Drakes won't leave mom of 9 alone,..help

[bernie131]

Mama Mallard just became a mother of 9 little babies but there are 7'-9 drakes at the pond that keep raping her and the babies don't know what to do
She needs help, she comes to me cuz we raised 9,8,7,6 babies before, started with 10, and ended up raising 6 but the geese are trying to get the seed I feed them and it is awful. WHAT SHOULD I DO???

 

[Cayuga momma]

The only thing you can do is keep her and the babies away from the drakes. Can you set up a fenced in area with shelter for her and the babies with a baby pool in it?

 

[chickens really]

If they are Wild Ducks there isn't much you can do. Hopefully they all will be okay..

 

[JanetMarie]

The only thing you can do is keep her and the babies away from the drakes. Can you set up a fenced in area with shelter for her and the babies with a baby pool in it?

I would try this, or somehow discourage the drakes from being there. I would not put up with that at all.

 

[BreanneRN]

Well, sometimes there are just too many males in the population and maybe it is time for some duck soup? This may not be a solution you would embrace or even be able to carry out, but sometimes friends and neighbors can help... Or you can wait and hope predators find them, though they are just as likely to go for the mother and babies. As to the geese, you maybe can build a feeder that will allow a duck size inside but not a goose. They call these creep feeders in the livestock world and build them to feed calves and lambs during the weaning process. Might be able to get some ideas on how to build one on-line by googling. They keep the larger parent animal out and allow the lamb or calf in. A sturdy wooden box with a duck sized hole and a lift lid to refill the feed pan would probably work, as long as it is heavy enough not to be knocked over by the geese, raccoons etc.

 

[bernie131]

Well my worst fears, she is down to just 2 babies, she is at a pond that has 4 snapping turtles in it, they got 4 of her babies last time. I am just in mourning, I fed her tonight and she whimpered the whole time,..my heart just bleeds for her,..

 

[bernie131]

The only thing you can do is keep her and the babies away from the drakes. Can you set up a fenced in area with shelter for her and the babies with a baby pool in it?

It is at the college pond where I go and walk everyday but started spending more time with the ducks for the past 4 years

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not much you can do in a situation like that. Poor girl.

 

[bernie131]

OMG, no more ducklings and drakes all over her, WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM?

 

[BreanneRN]

Those turtles are the worst... Sorry for your loss and the mother ducks. I hear turtle soup is good, too. I'll resist the urge to send recipes, but you can catch those turtles... Perhaps you can get up a petition to rehome in the wild somewhere? That goes for the drakes, too. Though it is perfectly possible that the situation will just repeat itself. Who knows how many baby turtles are in the pond? Though baby turtles are prone to predation, themselves, and I think they are a protected species in the states, at least east coast, where turtle soup was very popular for a historically long time. And the mother will lay another clutch of eggs and maybe more females this time. Perhaps the easiest thing to do would be to catch her and take her home for awhile, if you really want to do something. You can release her when the drake problem is gone. Another option, buy more female ducks and release them on the pond to lessen the pressure from all the males. Perhaps some will pair up and fly away to find a less crowded pond.