Breeding Ducks???

[Chase-n-Dreams]

I bought straight run mallard ducklings and turns out five were males one was a female and when they grew, they would chase her around the pond and then i sold four drakes and the last drake and girl mated once the other drakes were gone because they fought over her.

 

[Megan Amber]

Darn! I hate it when that happens! I swear hatcheries know what there sending us and they take advantage of us to get rid of all the boys!

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[jdywntr]

Thats the biggest problem with buying straight run. Hatcheries that sex, fill their sexed orders first then fill straight run. Almost everyone wants females or at least a lot more than males. The only time ANYONE should EVER buy straight run is if they want males (for meat birds etc) or the hatchery doesn't sex at all. Only in hatcheries that don't sex at all do you actually run the chance of getting a 50/50 mix and then 50/50 is based on 100 babies.

 

[CountryGirl1984]

Ok so this is a lot of info! Thanks guys! So basically, I need many females per male!!! I don't want that's my ducks! That means I need a bigger pen and have a bigger risk of coyotes getting them these are pet ducks. I just want duck eggs..and maybe a few babies here and there. Nothing crazy.

 

[Kevin565]

Would it be possible to rehome 2 drakes?

 

[CountryGirl1984]

I just couldnt...they are part of my family now. I love them. Maybe I just live without the females..thanks for all the info!

 

[helios]

I'd just enjoy your bachelors if you can't rehome.

Just an observation about my flock with 9 drakes to 3 ducks...I like to keep 10-12 ducks over the winter for body heat, and eventually, I'd like this to be 2-3 drakes for 9-10 ducks (I'm backwards on this right now). This spring, everyone got along pretty well until we got a warm spell...each girl had 2-3 boyfriends, and the 2 brothers on the bottom of the pecking order kept to themselves. I have been waiting for the weather to warm (and not freeze overnight) before separating my hens and encouraging them to go broody. The trios/quads that had formed kept to their own groups during the day on our large pond, but I had some minor chasing/fighting when they were all put in together at night, and I was worried about the hens getting hurt from overbreeding.

Last weekend, I saw it was time for me to get the girls safely separated...one of my younger hens was under 4-5 drakes (luckily, this was a land-based gang rape, so there wasn't a chance of drowning...yes, there is an ugly side to duck-keeping--once they have a hen pinned down, all the nearby drakes hurry over to get in on the action...just awful). Until I get proper breeding pens set up, I have to kick the chickens out of their run to house broody girls separately--so the next morning, I grabbed my two best drakes and all three girls to the out-of-sight breeding pen (chicken run).

Last year, I only had my lonely broody duck over at the chicken run, so I had problems with the drakes coming over to visit when they heard her complaining. Happily, this year, the hens have company in each other and the drakes, and I've been amazed at how the rest of the boys (the bachelors) have all but stopped fighting amongst eachother almost immediately. Without the hormones flowing and the hens to fight over, they are so easy going!! They all scurry into their run at night (no more hanging away from the group to protect their chosen hen from the competition)...it's great!!

One vote for keeping the peace among your bachelors (and finding a neighbor with duck eggs)