Can you introduce an adult female to a drake and a duck pair?

[Ducklet]

Hi, I have two muscovies (a duck and a drake) and yesterday I noticed two things. One was the Hope (female) has started to lay and secondly I witnessed Orlav mating her in their water. He was dunking her head under etc. I remember when I was first given them that people said that if he got aggressive with her they might need at least one more female in there. Is this possible now? Is this aggressive behaviour or should I calm down?

 

[Amiga]

They do sometimes dunk the females heads below water - for several seconds. It is not always easy to know if it is excessive, though I have seen ducks trying to get out from under a drake if they are having a problem.

You may need another female - at the same time introductions don't always go smoothly, they take time.

Signs of overmating include missing feathers on the back of the neck, running away from the drake, limping.

 

[Ducklet]

Thank you for replying. I will keep an eye on her. Do female ducks fight? What if I were to get a sexed chick or a juvenile?

 

[Bengt747]

Female ducks can get into squabbles, but most of the Muscovy hens I've dealt with are pretty tolerant of one another. I would suggest against getting a duckling or juvenile because some adult Muscovies tend to get aggressive with them. It may take a couple days for a new adult hen to settle in with the other two, but I think your current hen would appreciate the distraction.

 

[I Love Layers]

Yes another female would work. When I added 1 Runner drake and 2 runner ducks to my herd of 4 Pekins, 2 Black Swedish, and 2 Rouens, they quaked a bit then joined herds, no problems at all

 

[Ducklet]

Oh lovely! Will keep my eye out for another hen! Thank you!