Teneniel
Songster
Hey there! I poked around looking for the answer to my question but couldn’t find it. I apologize if it’s been asked before.
My first ducklings are 8 weeks old now and living happily outside. I have 3 and 3, and plan to trade a trio to a friend (for a rabbit doe) and keep two drakes and one duck from this batch, as well as 6 new hens that will arrive next week as hatchlings.
My question is about the timing of their ages. Will my drakes attempt to mate my ducklings when they’re juveniles and living outside? Will the two months between them be significant enough to need to separate either one drake or the younger hens away from the drake(s)? Or do drakes know the difference between a juvenile hen and a sexually mature one?
I have smaller grazing pens fenced and set aside for future rabbits so space isn’t too much of an issue. I can also keep all of my current hens until July if necessary, and just send the eggs to my friend.
Thanks so much for reading!
My first ducklings are 8 weeks old now and living happily outside. I have 3 and 3, and plan to trade a trio to a friend (for a rabbit doe) and keep two drakes and one duck from this batch, as well as 6 new hens that will arrive next week as hatchlings.
My question is about the timing of their ages. Will my drakes attempt to mate my ducklings when they’re juveniles and living outside? Will the two months between them be significant enough to need to separate either one drake or the younger hens away from the drake(s)? Or do drakes know the difference between a juvenile hen and a sexually mature one?
I have smaller grazing pens fenced and set aside for future rabbits so space isn’t too much of an issue. I can also keep all of my current hens until July if necessary, and just send the eggs to my friend.
Thanks so much for reading!
