GumBranchChick
Songster
Hello all! I’ve been reading some forums on here, but I have a situation I could use specific advice about. I have 5 Rouen drakes that a local farmer was “going to get rid of one way or another”. And he knows I’m a softy. They were still very small when I got them & they were adorable & all got along wonderfully. No ducks around, just my 2 hens and a rooster (who has to be housed separately bc he’s such a breeding machine). Used to let all run around the yard together, supervised, until the rooster tried to breed a Drake 30 minutes into a separation from his hens. So the drakes got their own section of the yard fenced off. We now have one Drake that is very people friendly (or not skittish at least) but is also aggressive towards 3 of his 4 brothers. The 2 he picks on the most have leg issues & I assume that’s the reason he chases them. It’s to the point now that the 3 little amigos stay in their house most of the time bc he chases them every time they come out. I have tried time outs for weeks & that makes no difference. Recently I tried separating some during the day, trying to give their neck feathers time to grow back. Then I started separating at night also. Him & his buddy in one pen & the 3 amigos in the other. Still separating him some during the day. But the whole reason I hesitated to start separating is beginning to happen. I’m creating a monster in my little amigos. They run off the boss’s sidekick (who has never chased or hurt them) every time the boss is locked up. Idk the best way to deal with this. Nothing is working & it doesn’t seem to be going away. Progressively worse for at least a few months now. When we got them we planned to put them in our 1/4 acre pond once they got bigger (then a hawk dive-bombed one in 5 minutes when we tried the pond...of course they were still small then). Haven’t tried the pond again but I know they’d love it. Wanted to build a floating house & all, but people on here cautioned about raccoons swimming out there at night. The pond is at the edge of our woods, so I know there are predators back there & I don’t want to set them up for failure. But I can’t keep building more and more pens bc they don’t get along. Would love some recommendations if anyone has some. Idk enough about Drake behavior. I can’t even take treats out there without locking him separately bc he runs around trying to chase everyone off their treats to get them all. He’s very friendly with me & I love him, but it has become exhausting!! Thanks in advance for any help!!
