I've decided!... I think

[Jdc361]

Then I would get the drake realizing there is more work. This year we had to isolate one of our drakes for 3 weeks because his hormones were so bad and he was attacking our other drake and several of the ducks constantly. That involved building him a pen for the day and taking him in every night. He is still agressive but he has calmed down enough to join the general population.

Ok then should I just 3 females?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

You should do what you want. But I and others here would feel bad if you got a drake not knowing what to expect. Now you have information and several opinions. The decision is yours to make. There is also an element of chance. If you get a drake and two ducks, and the drake is like my Tevye, they would probably be happy ever after. If the drake was like my Kaine, you would need at least two more ducks or he would wear them out. Ultimately it is your flock. Ducks can live well over a decade so you should make a choice you are happy with. As I said before, we love our boys, but most of the flock problems we have come from them. That is OK. I was informed and I got my two anyway. If you are still unsure, search around this forum with "drake". There are plenty of stories.

 

[needlessjunk]

Ok then should I just 3 females?

I would get only females. My drake has 5 females and they are all missing feathers off their backs and I'm starting to doubt keeping him if he doesn't chill out soon. If you would not be able to ever add more females then I would not get a male. If you can add more as needed then it would be worth a shot. Just know that males can be much more work.

 

[Mrs.H]

I think all females too. I had 2 drakes with my females and all was perfect up until a couple weeks ago. Had one female get an eye injury due to a drake that grabbed her, then noticed another female going bald. I ended up seperating my drakes which was no big deal bc they were buddies, but you can't seperate just one drake if there is issues. They need a companion.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I would get only females. My drake has 5 females and they are all missing feathers off their backs and I'm starting to doubt keeping him if he doesn't chill out soon. If you would not be able to ever add more females then I would not get a male. If you can add more as needed then it would be worth a shot. Just know that males can be much more work.

Have you given him a time out? We separated Kaine from the flock for 3 weeks and it gave the girls (and Tevye ) a chance to relax and recover. It also knocked Kaine down a peg. He is still a pain, but a little less intense. I am hoping when his "hormone bill" fades he relaxes a bit.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

I think all females too. I had 2 drakes with my females and all was perfect up until a couple weeks ago. Had one female get an eye injury due to a drake that grabbed her, then noticed another female going bald. I ended up seperating my drakes which was no big deal bc they were buddies, but you can't seperate just one drake if there is issues. They need a companion.

You can seperate one in sight of the others. When we separated Kaine, we just made a pen in the yard and he could talk to the flock and see the flock. And two of the ducks visited him most of the time but he couldn't cause any trouble.

 

[needlessjunk]

Have you given him a time out? We separated Kaine from the flock for 3 weeks and it gave the girls (and Tevye ) a chance to relax and recover. It also knocked Kaine down a peg. He is still a pain, but a little less intense. I am hoping when his "hormone bill" fades he relaxes a bit.

I haven't, but I am checking everyone daily to see if it gets worse or improves. Right now no one is injured or raw just missing a few feathers. I think because he mates with everyone on land instead of the water it's causing their backs to get beat up by his claws. I'm putting an additional kiddie pool out to see if that helps. Next step will be time out for a while. Half the girls ask for it so I dunno what to think of it.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Feathers grow back. The girls "asking for it" are probably fine. Some of those girls... Dove our chocolate runner gets under everybody. Greta our Black Swedish has a "thing" for Snow our Pekin. So the funniest thing is Gretta on Snow on little Dovie with her head hanging over the rim of the kiddie pool. A 3-1/2 lb duck with 16-17 lbs of ducks on her back.... and she keeps coming back for more...

BTW Dove is my current avatar.

 

[Jdc361]

Thanks you all so much! It seems like drakes are a little too rough!! I'll just still with my girls. 1 Rouen, 1 welsh, and 1 khaki!!!!!!

 

[islandgirl82]

I've read a lot of horror stories about drakes and their treatment of females and I'm so grateful to not have had those issues in my own bevy. I no longer have ducks but started off with a mixed bevy of day-old ducklings that included 2 female KCs, a pair of WH, a pair of black Swedish and 2 blue Swedish who both turned out to be drakes. I kept them all together, not knowing about the issues of having too many drakes and not enough females. They naturally paired off and the drakes worked in teams on predator patrol. They would take turns keeping watch while the rest of the bevy got to eat. There was no fighting or over-sexing or ganging up on a favorite female.

I guess at that time I had it in my head that ducks were monogamous creatures so I didn't worry about them.