Flock Building

[Miss Lydia]

For some reason Macha doesn’t hold her wings in tight like the others. Probably why she is an easy target. Angel wing I think.

Yes it is and go ahead and wrap, it takes less than a week for the wings to lay normal.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/angel-wing-treatment.1252014/

 

[DuckTapePalace]

That’s encouraging! She’s not happy about it but she’s adjusting and will be one strong little duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Since her feathers are growing in this is the best time to wrap. You may have to do it several times some are great escape artists but don't give up. You can also use a knee high cut the toe end off and slip it over the body like a straight jacket Just keep her out of water while she is wrapped. Of course you can remove wraps and let her swim.

 

[DuckTapePalace]

Just as an update…

Let drakes out to mingle with everyone and the first thing they did was mob one of our Black Swedish and fight off the other one when she protested. I can only guess that with them being kept separate for so long, the Black Swedish have changed the pecking order and the drakes are re-establishing dominance. It’s tough. The new Cayugas don’t know what to do and a couple of them got chased (nbd) but all the black ducks were kept away from the pond.

It’s looking like the Cayugas, at least 2/3, at LEAST, are drakes. Do I let them form their own black flock? Or establish a new pecking order with the boys? We know from the nearby avairy/park that a bunch of drakes can get a long, but the ratio of ladies will be off.

The Ancona drakes kept leaving the OG flock to get on our black Swedish and separate the sisters still. It’s a mess. I’ve heard from a friend that ducks can be “racist” but still want to mate with the other teams ladies. We are thinking of rehoming at least 2 of the Cayugas if they’re all drakes (maybe keep 1?) but if my black Swedish keep getting targeted and separated from the flock, I’m not sure what to do. I’d hate to rehome them as well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do you know now how many drakes to females you have? if no one is getting hurt you might see if they can work out the pecking order and then decide what is best who to keep who to rehome. I have a 4 yr old Cayuga female who came to live with us in January along with a Runner female the flock of Runners and Buffs accepted the Runner no problems but my little Cayuga female still isn't accepted by the drakes, they don't hurt her but anytime she comes around they drop their heads kinda of run at her and make her leave. Makes me sad.

 

[DuckTapePalace]

Do you know now how many drakes to females you have? if no one is getting hurt you might see if they can work out the pecking order and then decide what is best who to keep who to rehome. I have a 4 yr old Cayuga female who came to live with us in January along with a Runner female the flock of Runners and Buffs accepted the Runner no problems but my little Cayuga female still isn't accepted by the drakes, they don't hurt her but anytime she comes around they drop their heads kinda of run at her and make her leave. Makes me sad.

It’s looking and sounding like the cayuga’s are all males. Only one of them has serious curls but I’ve seen/heard their voices. The Ancona’s keep them away and they seem content to do their own thing. We tried having everyone in together at night and it was peaceful for a min but we had to separate them again.

At this point I’m going to have to separate the Black Swedish twins. Moody was missing feathers on her head from so much attention. Away from the Ancona’s the rest of the ladies are all taking turns on their shared nest haha. So… I don’t know. I’m at a loss. It almost seems like I would need keep ALL the black ducks separate if we keep them. But then we have 2 flocks and I’m not sure how to accommodate them in a free range garden. Commander Swan really takes his role seriously!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Decisions can be hard when it comes to our birds but we have to try and find a solution that is good for everyone And can bring reasonable peace and safety to the flock.
Too many drakes can bring stress which can lead to illness. Or injury I have 5 females separated from my 2 Runner drakes and they will most likely not be back in the flock till fall. I had 3 Runner drakes but did find a home for one.