Drakes want to kill my duckling

[duck brain]

I have a duckling that's about two months old. I think that's she's a hen. I was thinking that hey, she should be old enough to introduce to my existing ducks, a hen and two drakes. I decided to take it slow, and had her in a wire dog kennel on the ground at night for a few days. The older ducks waddle around the yard during the day, they have the run of our four and a half acre place. So i have Pokey, the duckling, in chicken run during the day.

I've been trying to get my drakes to accept Pokey for some time now, but it seems that unless she is in my lap, or tucked under my arm all they want to do is either kill or mount her. I honestly cannot tell which. They will grab her feathers at the base of her head and not let go until i grab Pokey and kick the drake off. Sometimes they will both be doing it at the same time. My hen does not have a problem with her. Whats going on, and how should i get them to accept Pokey? She can't stay in the chicken run forever, there is no live grass on there and the chickens, who also have the run of the place, eat all the bugs.

NOTE: I know that at two months and almost completely feathered out she's not a duckling, but i call my ducks ducklings until i get one that's younger then the current "duckling". My Khaki Campbells were ducklings for six months!

 

[Frank Phinster]

Are the drakes trying to sit on the duck's back while grabbing her by the neck? In that case they are trying to mate with her. Drakes can get pretty rough, but when the sizes are about the same aside from normal sexual dimorphism, a single drake usually does not cause any damage aside from feathers being pulled out.
Two drakes at once might be a problem though because that means too much strain on the duck.
Your drake : duck ratio is not a good one I might add, espeacially when you are keeping active ducks like Campbells. A drake should at least have two ducks to mate with, more would be beneficial.

It could also be that they have territorial issues - drakes sometimes don't like to accept strangers. I had the same problem once but it settled after a few weeks. If the drakes are not trying to mount the duck but are just aggressive, the latter might be the case.

As long as the duck stays fine I would let them be together and let them sort it out by themselves, they will settle down sooner or later.

In any case I would aquire additional females.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a duckling that's about two months old. I think that's she's a hen. I was thinking that hey, she should be old enough to introduce to my existing ducks, a hen and two drakes. I decided to take it slow, and had her in a wire dog kennel on the ground at night for a few days. The older ducks waddle around the yard during the day, they have the run of our four and a half acre place. So i have Pokey, the duckling, in chicken run during the day.

I've been trying to get my drakes to accept Pokey for some time now, but it seems that unless she is in my lap, or tucked under my arm all they want to do is either kill or mount her. I honestly cannot tell which. They will grab her feathers at the base of her head and not let go until i grab Pokey and kick the drake off. Sometimes they will both be doing it at the same time. My hen does not have a problem with her. Whats going on, and how should i get them to accept Pokey? She can't stay in the chicken run forever, there is no live grass on there and the chickens, who also have the run of the place, eat all the bugs.

NOTE: I know that at two months and almost completely feathered out she's not a duckling, but i call my ducks ducklings until i get one that's younger then the current "duckling". My Khaki Campbells were ducklings for six months!

She is way to young to be with hormonal drakes give her a few more months. keep her where they can all see each other but they can not get to her. or keep the ducks together and let the drakes be together, and i do agree with FP, you need more ducks your ratio is off.

 

[jdywntr]

She is way to young to be with hormonal drakes give her a few more months. keep her where they can all see each other but they can not get to her. or keep the ducks together and let the drakes be together, and i do agree with FP, you need more ducks your ratio is off.

X 2

 

[Going Quackers]

X 2

X3

My drakes are just now trying to mate with the 8mth olds but they are receptive. Before that they had enough of their own to leave the young duckling be.

 

[duck brain]

Okey-Pokey you guys, thanks for helping! Guess I'll keep Pokey away from them another couple months.

 

[farmer boy]

drakes do not like young ducklings unless your female duck was sitting on eggs and hatching them then she will protect them but i had two ducklings and my drake chased them away from the water go up and grab them but until they were 6 weeks old they were pekins so at 6 weeks old they were the size of adult ducks and then my drake started to like them a little more and now my pekins are full grown but i had to kill the pekin hen and the pekin drake is huge now bigger then the drake who use tp pick on him