Duck Trouble

[kealetem]

My female duck hatched 9 ducklings on June 10th. The male duck became very aggressive, chasing them and pulling out feathers. I removed him from the enclosure but I am wondering when or if it will be safe to put him back in. I have tried to reintroduce him now that the ducklings are bigger but he constantly chases them and tries to mount the females. It seems like he is trying to get the ducklings away from the mother, but he doesn't try to mount her. I have tried to put just the female and the male together, but she stresses out about being away from the babies.
Help, is this normal? What should I do?

 

[65browneyes]

I'm hoping the resident "duck person", Terrie, will chime in here soon. I, myself, have NO experience with ducks, but am curious to see what advice you get. Good luck.

 

[Katy]

I always wait to try and introduce my young ducks to the older ones until they are as big as the adults. Then I usually have them in an enclosed fence area in the big pen for a few days so they can see each other and get used to each other. Even then there is usually a lot of chasing and feather pulling for awhile. I wouldn't ever try and put them together until they're the same size.