HELP OVERMATING???

[twolilquacklings]

I only have two ducks one female and male. I never have had a problem with my boy (Nico) abusing his duck wife Pabby. She was always big enough to push him off if she wanted to and he was never aggressive...now I am noticing bald spots on her head and I don't know what to do!! They’re very attached to each other so if I seperate them they immediately start screaming until they are together. But I am not sure how else to help. Please give me advice I want her to stay safe.

 

[SolarDuck]

Get a couple more females

 

[DucksAreBest]

I agree with @SolarDuck, try searching your local Craigslist for more females.

 

[KaleIAm]

More ladies is a great idea. Until you can find some, or if you don't have the space or energy for more ducks, can you provide them a see through barrier? Some members use baby gates or fencing. Then they can hang out with each other on either side of the barrier. Also, since mating usually happens in water you could take away their pool until you add in some more girl friends. Perhaps try giving them swimming water for a half hour a few times a week. Hopefully when the hormones go down in the fall the mating will decrease.

 

[Ratchnick]

Maybe If she is just bald and not bleeding its ok? It sounds like they dont want to be split up?

 

[FactoryReject]

I only have two ducks one female and male. I never have had a problem with my boy (Nico) abusing his duck wife Pabby. She was always big enough to push him off if she wanted to and he was never aggressive...now I am noticing bald spots on her head and I don't know what to do!! They’re very attached to each other so if I seperate them they immediately start screaming until they are together. But I am not sure how else to help. Please give me advice I want her to stay safe.

If they want to be together, let them. That bald spot is most likely Nico gripping on

 

[LT71689]

You'd benefit from 3+ more adult (not ducklings or unsexed) females to help take the pressure off of just her. They may be extremely bonded and it sucks to separate them, but not doing so is actually causing her physical harm so you have the make the hard choice. With only one male you can get away with see-through barriers and I'd do that ASAP to give her a break. We're coming up on spring, so it's likely only going to get worse, I'd start looking for new girls immediately so you can get through the quarantine and introduction process ASAP (you'll want to keep the newbies separate from your two for a week or two to be sure theres no illness, and then introduce them to your girl over a period of 'look but dont touch' for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on how they get along, and THEN you add your boy back into the mix)

On the forums page a little bit lower than this one there's a section for buy/sell/adopt and you can also check craigslist and facebook groups, and put the word out at your local feed store as well that you're in the market for some adult females

 

[DuckyBabies]

I would separate them until you can get more females. Maybe with a barrier where they can still see each other. I had the same ratio as you do, and it didn’t end well. My drake WAY oversexed my female. She was having some kind of issue one day(I believe egg bound) where she couldn’t get up and move and he just kept getting on her because she wasn’t able to get away from him. I had to separate them. She passed away unfortunately before I could resolve the issue.

 

[twolilquacklings]

I would separate them until you can get more females. Maybe with a barrier where they can still see each other. I had the same ratio as you do, and it didn’t end well. My drake WAY oversexed my female. She was having some kind of issue one day(I believe egg bound) where she couldn’t get up and move and he just kept getting on her because she wasn’t able to get away from him. I had to separate them. She passed away unfortunately before I could resolve the issue.

I am so sorry for your loss! Its so sad to see the boys do this because they’re usually very sweet

 

[twolilquacklings]

Thank you everyone for your help. I unfortunately can’t get any more ducks but I will look into a mini barrier for them while I’m not there to keep her safe. Will chicken wire work?