Drakes in the Spring

[3xhhheather]

One of my Anconas ended up being a drake, so far he's a goofy little thing that flys all over the yard making his weird little noises. Along with him, I have five hens, three Black Swedish (6mo old), and two Anconas who were hatched with him (3mo old). So far the older hens want absolutely nothing to do with him, they're a bit bigger so they chase him off and if it comes to a head, he usually runs away. He hangs out with the other 2 hatch mates and seems to have chosen the smallest hen as his favorite. I'm worried about over mating and am planning to add more hens in the spring. I'm curious if in the spring the Black Swedish girls who are constantly rejecting him will change their tune or if he'll get more assertive when being run off?

Just looking for a slight prediction as to what behaviors I can anticipate over the following months. It wasn't really in the plans to have a drake, but now that he's here I want to make it work. Unless this is all going to be too much, cannot end up with dozens of ducks (although I would love it lol) trying to build him a harem

Little video of them hanging out in the 'safety tractor' with some fresh straw. He's the one with the more white face and more solid black back, and his fav lady is the silver one. Sound on for all the happy noises lol

https://imgur.com/a/q32VO28

 

[HappyDuckie]

I'm worried about over mating and am planning to add more hens in the spring. I'm curious if in the spring the Black Swedish girls who are constantly rejecting him will change their tune or if he'll get more assertive when being run off?

I don’t think overmating will be a problem- you have 5 hens and just the one drake, right? Shouldn’t be a problem. As he matures, the black Swedish girls should change their tune. He also may get more assertive, even if the Swedish hens become more submissive.

 

[3xhhheather]

I don’t think overmating will be a problem- you have 5 hens and just the one drake, right? Shouldn’t be a problem. As he matures, the black Swedish girls should change their tune. He also may get more assertive, even if the Swedish hens become more submissive.

Yep he’s the only one with a raspy quack & curly tail feathers, all the rest do that loud drunk laugh quack all the time. It’s just right now he’s only interested in the one girl, but if things could change in the spring that’d be great.

 

[HappyDuckie]

Yep he’s the only one with a raspy quack & curly tail feathers, all the rest do that loud drunk laugh quack all the time. It’s just right now he’s only interested in only the one girl, but if things could change in the spring that’d be great.

Some drakes do have favorite girls- but in the spring, he’s going to be trying to mate everyone he can. I doubt he’ll continue to be interested in the one girl in the spring, mainly because you have 4 other hens.

 

[3xhhheather]

Some drakes do have favorite girls- but in the spring, he’s going to be trying to mate everyone he can. I doubt he’ll continue to be interested in the one girl in the spring, mainly because you have 4 other hens.

good to know! He’s such a cutie now, hoping he won’t become too much of a handful lol