Getting more ducks?

[AshleyNicole06]

i have 3 drakes and am planning on getting more ducklings in the spring. (A few females and more drakes) Will the older ones accept the new ones or hurt them? Not like them?
I read somewhere they might not take a liking to them.
Thanks

 

[MillersFarm]

If you plan on keeping those drakes i wouldn't get any hens at all. All of your hens with too many drakes will get over-bred with and your drakes will eventually wear them down to the point were they'll starting having health problems. I have only two drakes with 13 hens and plan on getting a couple more Hens for the drakes. No more drakes. And for 3 drakes i would suggest buying JUST hens and 15 of em'.

 

[AshleyNicole06]

If you plan on keeping those drakes i wouldn't get any hens at all. All of your hens with too many drakes will get over-bred with and your drakes will eventually wear them down to the point were they'll starting having health problems. I have only two drakes with 13 hens and plan on getting a couple more Hens for the drakes. No more drakes. And for 3 drakes i would suggest buying JUST hens and 18 of em'.

18? Holy moly!! Lol I would have never known that. Does it have to be 18??
How do you tell if they r boys or girls when they are real young?

 

[DuckMom2017]

How do you tell if they r boys or girls when they are real young?

Typically you can't tell until they're older unless you know someone with experience sexing them. I have 1 drake and 3 girls and it's not enough and I'm about to create a divider to give my girls a break. Trust me, you don't want this problem. Some places you can buy them already sexed, or I suggest checking out local rescues. Often, people get ducks and find out they're not up to the workload, and dump them or surrender them. Most states have a rescue of some sorts and you could get an older duck that you know is a guy![/QUOTE]

 

[MillersFarm]

18? Holy moly!! Lol I would have never known that. Does it have to be 18??
How do you tell if they r boys or girls when they are real young?

Meant to say 15. You can buy sexed ducklings online like I did, And you can also tell by their voices once they get big enough. Drakes will have a more quiet raspy almost like a whisper kind of voice and the hens will have louder more Quack! like sound to it. I'd look into https://www.meyerhatchery.com/ for buying sexed ducklings for reasonable prices

 

[AshleyNicole06]

Meant to say 15. You can buy sexed ducklings online like I did, And you can also tell by their voices once they get big enough. Drakes will have a more quiet raspy almost like a whisper kind of voice and the hens will have louder more Quack! like sound to it. I'd look into https://www.meyerhatchery.com/ for buying sexed ducklings for reasonable prices

Thank you for your help!

 

[AshleyNicole06]

How do you tell if they r boys or girls when they are real young?

Typically you can't tell until they're older unless you know someone with experience sexing them. I have 1 drake and 3 girls and it's not enough and I'm about to create a divider to give my girls a break. Trust me, you don't want this problem. Some places you can buy them already sexed, or I suggest checking out local rescues. Often, people get ducks and find out they're not up to the workload, and dump them or surrender them. Most states have a rescue of some sorts and you could get an older duck that you know is a guy!

[/QUOTE]
Okay thank you!!

 

[chickens really]

Your 3 Drakes get along only because their are no Hens..Once you add in females you will see issues...Drakes begin fighting and they usually all want the same Hen..Set up another Duck enclosure..One for Drakes and one for Hens...You can pick one Drake and keep him with the Hens..

 

[AshleyNicole06]

Your 3 Drakes get along only because their are no Hens..Once you add in females you will see issues...Drakes begin fighting and they usually all want the same Hen..Set up another Duck enclosure..One for Drakes and one for Hens...You can pick one Drake and keep him with the Hens..

Will the other 2 drakes get depressed if they’re missing their friend? They love each other. (sorry first time duck Mom) haha

 

[lomine]

If you aren't interested in eggs or breeding I would recommend you only keep drakes. That way you don't need to worry about fighting over hens or hen safety. You will still need to put together a plan of integrating new birds. There are always extra drakes out there that people are looking to get rid of.

If you are thinking of breeding you will need to think about what you will do with extra drakes. Because more will hatch and you can't keep them all.