Ducklings

[TarynLord]

so I have a little trio of ducks, the drake is a buff orpington. the two hens are currently laying on a nest together. what are the chances I can keep them all together when the babies hatch? Will the drake start trying to kill them? we hatched some muscovy ducklings earlier this year and we ended up having to separate the drake from mom and babies because he was trying to kill them. we could separate them but ideally we want them to stay together. what would be best?

 

[Canadian Wind]

It all depends on the drake, honestly. Some do fine and even help, others are the opposite. It also depends on your set up and how much room they have. I've found that when free-ranged, the drakes tend to ignore the little ones, but when confined in a pen, they can be more apt to hurt them.