Darn....think we've got two drakes and a duck....

[scubagirlwonder]

Hi All!

I am concerned that my trio of ducks have turned out to be 2 boys and a girl....They're only about 10-11 weeks old, so they're not breeding or laying yet, but I am so worried about them when they get to that age! They also don't have drake feathers yet so I can't confirm anything (I'm just going on voices at this point) but I am trying to figure out what to do sooner rather than later!!! I am attached to all of them, so I would hate to see any one of them go, and we just don't have the space to add a couple more females to even out the boy/girl ratio, so I am just stuck!! Those of you that have seen my posts in the past will remember that these duckies have been through a lot (bear attack!) and so I would hate to split them up....I am actually considering finding a new home for all three (if I can find a home with plenty of females to even out the boy/girl numbers....). It would be sad, but better than having to get rid of one of the boys, (or the girl and just keeping a bachelor flock...) Ugh...not a fun choice to have to make! Advice??

 

[dianaross77]

That stinks! Sounds like you know all of your options. Now it'll be time to determine the lesser of the evils, huh? I too have two drakes. This weekend I'll be adding two females and wait to see how ugly it gets.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am looking for some girls for my 3 month old right now. Have a chance to get 5, 6 weeks old but that means they'll be drakes added and will have to deal with that issue, I wish you the best in your decision.

 

[scubagirlwonder]

The other thing I worry about is how the boys will start treating my chickens once they mature and start acting like adult drakes.....since they've all been together since the ducks hatched (I had a broody hen that hatched them for me...) I worry that they'll start attempting to mate with the chickens....I am starting to think I may have to find a new home for my sweet ducks after all....Anyone in the Seattle area know of anybody wanting a few sweet ducks?

 

[bunnibird55]

As far as the drakes trying to mate with hens - I have 4 drakes with 11 females and 80 chickens, 7 turkeys and 6 guineas and I have never had a problem with the drakes going near my hens. I free range and during the night the ducks are all kept in a different barn from the rest of the poultry, but that would be the least of my worries! Now I do have two of my young drakes, Huey and Dewey - I hatched them at the same time this past March and those two brats have picked on the same female on which to bestow their amorous attentions. I am trying to figure how to get these boys to behave....... Good luck with your ducks - don't count them out just yet!

 

[MarieNC]

I have two Pekin drakes and a male/female pair of Rouens and I ended up dividing my run into two sections and separating the Pekins from the Rouens. I let them mix when I feed them in the morning and change out their pools, then I put the fence back in place. Otherwise the Pekins would try to mate with Ella, my female Rouen, and they would fight with Sam, the Rouen drake. They were straight run ducklings and I got the worst possible combination, but we're working with it!

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I had the same problem this year, I was told I was getting all girls and I got 2 drakes and a duck. When I tried to get the "breeder" to fix it she refused.
I then added 2 females to the group, and things were fine for a while. The first 3 had been raised together & I thought we were going to do great.
I started to notice that one of the drakes and the female I got from the original breeder were preferential to one another. They ganged up almost constantly against the other ducks and drake. They were the only ones allowed to swim, eat, lay in the cozy part of the coop... I thought that once they established their order things would balance out, but they seemed to get worse. I moved the pair into a separate coop, but they still had to share the yard with the other ducks and it still wasn't working. This is my first year with ducks and I want to see how I do for a few seasons before I add more. I love my ducks SO much, and I want to expand slowly so I don't end up one day with more ducks than I can handle wondering, "How did I get here"?
I struggled with the decision, but I finally found a family I felt would be good owners and after two weeks of talking & helping them with book suggestions, phone calls from Home Depot, etc, they came & picked up the pair of ducks. We still speak every few days or so and the ducks are doing wonderfully over there. They are the only ducks and run the show. Even better, my trio is really happy now. They are finally getting used to being able to move around the yard freely and they are MUCH quieter. I didn't even feel like the 5 were loud, until the pair moved away and I realized how many times I would run out there thinking something was happening to the ducks (it was, the pair was tormenting them).

It is so easy to just fall head over heals in love with ducks. I have. I swear, the ducks are in EVERY dream I have had since I started researching them.
(Last night I dreamed we were at a bluegrass festival and every time I went to pack to go home there were more & more ducks - for some reason we had brought the ducks with us. I guess in my dreams I can win that debate, though when I am awake my SO looks at me like I have seven heads...though I was realistic enough in my dream to know I would have to sneak the extras home somehow!)
But I think that, for me, to truly love and enjoy them I need to manage my enthusiasm so that every duck/chicken/pet I bring in gets the best life I can give. I did so much research before I got them, and that continues, but I like my little trio for practical learning, and will add more ducks when I KNOW I have these under control. Which means I need to survive winter, and so do my ducks.

I hope this doesn't sound preachy, but I see so many threads where the answer is to "get more ducks!", maybe I should change my screen name to "buzzkill", "downer", or "paraderainer", I just thought I would show you the other side of the coin.
Maybe you are comfortable getting more... OR, maybe it would be better for you to keep a pair, and find a home for your "extra" drake, or keep the pair outside and one drake as a house duck, just do what your heart tells you and it will be the right choice for you.

 

[erinszoo]

We thought our drake was a girl until she got drake feathers.

He quacks just like a girl does. Now we want to get a couple of females to keep him company and have eggs ... and maybe a baby to e...a....t....

 

[scubagirlwonder]

m.kitchengirl :

I had the same problem this year, I was told I was getting all girls and I got 2 drakes and a duck. When I tried to get the "breeder" to fix it she refused.
I then added 2 females to the group, and things were fine for a while. The first 3 had been raised together & I thought we were going to do great.
I started to notice that one of the drakes and the female I got from the original breeder were preferential to one another. They ganged up almost constantly against the other ducks and drake. They were the only ones allowed to swim, eat, lay in the cozy part of the coop... I thought that once they established their order things would balance out, but they seemed to get worse. I moved the pair into a separate coop, but they still had to share the yard with the other ducks and it still wasn't working. This is my first year with ducks and I want to see how I do for a few seasons before I add more. I love my ducks SO much, and I want to expand slowly so I don't end up one day with more ducks than I can handle wondering, "How did I get here"?
I struggled with the decision, but I finally found a family I felt would be good owners and after two weeks of talking & helping them with book suggestions, phone calls from Home Depot, etc, they came & picked up the pair of ducks. We still speak every few days or so and the ducks are doing wonderfully over there. They are the only ducks and run the show. Even better, my trio is really happy now. They are finally getting used to being able to move around the yard freely and they are MUCH quieter. I didn't even feel like the 5 were loud, until the pair moved away and I realized how many times I would run out there thinking something was happening to the ducks (it was, the pair was tormenting them)....

I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about this! I've been thinking and thinking about what to do with my ducks (I haven't made a decision yet) but I totally agree with you that just getting more ducks isn't always the best answer! I think my biggest problem as far as splitting them up goes is that I would just have the hardest time deciding which drake to find a new home! I couldn't imagine getting rid of Bear (who survived a bear attack at only three weeks of age!) and I love Smudge too! So....we wait....I want to wait til they get their drake feathers (so I have a confirmation that they are indeed boys) before I make a decision. I swear they've been messing with me lately!! Over the weekend the two drakes were wandering around doing their whispery, raspy noises, and the girl was busy quacking away....today they all sound the same!!?? What?!?! They're having fun messing with me....

 

[m.kitchengirl]

Yes, I was lucky that the pair sort of made my choice for me. Not only was he not as nice to the rest of the gang as my drake Mr. B. Quackers, he was not as pretty either (or as big!). Mr. B. is a happy drake now. He is so proud of his little ladies, and so sweet to them.
You're right to wait. I dragged my feet as long as I could and now I KNOW I did the best thing for all of us.
Good luck with your decision.