Half and half... (gender set-up)

[Going Quackers]

which is i guess is better than all drakes lol

but obviously me has problem

My one drake is slightly compromised reduced eye-sight(possibly blind) in one eye since it was a coon attack survivor but i'm not delusional i know i am lacking in hens here with it being half and half(2 hens/2 drakes)

I'm also utterly clueless on how i want to handle this. Where i am it's darn near impossible to get muscovy other than straight run... yeah... not gonna work, they will be free ranging soon(there 10wks, locked up at night) my husband says we need drakes to "protect" the ladies i argue we're going to end up with babies.. and being how broody muscovy can be i can see this turning into way to many birds.

So advice please? time is ticking and choices are going to have to be made.

 

[gofasterstripe]

I definatly would NOT be getting more drakes if you already have 2 and 2. You need to be finding alot more hens

 

[Wyo Chick]

I am discouraged about my ducks too. I have 2 drakes and 2 hens. I also recently acquired a mallard drake that flew in to make himself at home. Don't know what to do. I thought the 2 to 2 would work good, but some say it won't.

Don't know what to do.

 

[Going Quackers]

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I know, i said i needed more hens, i definitely am not after more drakes lol

 

[Going Quackers]

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It's a tough boat to be in. I don't know what to do either, my husband feels we need to keep the drakes to protect the hens

.. i almost think i should just get rid of them and keep my pair of ladies.

 

[FenDruadin]

Drakes provide almost no protection whatsoever against anything dangerous. They will keep a minimal watch and warn the flock, and they will most definitely defend against other male ducks wanting to breed with the females, but in the face of anything like a dog, raccoon, or hawk, they will scatter and run just like everyone else. In the absence of a male duck, one of the females will take over the watching role, so you really don't lose much. If you want an animal to "watch out for" the ducks, you need a goose or, better yet, a livestock guardian dog.

That doesn't solve your problem, but I hope it helps. To solve your problem, you will need to either re-home one or both drakes, or get a lot more females. Muscovy females are fine but you're right--they will go broody frequently. You can order sexed ducklings online at Metzer, McMurray, or Ideal (among others). If you don't want ten ducks, you can usually split the order with someone in your area (use craigslist to find them), or I think Ideal will let you order a minimum of three.

Good luck! Sometimes we have to make hard choices to take care of our critters, and this is definitely one of the hard ones.

 

[Going Quackers]

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Thank you, yes i didn't think they would either, but that was his argument for keeping them. I wonder if any of those places ship outside the US? where i am, you cannot get sexed from the farm supply. I'm extremely torn, really I am uninterested in them breeding because i have no idea how'd we get rid of all the 'kids' lol

The one drake is probably not so hard to find a home for, but the other handicapped one i worry about, we've nursed him through and he improving weekly but since he's still a he it's a major issue. Darn this is hard

 

[FenDruadin]

So keep the disabled one.

One drake to one hen should be just fine. Without competition from the other drake, he won't feel the need to breed as often, plus with his disabilities she can probably defend herself pretty well when she wants to be left alone. You'll make your ducks very happy.

 

[Going Quackers]

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Thank you for your advice. So i could keep we call him lucky LOL(the disabled) one and my two hens and they should get on fine?

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Oh trust me i hear you there! I'm worse off then you, i have 2 females and 5! drakes! and they are 17 weeks old and will soon start breeding I'm worried for the girls I hope they don't beat them up to much. I'm eating 1 just to get him out of the way Because nobody wants drakes so I'm getting some more girls, just so the men have some more ladies but that won't be anytime soon, so if anyone is wanting some drakes let me know!!!