ducks and breeding help please

[HollieOlson]

So I have two boys and two girls. The one male is trying to make sexy time with the one female, but she is not interested. She is getting a bald spot on the back of her neck. They don't seem to bother the other female.

I am getting one egg a day but don't know from which female, we have cracked them here and there but have not found a "bullseye" so I don't think they are fertile.

First I am worried about the bald spot. I feel bad for her. Anything to do there?

We want them to build a clutch of eggs and lay on them so we can have ducklings. Help?

This same male duck seems to be after the chickens in the same way too. Mmmm... for sex? Needless to say the chickens run from him.

We have started building a separate pen for the ducks and their duck houses. But they (chickens and ducks) all free range on a half acre everyday and are only locked up at night.


The females are a Cayuga and a Black Swedish
The boys are Black East Indies

So the boys are smaller than the girls.


THANKS!!

Hollie

 

[muscovy joe]

A general rule with ducks is to have more boys then girls to prevent over breeding. Over breeding is just hard on a female, as you said pulled nape feathers, but can also be stressful which prevents egg laying. Im not to sure what the best thing to do in your situation is, more girls perhaps. In regard to your drakes chasing chickens, its not a very good thing either, as ducks have different parts then chickens in the sexy time areas. it would not be good if your drake got a hold of the chickens, separate penning is a good idea for sure. I have 3 boys to 8 girls, I think I still need more girl ducks, I let them run their own course in the duckling area, some want to raise babys and some don't seem to care. I hope you have some broody ducks and a darkish, hidden place they can lay in peace, I would think that she would want to try at least! Good luck this spring and keep reading on this site, its helpful!

 

[Going Quackers]

Yep Muscovy Joe is right... general rule of thumb 2-3 ducks per drake. Also watch those drakes they can kill a chicken hen they are NOT compatible in reproductive organs, so if somebody is sizing up the hens best to separate.

If your aiming for a clutch i would definitely organize this differently, a harassed over bred female will not likely set a clutch or lay well.

A couple of options, sell a drake.. and/or add more females. Some drakes can simply just be too much and i consider it our job as flock keepers to protect the ladies from overly aggressive males in particular.

 

[HollieOlson]

Thanks to both of you. Since my animals are like family selling one is not possible, so more females it is. I do think the new pen will be good, should get done this weekend. The drake chasing the chickens is 99% of the time to get them away from the food, so we added another chicken only feeding area. But I did see him trying to make his move on the one chicken. Buff Orphington so I guess he likes blondes.

At least these two boys, and only one is ever being aggressive, are smaller than the ducks or hens. The girls have no problem getting away from him.

Since my boys are Black East Indies, should I only get Black East Indie females?

Thanks so much! This is our first year with ducks and still learning.

THANKS!

 

[Going Quackers]

Thanks to both of you. Since my animals are like family selling one is not possible, so more females it is. I do think the new pen will be good, should get done this weekend. The drake chasing the chickens is 99% of the time to get them away from the food, so we added another chicken only feeding area. But I did see him trying to make his move on the one chicken. Buff Orphington so I guess he likes blondes.

At least these two boys, and only one is ever being aggressive, are smaller than the ducks or hens. The girls have no problem getting away from him.

Since my boys are Black East Indies, should I only get Black East Indie females?

Thanks so much! This is our first year with ducks and still learning.

THANKS!

Breed wise is entirely up to you, i would try and stay with a size of the original breed however, like i don't mix my calls in with my Muscovy, Buff or Pekin.. since they are a bantam breed and the rest are medium to heavyweights... but many run mixed breed flocks including myself now if you want purebred though that could be an issue...obviously lol and i'll warn you ducks sneak eggs into each others nests so don't count on collecting only from the breeds that are not the same as the drake.

I think your always learning, doesn't matter how long, how many.. something will crop up that is new.. asking for advice and reading up on options show responsibility.

 

[HollieOlson]

Thank you all. I am searching for females locally to add to my little flock. And still no fertilzied eggs. Those boys are not getting any.

Hollie