Getting a Drake?

[3xhhheather]

I currently have a flock of only ladies, but wondering if I should add a drake. The pecking order system with them is getting a little out of control, they're constantly mounting each other and almost drowning the low ones on the totem pole. I'm wondering if adding a drake into the mix will kinda solve the hierarchy problems? I do know that a drake could accidentally drown one of the ladies, but the odds are probably low(?), because once he does his thing he'll hop off.

Looking for advice, thanks in advance!

 

[HappyDuckie]

How many females do you have? And age?

 

[3xhhheather]

How many females do you have? And age?

6 females and various ages, but all under 1 year.

 

[HappyDuckie]

Ok. I don't know that a drake will solve all of those problems, but it should stop the females mounting each other. Good luck.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I think a drake next year would help.

 

[3xhhheather]

I think a drake next year would help.

Just curious, is there a reason I should wait until the spring? Hormones and all that? Tx!

 

[HappyDuckie]

There is no reason to wait until spring, other than maybe being able to make it easier to find one. Getting one in the spring may make introductions more difficult.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yeah, no I just figured it would be easiest to find one next spring when people find our their girls are actually guys

 

[LT71689]

When to get a drake might be impacted by your location and what your winters are like, and what your coop/run set up is like. Most folks recommend a slow introduction with the new bird(s) allowed to see but not touch the existing flock for a few days, up to a week or more (depending on how everyone behaves) so they can gradually get used to each other without incident. You might also want to do this if wherever you get your drake from leaves you with any health suspicions - you might prefer to keep the new bird(s) in quarantine for a few days to keep an eye out for health issues that could potentially spread to the rest of your flock.

So, consider if that's something you want/need to do, and whether or not you're set up for that kind of thing at this time of year. If you're moving into harsh temps and dont have a separate coop structure or way to divide your existing coop to protect the new bird from the elements while they get acclimated to the flock, then maybe you wanna put this off until next year. If you're all set and ready to go now, I might get a jump-start on it so that they're all comfortable with each other *before* a crazy mating season hits.


If you're worried about a drake bullying some of your younger/smaller hens, you could try to find a smaller breed than whatever your hens are to give them a little more of a fighting edge. (I dont know what kind of ducks you have, but obviously you wouldnt want to get a jumbo pekin drake for a bunch of little female calls or something like that)

 

[3xhhheather]

Yeah, no I just figured it would be easiest to find one next spring when people find our their girls are actually guys

Ahh yeah gotchya!