DahliaDuck
In the Brooder
- Jan 17, 2025
- 3
- 14
- 24
Hello! First time poster here 
I recently acquired a drake and am wanting to know what type of ducky companion would be best for him.
He was handed into the vet clinic I work at by someone who found him at their local pond - he jumped into their lap. He definitely doesn't behave like a wild duck (he confidently wandered inside our house on the first day we took him home and cuddled up to our golden retriever!). We suspect that he was an unwanted pet by a previous owner and dumped at the pond. I decided to keep him permanently and he has settled in nicely. At the moment it is just him but we would like to get him a poultry friend.
We are only allowed a total of 6 poultry on our property due to shire restrictions. We have been planning to get some chickens for a while (we prefer to eat chicken eggs over duck eggs) which means we can only afford to give our drake 1 or 2 ducky friends before we cap out at our 6 poultry max limit.
Questions:
If we can only afford to give him 1 or 2 duck friends, would it be best to give him females or males? We want to try keep the peace in the pen as much as possible (e.g. avoid over-mounting of any females).
Would a 1 drake : 2 duck ratio be ok?
Or is it better to find another single drake and they can have a little bachelor pad together?
OR if we are more inclined towards chickens rather than ducks, should we just put some chickens in with him? Will he have his social needs met adequately with just chickens in his pen?
Or is it better to run 2 different pens for our chickens and ducks to avoid the chickens getting too wet from the duck splashing / avoid chickens getting injured by the drake etc.
Thanks in advance!
I recently acquired a drake and am wanting to know what type of ducky companion would be best for him.
He was handed into the vet clinic I work at by someone who found him at their local pond - he jumped into their lap. He definitely doesn't behave like a wild duck (he confidently wandered inside our house on the first day we took him home and cuddled up to our golden retriever!). We suspect that he was an unwanted pet by a previous owner and dumped at the pond. I decided to keep him permanently and he has settled in nicely. At the moment it is just him but we would like to get him a poultry friend.
We are only allowed a total of 6 poultry on our property due to shire restrictions. We have been planning to get some chickens for a while (we prefer to eat chicken eggs over duck eggs) which means we can only afford to give our drake 1 or 2 ducky friends before we cap out at our 6 poultry max limit.
Questions:
If we can only afford to give him 1 or 2 duck friends, would it be best to give him females or males? We want to try keep the peace in the pen as much as possible (e.g. avoid over-mounting of any females).
Would a 1 drake : 2 duck ratio be ok?
Or is it better to find another single drake and they can have a little bachelor pad together?
OR if we are more inclined towards chickens rather than ducks, should we just put some chickens in with him? Will he have his social needs met adequately with just chickens in his pen?
Or is it better to run 2 different pens for our chickens and ducks to avoid the chickens getting too wet from the duck splashing / avoid chickens getting injured by the drake etc.
Thanks in advance!
