run and chicken run are right up next to each other, so they will share a fence.
-I let them all free range during the day and they have more than enough room.
-I live in the city. (I think this might matter for noise reasons regarding separating them- will they freak out?)

I won't get them if it's going to be a huge hassle or a huge strain on the ducks themselves, so I thought I would ask you all for opinions before even stepping foot into TSC- it's a danger zone for me lol.

Thanks in advance,
Joelle

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Why do the ducks and drakes have to be separated?

One drake should always have two ducks to prevent overmounting

If you have two drakes then you should get four ducks.

 

[jobyducks]

Why do the ducks and drakes have to be separated?

One drake should always have two ducks to prevent overmounting

If you have two drakes then you should get four ducks.

I've read that 3 ducks at a minimum per drake is good but people have actually recommended 4 per drake. I'm not really in the market for 8 more ducks, I just wanted to get a couple more at TSC that were (hopefully) female and could live with my hens.

Are you saying that you don't recommend getting ducks if they cannot be with the drakes? Will they yell at each other a lot if they are separate?

Joelle

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

I've read that 3 ducks at a minimum per drake is good but people have actually recommended 4 per drake. I'm not really in the market for 8 more ducks, I just wanted to get a couple more at TSC that were (hopefully) female and could live with my hens.

Are you saying that you don't recommend getting ducks if they cannot be with the drakes? Will they yell at each other a lot if they are separate?

Joelle

Ducks mate for life.
I have 2 ducks per drake on my farm, it’s always been like that.
We’ve never had any problems.

Why do the ducks have to be separated from the drakes ?
And yes they will “yell at each other” all day long !

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

i don’t recommend keeping ducks and drakes separated
And I most certainly do not recommend only keeping drakes.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I started with a single pair, then I read all the advice about needing more girls so I hatched some eggs. I ended up with one drake and two ducks. My five are fine together nine months of the year but spring and early summer the boys have to be separated from the ducks for part of the day. Also, the younger three always stay together and the older two as well. If you add more, they will probably do the same. If you end up with a pair, they will be miserable if you separate them and the older boys may be mean to the new drake (at first anyway).
Something else to consider, find out where your store buys it’s ducklings. If it is a hatchery that sells sexed ducklings then they are probably sending more boys to the feed store than girls. You may want to buy directly from a hatchery and get the genders you want.

 

[jobyducks]

I started with a single pair, then I read all the advice about needing more girls so I hatched some eggs. I ended up with one drake and two ducks. My five are fine together nine months of the year but spring and early summer the boys have to be separated from the ducks for part of the day. Also, the younger three always stay together and the older two as well. If you add more, they will probably do the same. If you end up with a pair, they will be miserable if you separate them and the older boys may be mean to the new drake (at first anyway).
Something else to consider, find out where your store buys it’s ducklings. If it is a hatchery that sells sexed ducklings then they are probably sending more boys to the feed store than girls. You may want to buy directly from a hatchery and get the genders you want.

I was wondering about that! TSC sells the 90% guaranteed female chickens but the ducks are just labeled "ducks". lol. I might have to look into just getting some ducks online. Thanks!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Ducks mate for life.
I have 2 ducks per drake on my farm, it’s always been like that.
We’ve never had any problems.

Why do the ducks have to be separated from the drakes ?
And yes they will “yell at each other” all day long !

Might want to research about ducks mating for life. It is actually not true. They mate for the season, but not for life. Only geese and swans mate for life.
http://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-research-science/waterfowl-mating-systems

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Ratios for ducks to drake really depend on the drake. Most recommend 3-4 females per drake so that the female is not overmated.
You can pair up, have a higher or lower ratio, etc as long as it works for your flock.
Also, it is common practice to separate naughty drakes if needed. Look up drake jail.
Some just have drake flocks too or just all duck flocks. Really it depends on your goals for your flock.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I was wondering about that! TSC sells the 90% guaranteed female chickens but the ducks are just labeled "ducks". lol. I might have to look into just getting some ducks online. Thanks!

I teach high school (Memphis area) and several of my students have gotten ducks from Tractor supply, they seem to always end up with a lot of boys.