Integrating new ducks (more new than old)

[2x2farming]

Hi! We happened upon 3 ducklings in the spring and decided we’d make a go for it- obviously hoping for either all hens or at least 2. As they have become of a mature age, we have officially determined we have 2 drakes and 1 hen and we needed to get more hens for her sake. We were able to find a flock of 8 needing a new home. This flock includes 2 drakes and 6 hens. So once we integrate, we will have 4 males and 7 females. Still not ideal but much better. That said, we currently have them meeting each other through a wire fence… but how and when do we integrate them during the day, especially given that there are only 3 OGs and there are 8 newcomers. We expect this may cause some extra weirdness with pecking order because the ones who feel most at home and on top are only 3 and we expect the 8 may really attempt to overrun the OG flock because of strength in numbers. Any tips for how to do this well? And an expected timeline we should follow?

 

[Goosebaby]

With ducks anything can happen, and it may change every day.
I wish I could give better advice, I’ve had ducks longer than geese and though I know pretty much all there is to know about how a goose’s mind works ducks are still an enigma.

Your ducks may get along, they might start battling, they might form a financial firm and start trading stocks, they might form a super massive black hole and end the universe.
Just keep an eye on them, all I can say is that they can get weirder in spring.

 

[2x2farming]

With ducks anything can happen, and it may change every day.
I wish I could give better advice, I’ve had ducks longer than geese and though I know pretty much all there is to know about how a goose’s mind works ducks are still an enigma.

Your ducks may get along, they might start battling, they might form a financial firm and start trading stocks, they might form a super massive black hole and end the universe.
Just keep an eye on them, all I can say is that they can get weirder in spring.

Haha! That’s acceptable, thank you! I just don’t even know if allowing females to meet each other first would be advisable or what the best way to go about it is in that sense. I’ve read to allow them to meet on neutral ground first but I am dreading the thought of having to herd them back into their run if I do that.

 

[Goosebaby]

Maybe try staggering their introductions? Adding a few more ducks together every 15 minutes?

 

[Papaye]

Hi.

So once we integrate, we will have 4 males and 7 females. Still not ideal but much better.

Not sure if it is "much better"...?

2 hens for 2 drakes can work... IF the drakes are bonded at least!

Even 7 hens for 3 drakes might work, even though you would need to monitor them VERY carefully during mating season (and probably separate them mid-season)...

...But only 7 hens for 4 drakes?
I really would NOT test it.

► Honestly, if you want to be sure to not end up finding hens dead because of overmating, I would strongly recommend that you re-home at least two drakes ASAP.
Or bring home 5 more females at the minimum, if possible?

Any tips for how to do this well? And an expected timeline we should follow?

Well... what breed are the ducks?
And how old are they, exactly?

 

[2x2farming]

Hi.



Not sure if it is "much better"...?

2 hens for 2 drakes can work... IF the drakes are bonded at least!

Even 7 hens for 3 drakes might work, even though you would need to monitor them VERY carefully during mating season (and probably separate them mid-season)...

...But only 7 hens for 4 drakes?
I really would NOT test it.

► Honestly, if you want to be sure to not end up finding hens dead because of overmating, I would strongly recommend that you re-home at least two drakes ASAP.
Or bring home 5 more females at the minimum, if possible?



Well... what breed are the ducks?
And how old are they, exactly?

I totally understand where you’re coming from, we were told it was only 1 drake when we agreed to adopt the whole group. So we thought we were going to have 3 drakes and 8 hens. We’re trying to figure out the best way to rectify but I was just saying it is better than having 2 males to 1 female.

That being said, our goal is to get more hens but I wasn’t sure if I needed to integrate these groups first or if we needed to get more hens and integrate all at once. Is mass chaos the better option or getting these integrated and then introducing new a bit later? Everything we have read from research before getting ducks at all was that 2-3 hens per drake was the ratio. At 7 hens and 4 drakes, we are just one hen shy of meeting the minimum of that. Is there a reason you say 5 more at the bare minimum? I was aiming for 5 since that would get us to 3 hens per drake.

I’ll break it up by group to make it easy:
1st group
2 Cayuga males 32 weeks
1 Cayuga female 32 weeks

2nd group (no idea of age other than the female Cayuga)
2 Cayuga males - young enough to be fully black and same size as our others
1 Cayuga female - old enough to have a good amount of white on her
1 Ancona female
2 Khaki Campbell females
1 Buff Orpington female
1 Silver Runner female