Drake drama

[Kandypeeps05]

How do y’all deal with hormonal males in a mixed flock? Im worried they will seriously hurt the females .

 

[Brooke_R]

How do y’all deal with hormonal males in a mixed flock? Im worried they will seriously hurt the females .

Get enough females for each male. I think you’re supposed to have like four girls per boy or something like that. In the very least, have two girls per boy and be ready to separate any males if needed

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

My drakes were fighting a couple weeks ago they still kind of do here and there but they have "calmed" down now.
What I did was separate them from each other, I had one of my pekin ducks be in with the older drake during the time they were separated.
My main concern with them now is they seem pretty aggressive to some of the ducks, I don't want them hurting any of the girls. What can I do if anything to make them calm down a bit when it comes to them chasing the female ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Runner chases down my Muscovy females with their drake standing there watching. He doesn't mate them though he just runs them down and stands on them for a few secs.
Sometimes I squirt him with the hose to make him stop or I just walk toward him and he jumps off and runs. Only other thing I can think of is drake jail until the worst is over.

 

[Kandypeeps05]

My Runner chases down my Muscovy females with their drake standing there watching. He doesn't mate them though he just runs them down and stands on them for a few secs.
Sometimes I squirt him with the hose to make him stop or I just walk toward him and he jumps off and runs. Only other thing I can think of is drake jail until the worst is over.

When does the worst part of breeding season usually start

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

My Runner chases down my Muscovy females with their drake standing there watching. He doesn't mate them though he just runs them down and stands on them for a few secs.
Sometimes I squirt him with the hose to make him stop or I just walk toward him and he jumps off and runs. Only other thing I can think of is drake jail until the worst is over.

I do the same thing and they just keep on doing it, I love the drakes but they are so annoying when it is this time of year.

And they have this favorite that I am not so sure is their favorite but they chase Rose around all the time, she is a blue swedish with a deformed bill I feel bad for her that they chase her around so much and lots of times when they get on Rose they just shake their tails and then eventually hop off of her, they do that with all the other ducks to, they actually mate them but most of the times they can't seem to get in the right spot, Smh.

 

[ruthhope]

We had to move my son's pekin drake to my all drake flock for the season as he was very aggressively mounting the muscovy female. He's an enigma: soft, gentle and cuddly with me--very chill--but attacking my son's feet and also the feet of his duck sitter when he was caring for the ducks. With my drakes, he has fought with them all, been in drake jail for a week after he lost all his tail feathers in a fight with a muscovy, but has now settled down. He remains on the fringe of the flock but amicable. I hope he can go home in about August when his hormone levels start falling.

Meanwhile, back at my son's, his small crested female has decided to replace the drake mounting the bigger pekin female when they are in the kiddie pool. This seems to be by consent and she is very realistic in the sounds she makes as well as her actions. I don't think the muscovy female tolerates her, but the muscovy female allows a rooster to mount her. Ducks and their hormones!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are nuts this time of year.

 

[CritieCats]

I'm having this exact issue. My neighbor gave me 4 ducklings earlier this year. I wasn't looking to acquire ducks but my sister's kids have 3 and love them, and I have a great little pond ready made for ducks. But I ended up with 3 drakes and 1 hen. I finally found adult females and bought 5 more girls. But 2 in particular are being mated to death, and one has a prolapse now. I feel like the 3 drakes are going to drown the females because they are so big, and once one is done the other 2 are waiting in the wings (no pun intended). These new girls are much smaller and were not as healthy when I liberated them from their previous home. They are very happy here with access to a pond and they can free range all day, but I'm worried about the aggressive mating and the one duck prolapsing again.

I don't know if I should get more females and hope it gets better, or to cull the 2 Rouen drakes. I should never have named them because now I'm faced with having to kill them, and I really don't want to eat them because I raised them. I am not a good homesteader, lol.

Yesterday I separated the 2 Rouen brothers to a pen by themselves and their other 2 mates (jumbo Pekin drake and Blue Swedish hen) were not happy. Today I have the gang of 4 out in the pond, but I plan to swap them out with the new 5 females at some point. But this is getting old real quick and making me regret agreeing to take the ducklings. I didn't know what I was getting into with drakes & their hormones.

Has anyone ever added more females and it's helped?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Drakes need at least 3 and up females each the more the better. This time of year can be hair pulling with drakes gone wild with hormones, best thing to do is put your drakes in drake jail just like you have done and swap them out so each drake gets to be with the females until you decide to rehome or what other option you may feel is best. Most likely anyone else taking them will probably eat them. But maybe not. It can be very hard on the females as you now know. What breed are your new females?