drake to duck ratio

[PamD]

Hi there, this is my first duck year. I have 9 Muscovy ducks, (14 weeks old) and at the moment 2 drakes, which I raised from day-olds.
I would like to keep both of the drakes but I am worried that they will fight over the winter as they mature. They will be housed in a 7 x 6 foot coop, (with a wired run) I can relocate one of the drakes but I would love to keep them both. Does anyone have any experience of keeping muscovies in this ratio of duck to drake? I would love to hear from you.

 

[Wifezilla]

Hate to be vague but it is going to depend on their personalities. I have 7 ducks, 2 are drakes, but the are best buds. That may change at some point, but for now they hang together and hate being separated. The girls are all fine so I will keep an eye on things, but leave them as they are unless something changes.

 

[katharinad]

Had 5 drakes and 8 girls. One drake was one month older then the rest. 4 were bodies (related siblings) and the 5th was picking fights with them. That was even before they were mature. I guess the 5th one wanted to establish dominance. I basically had 7 girls and 4 boys that were related, and 1 girl and 1 boy that were from another hatch. I rehomed the 4 related boys, because I needed the other one for breeding down the road. That was the best thing ever. Now the flock is one uniform family. No fighting.

Ducks are good when you have 3-9 hens per drake. With muscovy you many even want a higher ratio. You can try to keep the 2nd drake, but you are fine with even one. Some may say keep one as a backup just in case of a predator getting one. But what do you do when they do start to become rivals. Can you separate them into two flocks? Something to think about.

 

[Wifezilla]

Our back up plan is to eat TJ if trouble starts. He is related to 2 of my hens plus he is HUGE

 

[PamD]

Thanks everyone, I shall go with the 2 for now and see how it goes. How could I choose!