Male Duck Issue!

[Rosie42892]

Last season I acquired two female goslings, 2 buff ducks and 3 straight run Cayugas. Of course, all three Cayugas are male. I have just had a dozen straight run ducklings thrown in my lap recently (now 3-4 weeks old) and expect to have further issues with an excess of males.

I know that I need to keep males separate for the entire spring season to avoid over breeding of the females. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a solution.

Does anyone have experience keeping the males separate for the season and then returning them to the same duck area? Would I be better off just culling/finding homes for the males?

Any and all ideas are appreciated!

 

[Rosie42892]

Anyone?

 

[muscovy joe]

from what I read the best ratio is anywhere from 1:3 males to females up to 1:7... the more girls per boy the better, if you have anything under 1:3 I would recommend culling or rehoming asap. breeding season is long and to have everyone separate that whole time then put back together would be hard on the pecking order. iv only had ducks for 2 years so im not an expert but these are my thoughts, hope it helps

 

[Finny]

Getting more female ducks or finding the males new home would be the best thing to do. Putting the drakes in a separate pen will also work, but it is not for everyone. This can be a lot of work. If you are willing to go through the work of separating the drakes and re-introducing them with the others than go for it . Good luck!