Keeping ducks and drakes together

[HorseMadWhovian]

I currently have four five week old ducklings, two are drakes and two are ducks, do I need more ducks to be able to keep both the drakes, I really don't want to sell or give away any, they have been together from day one, (they hatched together from my incubator) and have never pecked or hurt each other, whats the ratio for number of ducks to drakes,we got them all from the same person who has many ducks so we don't know if they're related, is it safe to breed them? If so and they are related what problems would we have.
Thanks

 

[Carcajou]

I am not a breeder so cannot answer the potential inbreeding question. But, as far as drake to duck ratio, I strongly recommend 3-4 ducks per drake. Anything less and the drakes will fight and the ducks will more than likely be overbred which can lead to death. I certainly understand your not wanting to part with any of your ducklings, they are so endearing, aren't they? If you can accommodate more ducks I would definitely consider getting more girls if you can't find a good home for one of the drakes. If you do there will be an introductory period where you would need to keep the newbies separated but within sight of each other until they get used to each other.

Good luck!

 

[Going Quackers]

Generally speaking it's 2-3 ducks per... as for inbreeding no, over time you'd want new blood but most times you don't even know if ducks are related unless their your own then you can break it down better, beside, you can always pull eggs so incubating never takes place.

I run a drake heavy flock, personality, set-up are keys in this working or not. Either way, i would not recommend a 1:1 ratio. Add more ducks and do be prepared in future you may need to divide down, not all drake will co-mingle. I sold one of my March hatchlings last year because he was not working with living that way.

Good luck!