Drake prefers immature females

[SpringChickens]

Mine became more aggressive with more females. I think he prefers a lower number.

That’s interesting ! I was actually planning on culling the two younger males when they get a little older and just having one drake. The younger group all have the same father so I’d prefer to have an unrelated drake. Are drakes typically more aggressive with more females? And is that aggression related to other ducks? Humans?

 

[Beaglegal]

That’s interesting ! I was actually planning on culling the two younger males when they get a little older and just having one drake. The younger group all have the same father so I’d prefer to have an unrelated drake. Are drakes typically more aggressive with more females? And is that aggression related to other ducks? Humans?

I don’t think mine can mate all his females, too much to keep up with. He’s much more mellow now that the 2 he doesn’t like were removed. And he definitely has his 2 favorites. He has 4 females now and is so far (knock on wood) better

 

[Trisseh]

I’ve had 3 drakes so far that I’ve kept longer than a week old. The first one, I had last season and turned into a terror when he hit 6 months. Going into winter with a bully and nowhere to put him was not going to happen so he left. This season, I have 2 runners; the one is 4 months old and has been breeding my female since he was 13 weeks. The other is just coming up on 3 months and is an entirely different personality.
The older drakelet is rude, pushy, and protective of his space and his friends, almost too friendly with people, and keeps the chickens at wings length.
The younger is shy, reserved, and much better behaved in general. He avoids the chickens and doesn’t mind sharing space and resources with them. He’s also scared of his own shadow so I don’t know how much use he’ll be for looking after the flock.
I’m not sure which I’m keeping, as hormones flare up and settle down as they get older. The older drakelet is a jerk a lot of the time but very well mannered when it comes to my duck and is a gentleman when he wants to mate, so I’ve had no issues with him that way. He could go either way so I’m hanging onto the other guy just in case.

personally, I would separate out the drake and mature ducks as well. It’s not fair to the younger girls to have him forcing himself on them when they’re nowhere near ready for him. Beware of putting him separate with the younger males as he will likely attempt to breed with them as well (I encountered this with my boys). You won’t necessarily have to separate them forever, but to prevent injuries it’s definitely the best plan for the short term. Can you divide their house and run temporarily?