If rehoming drakes does not happen

[ShelbyCiave]

It is hard to picture what you've got going on in your run/pen. Can you not make another area in the barn. It doesn't take much to divide areas to keep them apart. Can you send pictures?

My boys and girls are separated with a welded wire fence between the 2 groups in their outdoor run. There are food buckets and water for each group. At night I put the girls in one pen and the boys in the other.

I've got 12 girls and 4 boys and the boys just don't know how to act which is why they are apart. I had a couple of girls snatched almost bald-headed and I knew I had to separate. Hopefully in the fall once the mating season is over they can all be together which is a lot less work. I guess I'm just used to it. Last year was worse. I had 4 sick girls, then the boys and the rest of the girls all in separate runs and pens.

My barn is small and was already separated to keep the drakes from attacking my pig and hens all night. So now, I rotated the delisting drakes into the smaller house away from the barn and the 8 new ducklings into the other half of the barn because they needed more space and i didn’t anticipate taking on the extra 4. I’ll take pics and post them.

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

We had to put up a flyer with a phone number in our local feed store. Two days later they got a home! Good luck on your boys!

 

[ShelbyCiave]

My barn is small and was already separated to keep the drakes from attacking my pig and hens all night. So now, I rotated the delisting drakes into the smaller house away from the barn and the 8 new ducklings into the other half of the barn because they needed more space and i didn’t anticipate taking on the extra 4. I’ll take pics and post them.

The tiny house is 4’x6’. The side with the covered run is for the chickens and pig. The side with the collapsible fence is for the babies. The collapsible fence is temporary and they all currently free range all day, except for the babies, I work super early so I am home by 10am to keep watch for hawks and my dogs protect everyone. Here are some pictures for reference.

 

[ShelbyCiave]

The tiny house is 4’x6’. The side with the covered run is for the chickens and pig. The side with the collapsible fence is for the babies. The collapsible fence is temporary and they all currently free range all day, except for the babies, I work super early so I am home by 10am to keep watch for hawks and my dogs protect everyone. Here are some pictures for reference.

Ok one side of the barn is the fence bordering my yard from the neighbors, on the other side I have a few in ground garden beds. I want to keep all the barn animals close to one another but I’m strapped on options for that. Thank you all again for the support. I used to just read through google different issues, but I’m so happy I made an account and can be more interactive.

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

We have a male-female ratio of 3 to 4 and have to keep them separated a lot of the time. The complicating factor for us is that the two oldest drakes don't like the younger drake and so they'll team up and beat him up, but they get along fantastically with each other (they're best pals).

Our oldest girl gets along swimmingly with the 2 oldest boys, and they don't really over mate her, so she can hang out with her boyfriends on some days and we let the young drake hang out with his 3 ladies on those days.

The youngest drake has a #1 girlfriend, so if we need to separate him, the little couple can usually go together. He doesn't beat her up very much either, similar to how the older drakes respect the older female.

For your case it might be possible to find similar arrangements, but the drakes can definitely be kept separately. I would just keep an eye on them in case some of the boys start getting bullied--drakes can be brutal to each other even if they're normally sweet birds.

They'll definitely pace and wear down any grass if they can see or hear the girls.

We had more drakes and had a pretty hard time rehoming them. The final one went after having him for almost a year, and even though I knew he was going away eventually, I did get attached to him and it was hard to see him go.

You can probably let them mix together until they're about 4-6 months old and the hormones start kicking in, but after that you'll definitely need to see how things develop.

It's 100% doable, it's just a lot of work (especially if someone needs to get separated out for medical treatment). Just set up separate areas ahead of time while they're not fighting and you should have a lot more options available for how you want to divide them. They also don't have to be strictly separate all the time, they can do some supervised social time depending on how aggressive the boys are.

Sorry for the ramble! I love all my ducks but I'm definitely going to make sure to keep my flock at 1 boy from now on -- 2 at the max if they get along.

edit: also your ducks are super cute!!

 

[DuckyDonna]

If this was my situation (It might be! Still waiting for my babies to voice sex!) I would have a bachelors pad with 5 of the extra drakes in it and then one of drakes of my choosing that would live with the ducks. I also would put a barrier up (literally anything from a bush to a piece of plywood) so the bachelors don't have to share the fence with the ladies are their drake. It may not be the case but I feel like that would drive them nuts lol. Let them out into the pen separately and there shouldn't be too many problems.

I had to make a double fence between the boys and girls with about a foot in between. They can still reach through and be close but can't mount and mate. Those boys have worn themselves out marching up and down that fence line all day. The girls couldn't care less!
That is a good idea leaving one drake with the girls. I have done alternating days with drakes in the past just because those boys act like they are going to end up in the nervous hospital the way they pace up and down all day. Gotta feel bad for them but if they acted right to begin with they wouldn't be in this situation! My girl's necks are healing so I may try that in the next few weeks.

 

[DuckyDonna]

The tiny house is 4’x6’. The side with the covered run is for the chickens and pig. The side with the collapsible fence is for the babies. The collapsible fence is temporary and they all currently free range all day, except for the babies, I work super early so I am home by 10am to keep watch for hawks and my dogs protect everyone. Here are some pictures for reference.

LOVE LOVE LOVE your flag!

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

I had to make a double fence between the boys and girls with about a foot in between. They can still reach through and be close but can't mount and mate. Those boys have worn themselves out marching up and down that fence line all day. The girls couldn't care less!
That is a good idea leaving one drake with the girls. I have done alternating days with drakes in the past just because those boys act like they are going to end up in the nervous hospital the way they pace up and down all day. Gotta feel bad for them but if they acted right to begin with they wouldn't be in this situation! My girl's necks are healing so I may try that in the next few weeks.

We had problems with the drakes reaching through and grabbing the girls while they were sleeping in the coop (RUDE!) so we put up some plastic garden netting along the fence and that did a perfect job. It wouldn't work on its own, but covering the gaps in our fencing with it worked perfectly.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I think that you can fit a couple more ducks in that little house. I have one night pen that is 4' x 8' and I keep at least 7 in there. My other pen is a bit bigger and has a part that juts out like an L that is 4' x 8' and then the L part is about 3' x 3' and I keep 12 in there.

We had problems with the drakes reaching through and grabbing the girls while they were sleeping in the coop (RUDE!) so we put up some plastic garden netting along the fence and that did a perfect job. It wouldn't work on its own, but covering the gaps in our fencing with it worked perfectly.

That's why I doubled the fence. I had the extra fence so I used it. Had a duck get his head stuck in the welded wire fence one time. They go through straight, then turn their heads and can't figure out how to get their head out cause their bill has them caught. It was pitiful but he never did it again!

 

[ShelbyCiave]

We have a male-female ratio of 3 to 4 and have to keep them separated a lot of the time. The complicating factor for us is that the two oldest drakes don't like the younger drake and so they'll team up and beat him up, but they get along fantastically with each other (they're best pals).

Our oldest girl gets along swimmingly with the 2 oldest boys, and they don't really over mate her, so she can hang out with her boyfriends on some days and we let the young drake hang out with his 3 ladies on those days.

The youngest drake has a #1 girlfriend, so if we need to separate him, the little couple can usually go together. He doesn't beat her up very much either, similar to how the older drakes respect the older female.

For your case it might be possible to find similar arrangements, but the drakes can definitely be kept separately. I would just keep an eye on them in case some of the boys start getting bullied--drakes can be brutal to each other even if they're normally sweet birds.

They'll definitely pace and wear down any grass if they can see or hear the girls.

We had more drakes and had a pretty hard time rehoming them. The final one went after having him for almost a year, and even though I knew he was going away eventually, I did get attached to him and it was hard to see him go.

You can probably let them mix together until they're about 4-6 months old and the hormones start kicking in, but after that you'll definitely need to see how things develop.

It's 100% doable, it's just a lot of work (especially if someone needs to get separated out for medical treatment). Just set up separate areas ahead of time while they're not fighting and you should have a lot more options available for how you want to divide them. They also don't have to be strictly separate all the time, they can do some supervised social time depending on how aggressive the boys are.

Sorry for the ramble! I love all my ducks but I'm definitely going to make sure to keep my flock at 1 boy from now on -- 2 at the max if they get along.

edit: also your ducks are super cute!!

I don’t think that was a ramble in the slightest! It was very encouraging and exactly what I needed! I am going to have to think of another way to make a predator proof safe space to separate someone. I have hopes to rehome them but I’m also staying doubtful and realistic.