How does duck mating work?

[Fiasco]

Hi! I've had some experience with chickens, and now I'm hoping to adopt some Welsh Harlequin ducks. I'm trying to figure out how this works! So, if I adopted, say half a dozen baby girl ducklings and one baby boy. I read that you shouldn't allow them to mate until they're at least 6 months old, so how would I do that? It seems like a lot of work to run two separate duck operations and only let the boy in once in awhile to see the girls. Would it hurt if I just raised them together?

The other question I had was about the duck-drake ratio. Some places, I've read that there should be between 3-5 ducks to a drake, but other places, that the lighter breeds can have a ratio like 10 ducks to a drake. I'm thinking of getting between 6 - 8 ducks, so how many drakes would you recommend?

Lastly, (this isn't related to mating) I'm trying to calculate how much they would eat. Some estimates I've seen (for ducks in general) have suggested that each duck would eat 1/2 a lb. of feed each day. I wasn't sure if it was more based off of the heavier breeds like Pekins...does this sound about right for Welsh Harlequins?

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks in advance

 

[Ducksandchickens]

My birds were raised together without trying to mate until they were the correct age

 

[Ducksandchickens]

And one drake can be fine with 6-8 ducks because if you get another drake then they are likely to fight even if you have girls

 

[thumper650]

Didn't your parents ever tell you about the birds and the well, birds?
Sorry couldn't resist. From what I've read it's not an issue until the drakes are mature enough. Good luck and please post pics when you get them!!

 

[lazy gardener]

No matter how many females you have, I'd suggest only one drake.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Nothing wrong with them being together,most Generlly by the time the hens are ready so are the males,or vice-versa,but not always,males can mature later while hens mature faster.If your getting eight,I would get two,or maybe just one.

 

[llombardo]

I've read they need water to mate--true or false?

 

[sourland]

Water facilitates mating especially for the heavier breeds, but they also can mate on land.

 

[Fiasco]

Thanks everyone! This is great advice

Oh, good! That sure makes it a lot easier for me, if they don't even try until the time comes. I'm raising bunnies which have to be separate until the right age, so I was a tad confused about which animals "know what they're doing" and which don't.

I never knew that drakes would fight, they look so harmless compared to roosters! But it sounds like just one will be the way to go. Thanks so much for your advice, I might have found out the hard way otherwise!

About mating with water....I'm planning to give them a kiddie pool to swim in daily, is this enough for them to do their thing? I'm hoping to hatch some ducklings eventually, so I want it to be all set up for the parents!

 

[Fiasco]

Didn't your parents ever tell you about the birds and the well, birds?
Sorry couldn't resist. From what I've read it's not an issue until the drakes are mature enough. Good luck and please post pics when you get them!!

Haha, no worries...I know a bit about the life cycle! I imagine the title of my thread may have given the impression that I needed a whole lesson on the spot, lol. That sure would have been interesting!

I sure will be posting pictures of them, thanks for asking! I imagine I'm going to have a hard leaving them alone, I'll be taking a million pictures of the poor little guys!