Do you have to do Pairs?

[Hennyhandler]

I was thinking of getting to female ducks but I got to reading and read somewhere that call ducks can't be kept solo or two females because in spring they will fly away to find a mate. Is this true for ALL ducks or just calls. ANy info please.

 

[bemba]

Well, alot of the heavier duck breeds cannot fly and probably lack the instinct that the calls have retained, My first two ducks were calls and 2 girls, they use to mount each other in some sort of role reversal and go through the motions a drake would, but they never laid, until I got a drake that is, within a month they were both laying!

 

[Dances with Ducks]

A lot of people just keep female ducks and they lay eggs. The egg production is related to the amount of light, good feed, and to a small degree temperature.
Ducks are very amorous creatures and if they don't have a male will often . . . "role play ?". . . Some of this behavior may also be attributed to establishing dominance.
Bantam sized ducks and muscovies can fly, but except for the rare individual all the other breeds of ducks are too heavy to fly enough to escape a three to four foot fence. Also ducks have very strong social bonds will almost certainly stay with the rest of their flock rather than head off on their own or with a strange duck.

 

[Hennyhandler]

So what is your suggestions? Is there any positives to having a drake or not having one? Is there any problems with having only females or not that you can come up with? Thanks for the info and help. I greatly appreciate it. I am just full of questions.

 

[bemba]

If it were me I would rather a pair than 2 girls, Drakes are quieter and more colourful (depending on colour kept), but like I say thats just me.

 

[fisharescary]

I've decided not to get drakes because:

I'm going to have a limited flock for a while, and I want eating eggs, not hatching eggs. Basically the drake would just be taking up space.

I don't want accidental baby ducks/surpise balut

I'm kind of wierded out by eating fertilized eggs even if they aren't far along (I'm vegetarian, so I tend to wonder 'at what point is it ok'?)

Sometimes they pull out too many feathers from the ducks' necks while being amorous. Looks terrible.

Fear of accidental drownings during attempted mating.

Reasons #2 and 5 are really unlikely though. I am really coming across as quite paranoid... Just my own plans. Of course if you want babies, a drake is not that much trouble.

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

If you just want them for eggs don't get a drake...
I have boys with my flock of girls, all calls. One day a handsome wild mallard drake landed in the pasture near my ducks. The females chased him until he flew away! I think they would have a lower stress lifestyle w/o a drake.

I wish I didn't have so many drakes as they all bully each other and bother the females during breeding season. My hens still ride each other even though there are boys around...I'm guessing it's more dominance than love related. Oh and clip their wings if you are afraid they'll fly...they can, but they have to be very motivated.

 

[Hennyhandler]

THANK YOU!!! I really just want 2 females all for the normal reasons. This just confirmed and reassured that I could do this and would be just fine. By the way, fisharescary I am a vegetarian too!

Vegetarians rock!!

 

[sianara]

Quote:
As long as you collected the eggs regularly (every other day at the least) you wouldn't end up with balut. See quote here "Balut is an incubated egg with developed embryo of 17 to 19 days which is boiled and eaten with or without salt."

Similiar situation with fertilized eggs. As long as you collect them regularly the average person wouldn't even know they were fertilitzed. See Link here http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.duckdev/ .

 

[fisharescary]

Quote:
As long as you collected the eggs regularly (every other day at the least) you wouldn't end up with balut. See quote here "Balut is an incubated egg with developed embryo of 17 to 19 days which is boiled and eaten with or without salt."

Similiar situation with fertilized eggs. As long as you collect them regularly the average person wouldn't even know they were fertilitzed. See Link here http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.stru.duckdev/ .

Oh, I know the eggs aren't likely to develop, hence the "I'm paranoid."
As far as the eggs being fertilized, it was more of an ethical thing, not a question of them tasting different.