Are you Peking kidding me?

[TJAnonymous]

Last spring my husband bought 2 ducks from TSC on a whim.... His intention was to have a couple of ducks on our pond and maybe they would also eat any mosquito larva wiggling around in puddles around the farm. All I can say is the "Road to hell is paved with good intentions...."

These ducks drive me bonkers. We've guessed from their look that they are Pekin duck or a Pekin mix. One actually looks closer to an Aylesbury but I doubt TSC would have that breed so I'm assuming it is a mix.

Pros:

They are pretty and soft
They are noisy, much like guineas, which could alert our chickens to potential predators.

Cons:

They are ridiculously stupid. Is this normal? I wish the money in my investment accounts piled up as quickly as stories of these ducks' stupidity.... They do not know how to use a feeder. Even when you toss them some food (on the ground, in their general vicinity, because you can't get within 10 feet of them), they ignore it. Doesn't matter on what type of food (veggies, fruits, pellets, doesn't matter). They could be STARVING and are too dumb to eat the food you give them. Honestly, I'm not sure how they are surviving but they must be eating something out of the pond because they aren't skinny.

They chase 2 particular chickens (1 hen, 1 roo) like the hounds of hell. These 2 particular chickens were raised from babies with these ducks. I don't know why they have such a vengeance for these these two particular chickens, but every day...all. day. long.....they chase these two *if* they can get to them. The ducks are not allowed in the chicken yard which is the "safe space" for my birds. However, the ducks will run up and down the fence and try to bite them through the fence. If I let my birds out to free range, they chase them all over the pasture and barnyard. I have nearly 20 chickens. They don't bother ANY of the others except these 2....

My husband asked me if I wanted to cull the 2 ducks. I'm torn. I hate killing them needlessly, but they do drive me nuts.... If there was a way for me to improve the situation, I'm open to suggestions. I THINK they are both girls although neither of them is laying yet. They are approx. 5 months old. I guessed on their sex because they have a clear, loud "quack" and not a hoarsey whisper.

Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?

 

[Aapomp831]

You don’t have to cull them needlessly... enjoy them for dinner. Duck is expensive!!!

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

They are not in a coop. We raised them together with 6 Ameraucana chicks. When they got old enough, we put the chicks in the chicken yard with our older chickens. The ducks went out to the pond which they LOVED. In the past 1-2 months, the ducks started spending most of their time hanging out around the chicken yard. I've tried to get them to go inside...thinking they could nest in the coop. They clearly want the companionship of the chickens. But the ONE time I actually got them in the chicken yard, they freaked out and were going crazy so I let them out. Now they don't go inside but stay out by the fence. In a way, this has been a blessing to the 2 poor chickens who are the target of duck vengeance.

I *have* thought that when winter comes, I will have to figure out how to either get them inside the chicken yard or cull them. They clearly can't spend the winter on the pond even though I do have a duck house out there with straw that they won't use or go inside. Dumb ducks....

ducks definitely aren’t dumb. mine know many tricks. you need to stick to a routine with them especially for bed. mine took like two weeks to get used to it, but they follow me inside every night for bed now.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

do they have a coop atleast? if they are on the pond all day that explains why they aren’t friendly and aren’t used to eating the food you give them. if raised right, they are super friendly and sweet. mine go on adventures with harnesses, come inside to cuddle, and more

 

[LT71689]

It looks like you've got a drake feather on one of them. If that's the case, and the other duck is indeed the female you suspected, then you've got a gender ratio problem. You want AT LEAST 4 females per male. If you're really not into the ducks and dont want MORE ducks I think rehoming (or culling, if thats your thing) is your best bet. If you do have a drake he could also become a problem for your chickens - trying to mate them. Both the chickens and your single female duck will wind up hurt, or worse.

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

Perhaps they could coexist? Maybe not though, it’s good to go into this prepared to remove one of the drakes if it doesn’t work out.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Though I also agree if you don't have anyone who wants them and you can't have them any more, duck is very tasty and not necessarily a waste to cull them

 

[FunQuail]

Hello!
Personally I wouldn't. The ducks I have are very smart and it has taken time and is still in progress but they are becoming tamer and calmer. I keep chasing down to showing them something new or checking for injury. I love my ducks and I'm glad I stuck with it, I was considering getting rid of them because I was starting to think they would never get tame. I have two extra drakes in there own pen because I don't trust anyone and I can't bring myself to kill them.
Good luck!
And if they are Pekin girls I hear they lay giant eggs and I can tell you from experience that duck eggs are the best eggs I have ever had in my life! And it's fun to feed them treats and see how the taste changes with your duck egg each morning!

 

[Flockincrazy]

Here's a video I took earlier this summer.

Here's a picture from today.

View attachment 2337710

First yes they are pekins and by tail feathers it looks like 1 drake and 1 duck so imo you should have never separated them from the chickens you should have let them stay in the coop at night and let them out to the pond during the day i have mine all in one coop and let the ducks out if they want during the day there is 8ducks in my main coop 6 of which are rescues and got put right in with my flock or you may want to get your drake a few more ducks the 1 may not be enough for him he may need 4or5 ducks to satisfy his needs oh and build them a floating duck house for at night they are really easy and inexpensive to make so they feel safer at night and have somewhere safe to lay eggs

 

[TJAnonymous]

OK... So I'm guessing the bigger fella here is the male?

And the smaller one (who is typically the instigator) is female?

Pardon the rocks and mess... I'm in the middle of building a new, bigger chicken coop....