Have you used drake jail?

[thumper650]

Same as before. They are fine if I'm there, they fight if they think I'm not watching. They pull out beck feathers and drew blood once since mating season started. So supervised playtime is my only option for now.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I keep my two drakes "in jail" from April through July. They each have a dog crate at night and during the day they are separated from the girls. They get conjugal visits with their favorite girls in the evenings. They are starting to calm down some now so I will try putting them all together pretty soon. I expect a rough first day but then things settle down after the pecking order is established.

 

[PirateGirl]

I keep my two drakes "in jail" from April through July. They each have a dog crate at night and during the day they are separated from the girls. They get conjugal visits with their favorite girls in the evenings. They are starting to calm down some now so I will try putting them all together pretty soon. I expect a rough first day but then things settle down after the pecking order is established.

So you think July is when they typically start calming down? This is even sooner than I'd hoped. My friend mentioned my chicken's hormones might start calming down soon too as our days will start getting shorter (I have a hormonal broody chicken on an empty nest, a whole different hormone problem). I hope this is the case. One of the reasons I was thinking about switching to drake jail now that the ducklings have grown, is I figured the other girls might like a little break from him as well.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

So you think July is when they typically start calming down? This is even sooner than I'd hoped. My friend mentioned my chicken's hormones might start calming down soon too as our days will start getting shorter (I have a hormonal broody chicken on an empty nest, a whole different hormone problem). I hope this is the case. One of the reasons I was thinking about switching to drake jail now that the ducklings have grown, is I figured the other girls might like a little break from him as well.

My boys have their eclipse plumage now rather than their breeding plummage so I hope that means their hormones are lower. We usually go on vacation in July and I can’t ask my duck sitter to catch and separate everyone so that is when they have to go together. It worked last year .

 

[CayugaJana]

Yes my girls start to move around as one flock when the drake is in jail. But when he’s out, they all switch to their groups they were raised with.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Yes my girls start to move around as one flock when the drake is in jail. But when he’s out, they all switch to their groups they were raised with.

Interesting. I wonder why.

 

[ANightPerson]

It would be best just to add the ducklings with the drake. I have done it several times and it always works out in a couple weeks. Drakes will be mean to the newcomers regardless, so it's best to get it out of the way. Keep them all locked in together at least most of the day but obviously take out ducklings if they are being seriously injured.

 

[ANightPerson]

I have introduced ducklings into a group with a very large Pekin drake before. The drake is aggressive and tries to mount them for about a day or two, but things calm down after a bit.

 

[PirateGirl]

I think I am going to try the ducklings with the older girls for about a week and see how it goes and then try adding the drake back into the mix.

 

[sourland]

Drakes during the mating season can be sexually obsessed - not all but most. It is very possible for a large drake to physically injure smaller immature birds. If your drake is causing problems and you do not want to hatch more eggs, there is no reason why you should not remove him from the flock. In my experience most drakes remain sexually obsessed until autumn. By then your younger ducks will be mature enough to deal with the drake.