Help! 2 ducks on 1 - my poor girl - what to do?

[kylee2katie]

I have a female pekin (Big Momma) that is 16 weeks old, a male runner (baby duck) who is the same age, and a male mallard that is 14 weeks (boom-boom). For several weeks she has been doing the head bobbing, come hither thing....no one cared - until this morning!
I was filling the pools with clean water and she jumped in - boom boom jumped in and then on top of her - freaked me out - they have no shame and don't care who's watching!! but then baby duck jumped in and grabbed her neck in his bill and pushed her head under water - OMG!!! I sprayed him with the hose and he got out but the other two just kept at it.....
why did he hold her head under? do I need to seperate them? intervene? do nothing? I am new at this - help! (edited to add picture of the 3 in question!!)

 

[AdamD77]

The pushing the head under is natural when they hold the back of the neck when mating, but if you see anything like the female struggling or trying to get air then intervene. I know it's horrible to watch and when my females are old enough I'm going to freak every time I see it but I think they should be left to get on with it really.

 

[Hattiegun]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=373858

READ MY POST DOWN THE PAGE FUTHER....OMG !! yes , im horrified...



and read what everyone says about this subject...
YOU WILL NEED MORE GIRLs... they can over mate ....but
that is how they do it.... I KNOW IT SUCKS !!!!

 

[kylee2katie]

Quote:
I just read your post - OMG doesn't even scratch the surface....really glad I'm NOT a duck!! Any advice on how to explain this to a 6 year old?

 

[Hattiegun]

another BYC'er asked that also..(what do I tell my 5 yr old.) . lol I dont have any kids....

THese are my first ducks also and Ive read it all on what goes on
BUT TO SEE IT ughhhhhhh.... I smacked poor Ramrod and he shot
across the pond... and then I felt bad cuz hes actually luvs me the most..lol
(I didnt hurt him, scared him mostly for a sec)... but Ive only seen them try
a couple times since then... Holeshot thinks Im a girlfriend tho... I keep
tellin him " IM YOUR MAMA... not Yur Girlfriend....' Im thinkin bout gettin
a couple more girls ......

 

[sourland]

Two drakes, one hen-SORRY, won't work. Just a problem waiting to happen. What to tell your kids? That was the advantage to living in the country, we knew about that stuff- and so did our kids. What's natural is, well, natural.

 

[kylee2katie]

Quote:
We actually have 2 more mallard hens and two scovy hens - they are just about 4 weeks younger - so the ratio won't be an issue in another month or so....
As far as living in the country - my kids were born and raised "in the country", they know where babies come from - that it takes two - I just wanted to know if anyone else had explained to a child why the 3rd one was holding her head under while #2 had his way with her...

 

[Hattiegun]

Quote:
We actually have 2 more mallard hens and two scovy hens - they are just about 4 weeks younger - so the ratio won't be an issue in another month or so....
As far as living in the country - my kids were born and raised "in the country", they know where babies come from - that it takes two - I just wanted to know if anyone else had explained to a child why the 3rd one was holding her head under while #2 had his way with her...

Glad to hear u have more girls !!!! yeaaaaahhhhh........ Sourland just says it like it is....(and is actually funny I think) no sugar coatin there,,, hence the name "sour"land... (would be my guess).. right to the point.....heee heeee

 

[chicksbestfriend]

I currently have 16 Muscovy ducks and out of those, 3 are drakes, and let me tell you, I have two too many drakes! I dont know if its just with this particular breed, but anytime I have tried to introduce new drakes into the flock, one remains very dominant over the entire flock; mating all the hens, to the point of mating them to death. I have lost my numbers in hens for sure, even when I have had only 1 drake. The drakes appear to constantly compete with each other. I have yet to find two compatible drakes. I introduced 5 new ducks to the flock seveal months ago (two drakes, 3 hens) and they have just reached their sizes and maturity and my OG drake, his name is Luckey, (obvious reasons: lucky to be here!) is now aggressively pursuing the newly matured hens, 1 inparticular, Snow white, she is a beauty. She goes into hiding when I am not around and only feels safe to show herself when I am outside to protect her. Luckey does not go after her when I am there, but taunts her from afar. So sad to see her bright blue eyes so full of fear. I have been loosing sleep everynight just trying to figure out what to do. I know what I need to do.................get rid of Luckey, but I have had him for 4 yrs and love him so much, he is full of personality, but I cannot let him take down my flock one by one because his aggression towards the hens is getting stronger as he ages. :-(

 

[katharinad]

I've just rehomed 4 drakes. They were not sexually mature yet. I had one male and female 4 weeks older then the rest. The other group had the 4 drakes, and they would hang around together. There would always be at least 6 feet distance. Plus the older drake would go over and harass the 4 younger boys. Nothing serious, but he had to make sure they knew he was boss. So I've kept the older drake and found a nice home with a duck breeder for the other 4. I now have 8 hens and 1 drake. All I can say is the dynamic has changed right away and a lot. They are now all together and quite happy about it. The drake now really looks out for all of the ladies. Really sweet. I'm now glad that I have eliminated the competition. Sure I don't have the ideal breeding ratio, but I can always put 3 hens with the drake when I need it. They are now 8 and 12 weeks old, so they are not mature yet.