Duck breeding

[Cyprus]

Uh, I meant the organ inside them that holds the fertileness, they loose that.

Testicles.
They still have those

 

[casportpony]

Uh, I meant the organ inside them that holds the fertileness, they loose that.

Where did you read that? They don't lose any part of their reproductive system. Testicles and phallus may reduce in size, but they don't lose them.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Testicles.
They still have those

Oh! Lol! Well maybe your drakes are rare!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Where did you read that? They don't lose any part of their reproductive system. Testicles and phallus may reduce in size, but they don't lose them.

Backyard chickens. Lol!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

More adult hens now would give him more mates so he wouldn't be so rough on the one. But if you want to wait it out, you could also maybe separate the drake at times during the day, to give her a break. But if she goes back to the eggs, she will be getting her own time-out. (sometimes that's why I think hens go broody! lol)

Drakes can be unpredictable with babies. They have to be introduced slowly. Some do well, some not.



Whereabouts are you located? Winter is not ideal for hatching, but if he is that active with her, chances are good that they are fertile. If you put them in the incubator, you will know within a week if they are fertile by candling.

Texas. Yeah, he mates like, 5,000 times a day with her.

 

[casportpony]

Backyard chickens. Lol!

May I suggest that you research waterfowl reproductive systems?

 

[PirateGirl]

A few comments after a read through this thread.

You only have one drake and one hen so I think chances are pretty good the eggs are fertile even though it's not peak breeding season. You've indicated that your hen is missing head/neck feathers so your drake has likely been at least attempting to breed with her.

It is up to you if you want to let her continue to gather eggs and brood them or if you want to try to hatch them in your incubator instead.

If you decide on the incubator... you can candle the eggs in a few days and you will be able to tell which ones are beginning to develop and discard the ones that are not developing.

If you hatch the eggs in your incubator, there is no guarantee that you ducks will automatically accept the ducklings. There is a good chance you will need to raise them indoors in a brooder until they are close to full grown before working on integration starting with a see no touch setup.

You mention trying to hatch females instead of purchasing females. There is no guarantee that the eggs you hatch will be females. It will be good to have a plan in place ahead of time of what you will do with any ducklings that end up being drakes.

I think that's all I've got!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Also, it's been about 2 weeks that she's been broody.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

May I suggest that you research waterfowl reproductive systems?

Sure!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

A few comments after a read through this thread.

You only have one drake and one hen so I think chances are pretty good the eggs are fertile even though it's not peak breeding season. You've indicated that your hen is missing head/neck feathers so your drake has likely been at least attempting to breed with her.

It is up to you if you want to let her continue to gather eggs and brood them or if you want to try to hatch them in your incubator instead.

If you decide on the incubator... you can candle the eggs in a few days and you will be able to tell which ones are beginning to develop and discard the ones that are not developing.

If you hatch the eggs in your incubator, there is no guarantee that you ducks will automatically accept the ducklings. There is a good chance you will need to raise them indoors in a brooder until they are close to full grown before working on integration starting with a see no touch setup.

You mention trying to hatch females instead of purchasing females. There is no guarantee that the eggs you hatch will be females. It will be good to have a plan in place ahead of time of what you will do with any ducklings that end up being drakes.

I think that's all I've got!

Thank you! I actually hatched 16 chickens not too long ago and they all were hens! What luck is that!