Drakes mate passed away

[Garciaaxen]

Unfortunately our Hen passed away last night so now our drake is left alone. I can tell he is very upset just laying in his pen & I feel so bad. What can I do? I know he’s going to need another mate. He is a Rouen so we were thinking about ordering more Rouen ducklings but I know we can’t have them together until the ducklings get older so do you think it’d be best to order new ducklings or just get more ducks around his age that he can immediately be around?

 

[Garciaaxen]

Unfortunately our Hen passed away last night so now our drake is left alone. I can tell he is very upset just laying in his pen & I feel so bad. What can I do? I know he’s going to need another mate. He is a Rouen so we were thinking about ordering more Rouen ducklings but I know we can’t have them together until the ducklings get older so do you think it’d be best to order new ducklings or just get more ducks around his age that he can immediately be around?

He is also about 2 months, both ducks grew up together.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Unfortunately our Hen passed away last night so now our drake is left alone. I can tell he is very upset just laying in his pen & I feel so bad. What can I do? I know he’s going to need another mate. He is a Rouen so we were thinking about ordering more Rouen ducklings but I know we can’t have them together until the ducklings get older so do you think it’d be best to order new ducklings or just get more ducks around his age that he can immediately be around?

if it all possible to get him 3 to 5 females that are full grown, go for it at least try! if not, then go for ducklings, but I recommend getting them pre-sexed so you have all females for him. You don’t want a flock with more drakes. Drake to Hen ratio is best at one drake for 3 to 5 hens

 

[Jenbirdee]

and i’m so sorry for your loss it’s very sad when we lose any.

 

[Garciaaxen]

if it all possible to get him 3 to 5 females that are full grown, go for it at least try! if not, then go for ducklings, but I recommend getting them pre-sexed so you have all females for him. You don’t want a flock with more drakes. Drake to Hen ratio is best at one drake for 3 to 5 hens

I was thinking the same thing, I want to get more ducks his age but I am worried that we would end up with more males than females. So if I was to order more ducklings, when could I introduce them to my drake? And what’s the easiest way possible to do that? Thank you so much!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Since you have the drake remaining I would highly suggest looking for adult females. At least in my experience, drakes can be bullies, especially with younger females. I have had better success when my drakes are younger than my females. That way, the older girls boss the drakes around and some of the bullying is kept down. Craigslist and your state page on here can be good sources of older ducks.

Do you know why your female died?

 

[Garciaaxen]

Since you have the drake remaining I would highly suggest looking for adult females. At least in my experience, drakes can be bullies, especially with younger females. I have had better success when my drakes are younger than my females. That way, the older girls boss the drakes around and some of the bullying is kept down. Craigslist and your state page on here can be good sources of older ducks.

Do you know why your female

Since you have the drake remaining I would highly suggest looking for adult females. At least in my experience, drakes can be bullies, especially with younger females. I have had better success when my drakes are younger than my females. That way, the older girls boss the drakes around and some of the bullying is kept down. Craigslist and your state page on here can be good sources of older ducks.

Do you know why your female died?

So the females could be older than him & he would still be ok? And unfortunately my husband may have given them too much grit in their bowl. He went to the store & bought what he thought was food for them & he just gave it to them without running it by me. I get up yesterday morning to check on them & notice she was very off so I check their pen to see if maybe she ate something toxic & I see a bowl full of grit. So of course my husband admitted he bought the grit & just gave it to them. Needless to say I was very upset but now there is nothing I can do. She passed away last night.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

So the females could be older than him & he would still be ok? And unfortunately my husband may have given them too much grit in their bowl. He went to the store & bought what he thought was food for them & he just gave it to them without running it by me. I get up yesterday morning to check on them & notice she was very off so I check their pen to see if maybe she ate something toxic & I see a bowl full of grit. So of course my husband admitted he bought the grit & just gave it to them. Needless to say I was very upset but now there is nothing I can do. She passed away last night.

I am so sorry! My son once fed mine grit instead of food. Fortunately for me it was only one night and they were older, used to grit, and didn't eat much. And yes, your drake will be fine with older females. It is usually the males that can be jerks to others. My five girls have taken in three young males this summer and we currently still have peace in the coop (yes, I am aware that this is not the recommended balance but my drakes are all rare Dutch Hookbill's and I am still evaluating the situation).

 

[WoDia]

I’m so sorry to hear that your girl has passed. It’s heartbreaking to lose one and can be even more heartbreaking to watch one mourn the loss of a mate. I hope that you will find some new mates for your drake soon.

 

[nao57]

So I thought I might help you with this...

The hens can ALWAYS be older than the drake (unless you have a mean alpha hen). But the drake being around young ducklings is a disaster waiting to happen. The ducklings need to be old enough to run away from a drake when they are mixed. They should also be strong enough to take the weather, and take care of themselves. In the past, I could only mix ducklings with the main flock VERY carefully, with babysitting, and a few hours at a time chaperoned, then increase the interval of time together spread out over a week. You want to be careful mixing them together at first because they can pick on each other.

...

Whether or not you do ducklings or adult hens; both can work but depends on how much knowledge you have. Like right now its cold out. Do you have the equipment to keep young ducklings warm? Can you keep the ducklings alive?

It can be hard to keep ducklings alive in some circumstances like winter.

Ducklings can be quite fragile. And you are likely to lose some of them even if you have good knowledge. This can be very frustrating.

So it might be more worth it to you to do adult hens or close to adult hens. Anything over 6 week old ducklings also is good and can work. For ducklings they are usually a bit stronger once they are 3 weeks old. But still can die that young. They tend to be stronger around the 6-7 week mark. At that points its harder to lose them. So you could target getting ducklings at those age markers also. I would try to not get drakes though.