Have you used drake jail?

[shawluvsbirds]

jail house drake
Still kind of new to this myself so I can't comment too much on how well it works. . but it beats hearing the blood curdling screams from the girls.

 

[Michael P]

For some reason, last year my drake started persecuting one of the females but not the rest. I put him in drake jail for a month, and when I let him out everything was peaceful.

Right now I am raising ducklings and will wait until the ducklings are at their adult weight before integrating the flocks. Adults and ducklings are penned next to each other so they can see and hear each other 24/7. My drake was mildly aggressive through the wire at first, but even that has decreased. The adult females seem completely uninterested in the ducklings. If the drake causes problems when the flocks join, he will go back to jail for a while.

 

[CayugaJana]

Interesting. I wonder why.

I’m not totally sure. But it seems like he has his favorites. And if they aren’t his favorite, he chases them away. Then his favorite ducks think they are too cool and join in. But when he’s put up, they don’t have anyone to protect them and they all chill out.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I’m not totally sure. But it seems like he has his favorites. And if they aren’t his favorite, he chases them away. Then his favorite ducks think they are too cool and join in. But when he’s put up, they don’t have anyone to protect them and they all chill out.

I have seen that with my little flock. The one girl that is a little different the drake nips at. I noticed the other girls do the same. I almost wonder if I should get a few more girls as I don't want her to be a loner.

 

[thumper650]

I have seen that with my little flock. The one girl that is a little different the drake nips at. I noticed the other girls do the same. I almost wonder if I should get a few more girls as I don't want her to be a loner.

Seems like I should have gone all hens instead of all drake! oops!

 

[CayugaJana]

I have seen that with my little flock. The one girl that is a little different the drake nips at. I noticed the other girls do the same. I almost wonder if I should get a few more girls as I don't want her to be a loner.

It seems mine prefers certain colors. If they are black, he wants to mate them. If they are white, he doesn’t really. However, my one Pekin that was raised with the drake, he tolerates and mates with.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I let my drake out of jail yesterday and so far so good! He had a little scuffle with one of the younger ones. But they have figured out to stay out of his way. He still has 3 adult girls to keep him occupied so hopefully he can stay outta jail for a while. I did leave an extra dish of water and food out so they can sort of avoiding having to eat and drink at the same time. It seems to help some.

 

[PirateGirl]

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.

Thank you. Yes the ducklings are *close* to full grown I think, but are a slightly smaller breed, so my drake will always be larger. I am certainly taking things much slower than anticipated.

For some reason, last year my drake started persecuting one of the females but not the rest. I put him in drake jail for a month, and when I let him out everything was peaceful.

Right now I am raising ducklings and will wait until the ducklings are at their adult weight before integrating the flocks. Adults and ducklings are penned next to each other so they can see and hear each other 24/7. My drake was mildly aggressive through the wire at first, but even that has decreased. The adult females seem completely uninterested in the ducklings. If the drake causes problems when the flocks join, he will go back to jail for a while.

Mine have been penned next to each other too since the ducklings were big enough and weather nice enough for them to be outside 24/7. The drake used to charge and bang the bars and pluck some tail feathers through the fence if a duckling was close enough. This has all stopped, so there is definitely progress.

 

[PirateGirl]

Today I am home all day, so I turned the bedding, filled the pool, and filled the food, all very exciting stuff. Then I threw the ducklings in with the big girls while they were a bit distracted by the other excitement. It's been hours and no drama. This is their best interaction yet! Even the adult that was mean a few days ago is ignoring them. The ducklings have been allowed to eat, drink, and swim without being attacked by anyone. There have been a few nips, but not even a plucked feather. The big girls do chase the ducklings away from their egg laying spot, but that's about it.

The drake has been in jail all day right on the other side of the fence. He has been quite calm about it but does try to escape when I open the gate.

If this good behavior continues all day the ducklings and adults might be together 24/7 from now on. The drake may have to stay in jail awhile longer though.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

 

[PirateGirl]

Everyone hanging out together just ignoring each other and doing their own thing!