Drake to Hen Ratio

kuntrygirl

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
11 Years
Feb 20, 2008
22,031
828
461
Opelousas, Louisiana
Just curious to know what is everyone's drake to hen ratio. Do any of your drakes tend to favor one hen over another hen? I have 1 particular hen that these guys just love and I have no idea why because there are enough females to go around.
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I have had pairs, trios, and a group 3: 3 in the past - all with no problems.
I even have 1 pen with two drakes and a single female ...but one of the drakes is an Aylsebury three times the size of the duck... so he doesnt get anywhere near her...lol
In a back yard / farm - 1 drake to 2-4 ducks is good- any more and you risk fertility problems- but in a commercial venture where there are hundreds of ducks housed together a ratio of 1 drake to up to 10 ducks may be used. For in between - the more birds you have the less drakes..ie: 1:1 if you only have two ducks... 2: 6 For 8 birds 3: 12 4: 20.... ETC... Of course it can also depend on the breed - with some drake only having one mate for life.
 
Well, my problem is that I think that the drakes are singling out 1 particular hen. And the reason that I think this is because she is always dirty. She has webbed mud foot prints on her all the time. She is mounted the most. I have 28 hens and 7 drakes. Is that ratio too high? Do I have too many drakes? If so, what would you suggest the hen to drake ratio be? Thanks for any advice.
 
Well I can tell you my ratio is out of wack.. the boys are fighting. Well frank the tank is - I put him in the chicken pen tonight for timeout.

3 rouen drakes, 2 rouen hens, 1 runner hen and 1 runner drake. The runner drake is getting picked on bad - the feathers on the back of his neck are a mess
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