drake picking on chickens

[olivetree]

so just as of recently, i caught my drake picking off feathers from my chickens! he keeps chasing them around and pulling out their feathers! they keep clucking loud so they obviously aren’t enjoying it. i even went out there and he was doing it in front of me. has any one else experienced this or have any solutions??

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

so just as of recently, i caught my drake picking off feathers from my chickens! he keeps chasing them around and pulling out their feathers! they keep clucking loud so they obviously aren’t enjoying it. i even went out there and he was doing it in front of me. has any one else experienced this or have any solutions??

Sounds like he wants to breed with them. This is not good. Drakes have parts that can injure a hen, even cause death and prolapse. You are going to have to get rid of him or butcher him. For now, immediately remove him from the chickens. I had drakes that were trying to mate with chickens, I butchered them when I noticed it.

 

[Isaac 0]

x2!

 

[Isaac 0]

How many female ducks do you have?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy drake will grab a hen and yank out her feathers if she gets within grabbing range, he has never tried to mate one just being a jerk . Now if you see your drake grabbing hold and trying to mount then he is wanting to mate and that is def a death sentence if she succeeds. question already asked how many female ducks do you have. And if he can be placed in another pen or area away from your chickens then that would be best for the chickens. Until you decide what is best.

 

[olivetree]

i have one female duck. they aren’t fully grown yet. they have about half of their feathers.

 

[olivetree]

i haven’t seen him mount them yet. they are still in their brooder but are about to go out to the coop this week. i’m thinking he is just tired of being in there because i’ll bring the ducks outside during the day but put them back inside at night. that’s the only time i’ve seen him do it. i’m guessing he’s stressed because he isn’t outside. but the coop has a few more finishing touches so they don’t get eaten or attacked. i would hate to kill him. my heart couldn’t do it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And I believe your right time to be separated he is at that age where it’s fun to pick on others! Put the ducklings or chickens in separate brooders till your finished with your secure coop!

 

[olivetree]

the coop can be ready for the ducks just not the chickens. the only thing i worry about is the eagle. but i think the ducks are way too big now. we have a river in our backyard and i have never seen an eagle mess with a duck. so in your opinion do you think they would be safe out there without any run on top? it’s weird describing my chicken area. i’m gonna tie strings on top of their run, because they have a big run. it used to be a garden. so the string idea is to prevent any birds from flying in.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You’ll need something across the top not just eagles but hawks and owls will take advantage of an open pen. Plus many predators climb and will do so to get a free meal. Some will put fishing line all across and at different ways and hang old cds on the line so when the sun hit it there is a flash when the wind blows them.