Can 2 drakes and a duck ever work?

[Stacey Adele]

We are new to ducks. We got 3 ducklings at around 2 days old. They're about 7 weeks old now. It seems a lot like we ended up with 2 males and 1 female, because 2 sound raspy and only one sounds like a classic 'quacker.' I've read the correct ratio is one male to 6 females. These 3 are very bonded, not to mention we're attached to all 3, and it would be sad to separate them. Is it reasonable to just wait and see how it plays out? Maybe by some miracle they'll all get along fabulously and the males won't hurt the female or the chickens? We also have 19 three week old chicks! About half will be roosters but we will NOT be keeping any roosters. Too noisy for us (otherwise we would love to have a rooster). So the ratio of male to female birds would be about 2 to 10... approximately. But only 2 to 1 for ducks. We intend to pretty much let the ducks free range all the time except overnight, and in the dead of winter, and the chickens to free range when we're home. And they'll have a good sized coop and run for when they're enclosed, so I'm wondering if that would help minimize aggression. I'd love to hear others' experiences/advice.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I thought I would try 2 males and 3 females and get rid of one drake if there were issues. The issues came on slowly. The first spring, the boys fought. Then, they chased the “other drake’s” girl. Then, the raped the girls. Then, one of the girls couldn’t walk. I separated her and she eventually healed but died 6 months later being egg bound. I suspect she had a broken pelvis from the drake which contributed to becoming eggbound. Another of the females suddenly had an injured eye from the other drake. She became blind in that eye. I rehomed one of the drakes. Unfortunately, the aggression was already learned by the other drake. In the end, both had to go because I thought I would wait. So, no, it is very unlikely to ever work.

 

[KathiQuacks]

Heck to the NO!! Absolutely not! Your drakes will kill your single duck hen and kill your chicken hens. I’m sorry, but with this ratio of birds, there is no ‘maybe.’
If you truly want to keep everyone, you need to keep your drakes in their own separate flock, or get more duck hens.
Whatever you choose, I highly recommend keeping those drakes away from your chickens.

 

[sourland]

It's highly unlikely that this will work. One hen and one drake generally results in problems.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My 2 boys have 15 females and I still had to remove one who has her head chewed that made an open sore.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

No, sorry, unfortunately it won't be good for the female. Do you have space for more ducks? What are your plans for ducks? Are they just pets?

 

[DoodlesDuckies]

Morning. I was just going to write a post about this. Last night I figured out I have at least 4/5 girls out of my 9 ducks (they are 2 months old now) and was wondering IF it would work and WHEN the issues would start. It breaks my heart to think of getting rid of any of them. They were all raised from hatch. I completely understand where you are coming from hoping to be the "exception to the rule of nature". It is not sounding very promising unfortunately.

The next question is...how to decide which ones to rehome? Will they adjust to the absence of some of the flock? How soon do they pair up?

Renee

 

[KathiQuacks]

Morning. I was just going to write a post about this. Last night I figured out I have at least 4/5 girls out of my 9 ducks (they are 2 months old now) and was wondering IF it would work and WHEN the issues would start. It breaks my heart to think of getting rid of any of them. They were all raised from hatch. I completely understand where you are coming from hoping to be the "exception to the rule of nature". It is not sounding very promising unfortunately.

The next question is...how to decide which ones to rehome? Will they adjust to the absence of some of the flock? How soon do they pair up?

Renee

That’s about a 1:1 ratio and will not work. Issues will start in about 1 month from now. I wouldn’t say they ‘pair up’ at 3 months, but they do start experimenting with mating and will get very rowdy..

Since they were raised together, you could try keeping 2 drakes, but it’ll probably be best to keep just the 1.. They’ll adjust to the absence alright. I chose to rehome the youngest drakes - the oldest for me ended up being the nicest + best leader.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Morning. I was just going to write a post about this. Last night I figured out I have at least 4/5 girls out of my 9 ducks (they are 2 months old now) and was wondering IF it would work and WHEN the issues would start. It breaks my heart to think of getting rid of any of them. They were all raised from hatch. I completely understand where you are coming from hoping to be the "exception to the rule of nature". It is not sounding very promising unfortunately.

The next question is...how to decide which ones to rehome? Will they adjust to the absence of some of the flock? How soon do they pair up?

Renee

It's always a hard decision. I let my muscovy hatch a small brood and 2 of the 3 were males. I knew I wouldn't get rid of my original drake (even though he's a pain sometimes) - so I tried separating. It worked OK, but they had to stay confined due to a fox and eventually I decided it was best for them to find a new home. It is harder to find a home for drakes. It always depends on your reason for keeping ducks and what your set up is like as far as which to keep. I could easily have a drake flock since I can't eat the eggs, but they would always have to be kept separate from my chickens due to hormones.

 

[DoodlesDuckies]

That’s about a 1:1 ratio and will not work. Issues will start in about 1 month from now. I wouldn’t say they ‘pair up’ at 3 months, but they do start experimenting with mating and will get very rowdy..

Since they were raised together, you could try keeping 2 drakes, but it’ll probably be best to keep just the 1.. They’ll adjust to the absence alright. I chose to rehome the youngest drakes - the oldest for me ended up being the nicest + best leader.

Ok, so silly question. If they start mating in a month, egg laying is not far away also...is there a chance for ducklings in fall? Thought this was a spring fling sorta thing with the hormones and all?

I don't want to take away someone's life mate. I also have 2 geese, I have no idea if they are male or female- they run with the ducks during the day only. They can get bossy.

I suppose I need to watch the drakes and see who is being the "problem", although I tend to bond with the trouble makers so this will be tough.

Remind myself, these are not children! Ducks are animals and they have their natural way of handling order in their flock.

Thank You for your response.
Renee