Male Runner Duck such a jerk

[rubberdog]

Any thoughts on this situation, I have 4 chicken hens that are @ 4 yrs old, I have 1 accidental rooster @3 yrs old and 8 @ 1 yr old chicken hens - the 8 were raised with 2 female and 1 male Runner Duck - everything was fine until the last month - the male runner duck is after one of the younger hens incessantly, they are all in the same coop during the night when they leave the coop in the morning she barely has a chance to get food/water and he 's on her. I've watched him look around to search her out like a human trying to find a person in a crowd, when he spots her he makes a beeline to her, grabs her by the neck and pounds her into the ground, the other chickens will take that opportunity to attack her as well pecking at her head, the rooster doesn't do anything but stand around watching. I made a separate area for her so she could be outside and eat and drink comfortably and he ran around the enclosure like a nut case until the hen was so worked up she flew out of the enclosure and ran into the coop. There are days that I can hear her screaming so loud it sounds like someone is killing her. I fear she will be either killed by the duck ( her head is bald and bloody) or die from the heat this summer because she can never leave the coop. I've had ducks before with the chickens and this didn't happen at all - if I separate him from the others the female ducks will probably freak out, not sure what to do...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Any thoughts on this situation, I have 4 chicken hens that are @ 4 yrs old, I have 1 accidental rooster @3 yrs old and 8 @ 1 yr old chicken hens - the 8 were raised with 2 female and 1 male Runner Duck - everything was fine until the last month - the male runner duck is after one of the younger hens incessantly, they are all in the same coop during the night when they leave the coop in the morning she barely has a chance to get food/water and he 's on her. I've watched him look around to search her out like a human trying to find a person in a crowd, when he spots her he makes a beeline to her, grabs her by the neck and pounds her into the ground, the other chickens will take that opportunity to attack her as well pecking at her head, the rooster doesn't do anything but stand around watching. I made a separate area for her so she could be outside and eat and drink comfortably and he ran around the enclosure like a nut case until the hen was so worked up she flew out of the enclosure and ran into the coop. There are days that I can hear her screaming so loud it sounds like someone is killing her. I fear she will be either killed by the duck ( her head is bald and bloody) or die from the heat this summer because she can never leave the coop. I've had ducks before with the chickens and this didn't happen at all - if I separate him from the others the female ducks will probably freak out, not sure what to do...

Unless you want your duck hen dead you best get him out of there. You may see your fear right before your eyes. He will also try to mate with them which will either kill them or mess them up internally. I'm sorry and i don't mean to sound rude but how can you stand by and see him do this. Build a separate run for your ducks and keep them separate from your chickens. If you can't do this then maybe rehome your drake. Also your drake is acting just like a drake too. He maybe a jerk but it's the time of year.

 

[Nigellas]

get him out of there.

 

[sourland]

Miss Lydia is right on the money. Separate them or get rid of the hen before he kills or causes her to prolapse. If you get rid of her, he will most likely pick another target for his abuse.

 

[rubberdog]

Thanks for your thoughts, Miss Lydia, I don't necessarily "stand by" and watch him do anything. I put a stop to it the minute I realize it was happening and she is set up in a large coop with food and water. I was asking the question because I have had Runners before male and female and the drake never payed attention to my chickens this one seems particularly "randy", I'm trying to weigh my options for the situation and get input from different people, and the responses have definitely varied from kill the drake, separate it out and things will eventually die down, get rid of the chicken, etc.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for your thoughts, Miss Lydia, I don't necessarily "stand by" and watch him do anything. I put a stop to it the minute I realize it was happening and she is set up in a large coop with food and water. I was asking the question because I have had Runners before male and female and the drake never payed attention to my chickens this one seems particularly "randy", I'm trying to weigh my options for the situation and get input from different people, and the responses have definitely varied from kill the drake, separate it out and things will eventually die down, get rid of the chicken, etc.

When reading your post you did not say anything about having things under control. Sorry if i can't read between the lines. Glad to hear you have it under control. And as you are finding out not all drakes are equal some are really randy some not so much. i have chickens and ducks and a gander in the mix but have never had one of my drakes go after a chicken hen maybe because they all are free range from morn till lock up in eve. My problem is the 2 drakes going at each other even though we have 8 ducks to make them happy. Things will get better as days go on but it seems sometimes if they have a particular interest in another it doesn't always work itself out. If you really like this drake why not get your drake one or 2 more girls to keep him company and give them separate livingquaters from your chickens. He'll be 1 happy dude having the girls all to himself and the chickens will be safe.

 

[rubberdog]

ugh, I know, I need to take care of things soon, whether I get rid of him or separate them out, it's disappointing when things are so agreeable then someone goes rogue!! It's strange he seems to hang out with the female ducks but doesn't have any "interest" in them, just has an eye for this particular chicken. I'm sure he would pick someone else if I got rid of her. As soon as it stops raining I'll build a separation then I'll be able to let my chickens free range more also, if I let the ducks out they aren't very cooperative on the return.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I'm sorry, but huge blocks of print with no paragraph breaks are very difficult for me to read. I did not see anything about having ducks to go with your drakes. All I see listed is chicken hens. But maybe there are ducks there and I just didn't see it.

Drakes mate all day long. That is what drakes do. So each drake should have a minimum of 4 ducks and 6 ducks would be a lot better. That spreads the attention out. If your drake has no ducks, he will try to mate with your chickens.

If you are going to separate anyone, let the hen (hen? duck?) out and fence up the drake. If you can not provide him with a harem of ducks, perhaps you could find him a new home where he would be living with a flock of ducks.

Your drake is not being a jerk. He is being a normal drake. The problem is the living conditions, not the drake's behavior.

 

[rubberdog]

Hi,
Thanks for the input, I guess my former Drake (who had 2 female ducks) was abnormal and happy.
This Drake has 2 female ducks which he pays zero attention to, he just loves his chicken hen too much! I
guess, I'll separate the three ducks from the chickens and see how things shake out, if
he remains obsessed with the chickens he will have to go.