Drake Thinks He Is a Roster.

[zookeepersgirl]

I have 3 khaki campbell drakes that are 1 year old and 7 new young females. The males were raised without female contact until a few weeks ago. One of the males has recently convinced himself that he is a rooster and he chases the hens around and severely injured one of the hens. I removed him from the chicken area and after a couple weeks I tried to put him back in but he ran straight for the hens again. I now have him and the other drakes (so he could have some company), in a separate pen, but this is very tedious so I can't keep him separate forever. What can I do, is there any way to train him to go after the female ducks instead? He is my little brother's duck so I don't want to cull or sell him but, I would be willing to do so if need be.
TIA

 

[sourland]

This drake has imprinted on the chicken hens, and even if he starts breeding the duck hens, he can not be trusted around the chicken hens. As you have already discovered drakes breeding chicken hens can severely injure and even kill them. I think you would be best off trying to find him a new home without chickens.

 

[dotknott]

It may not even be that he thinks he's a rooster, he may just be going through that hormone surge of the teenage years. If he's lower in the pecking order than the other males he may not be able to get any *ahem* tail from the other duck ladies due to the other drakes, so he's looking for anything with feathers.

If the males were raised together and not with the chickens, I think it less likely that it's imprinting, and more likely to be hormones.

 

[sourland]

Hormones are a factor for sure, but such a drake can never be trusted around chicken hens regardless of the cause of his 'lust'.

 

[dotknott]

Hormones are a factor for sure, but such a drake can never be trusted around chicken hens regardless of the cause of his 'lust'.

With this I concur.