Duck chasing rooster...help!

[Mollysgirl]

So I am new to chickens. We bought 6 chicks and 1 duck. Well we now know we have 5 hens, one rooster and one male duck. They have been together since the beginning of time and they are now 5 months old.

Just this week the male duck has begun chasing the rooster and one hen which both are silkies. He chases them and pulls at their feathers. He leaves the others alone. When we separate them, he goes into "panic" mode and relentless tried to get into the run with all of them.

So, what gives? Do I need to re-home the duck?

 

[Mike Winters]

1 he thinks hes a chicken
2 he has hit puberty
3 drakes are the the most sexually aggressive animal on two legs
4 because he is a duck he doesn't understand chicken manners
5 he thinks hes a chicken but thinks like a duck.

idk separate him and give him a mirror to keep him company.

 

[Miss Lydia]

1 he thinks hes a chicken
2 he has hit puberty
3 drakes are the the most sexually aggressive animal on two legs
4 because he is a duck he doesn't understand chicken manners
5 he thinks hes a chicken but thinks like a duck.

idk separate him and give him a mirror to keep him company.

I'd also find him a couple girl ducks to keep him company, it isn't his fault he thinks hes a chicken but thinks like a duck.

 

[Mollysgirl]

Thanks for the help. Getting additional ducks is not an option, sounds like he might need a new home. We were told that the duck would be just fine with the chickens but obviously that is not true. In the past few days, he is becoming more aggressive.

So, how do I find him a new home? I assume that finding him a nice pond is not acceptable.

 

[larkflying]

I use craigslist or freecycle . . . managed to find nice homes with ponds both times I rehomed extra males. You could post an ad at your local feed store too -- a lot of them have community boards.

He wouldn't do well at a community pond -- probably starve or get killed by a predator, but I can sympathize. Drakes are so persistent when they get an idea in their heads. None of my drakes chased chickens, but I raised ducklings and goslings together last year, and one drake he thought that either he was a goose, or that geese were just big ducks. He would chase the female geese around and around our area trying to mate with them (and he was the only drake with my five female ducks, so getting more ducks might not have helped your problem). The ganders were too laid back to go after him until he got close to them, and finally I just got tired of it, and he went to a new home.

I've heard stories of geese going after silkie chickens and pulling out their feathers because something about the feathers just intrigues them. My geese don't seem to care about my silkies, but apparently, your drake feels that way . . . Poor silkies!