Wood ducks are a little different-- I was thinking you meant other breeds of domestic ducks, which except for Muscovy have all been bred from mallards and will crossbreed with them as they like. Wood ducks are a completely different species and genus. However, a male mallard is not very picky (to put it mildly) and there are reports of mallard/wood duck hybrids. So you are much better off to separate the mallard from the wood ducks if possible to prevent bullying and crossbreeding.
if I do have like a 3 hen to 1 drake ratio, will they all be firtile?
Ohh I thought they formed pairs!! Thank you!! Is that the same for all ducks or they all different?
can I wait to separate them a few weeks before she lays?I have 2 drakes and 3 ducks. It's now autumn and they are all from end of May hatch. They are all mating, and drakes are not too aggressive at this point. If one mounts a hen, the other one goes away. I'll be ready to intervene in the spring, if that changes. One of the drakes acts dominant and the other one is very submissive and doesn't even try to argue with the leading drake - in fact, he follows him everywhere even when the hens refuse to do so. The funny thing is, he's more liked among the ladies and especially one is doing her best to show affection all the time. Usually the alpha drake uses that to his own advantage.
