Ducks Anyone?

[andrewmikelyons]

I got Two ducklings and I think they are both male Pekins ducks. I would like to get maybe two females. Where can I find them without having to pay 45 to 60 dollars shipping?

 

[Ducks4us]

you will have to get more like a minimum of 3 or 4 girls for each male, and the males may still fight alot anyway.
if you only get one for each drake the drakes will overbreed the girls severely. and can injure and kill them.
but maybe you can find some adult females on craigslist once your males are bigger.
for me it was easier to just order sexed females from metzer.
most adult female ducks in my area cost$20 anyway.

 

[andrewmikelyons]

They are still very young I sexed them but I am not a pro... Let's say one is a drake and one is a hen will I still need 2 more females? OR can I have just one male and one female?

 

[Learningstill]

The rule of thumb was mentioned earlier, but I would like to add that some drakes are heavy maters while others seem to not abuse the ducks. We have a Khaki drake who could have 5 ducks and he would abuse them all. We consider it abuse when the ducks start losing their head feathers due to heavy mating. We have a mallard drake who will only mate with certain ducks. His best bud is a khaki duck and he does not mate with her. Basically, at our farm, our drake to duck ratio depends on how many heavy breeders we have. Currently, we have too many drakes, so some will need to go bye-bye soon. We base that on if our ducks are losing their head feathers, as mentioned earlier. Just a little tip age your ducks age

Also, to answer your question...certain breeds you can sex in the first few days, such as welsh harlequins. Maybe find a breeders for these type of breeds nearby or buy older Peking ducklings, so you have more of a guarantee. Only do the latter if your other ducklings around the same age unless you can keep them separated. Older ducklings will pick on younger.
Best of luck!

 

[Ducks4us]

They are still very young I sexed them but I am not a pro... Let's say one is a drake and one is a hen will I still need 2 more females? OR can I have just one male and one female?

it may work okay. i would still try to find one more female. So you have atleast 2 girls and one drake.
although many are able to successfully keep one pair.
like mentioned all drakes are different. tho i have heard pekin drakes are often pretty laid back.
one drake is certainly better because they arent in competition with another drake. this is when the girls seem to really suffer.