Mating problem 4 to 1

[mary v]

I have 5 ducks. 1 small female Peking, who hangs out with 2 brown males. I also have 2 jumbo large pekins, turns out they must be male too... The browns have always stayed right next to the female white smaller one. Protecting her from the 2 big guys.
And my whites were fine, until this week.
But mating season is here, and the browns and fighting each other but joining together to fight off the 2 large whites, as the last couple days the large white ducks have been getting more aggressive. Just before sunset, tonight I saw them all in a pile with the big white on the little female.
okay I need to get some fencing up tomorrow I guess... she seems so attached to her browns, the br too, but never leave her side.
They are small like her.
Will it be enough you think if I just put a fence between my 2 and the 3?
I think the browns will lose their minds if I close her off - so I thought I’d just fence off the 2 big ones— but,
Or is her neck so bad now that I should keep her in coop ????
Darn... I was afraid of this.
Thank you for your advice.
thus is my spring with ducks!!

 

[fatty and friends]

rehome the girl. drakes do just fine without any girls to fight over.

 

[mary v]

rehome the girl. drakes do just fine without any girls to fight over.

Awh but I LOVE HER!! hummm, maybe can i get more females? I do love her enough to save her too though.... hummm She showed up in my yard with the drake, during a drought, last summer. I gave them water everyday, then a dog came. Here is the story: http://maryvollero.com/glinda/

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

If you get more females you will have to get enough to satisfy the boys desires... so about 9 or 10 more.

 

[IttyBittyBirdy]

If you do not rehome her, or at least two boys and provide an adequate amount of girls for them (~3-5 per drake), she will be over-mated and that will result in her injury or death.

Are these your first ducks?

 

[mary v]

Yes my first ducks. I have been reading. so I am thinking,
I need to re-home... can I rehome 3 drakes, my friend has a pond...
wild ducks go there... she loves the ducks, as i do.
Can i keep her and the one male she arrived with last summer...
and maybe add 2-3 more females?

 

[SolarDuck]

Can i keep her and the one male she arrived with last summer...
and maybe add 1-3 more females?

sounds like a good plan to me

 

[IttyBittyBirdy]

Personally, I would not rehome them to that friend unless said friend is able to actually keep them safe.

Sounds like a good idea to keep her and the male and add some more females!

 

[mary v]

Personally, I would not rehome them to that friend unless said friend is able to actually keep them safe.

Sounds like a good idea to keep her and the male and add some more females!

okay i'll try the fence for the big guys and see if i can get some more females... yikes

 

[LT71689]

You need to separate her from them completely and immediately. She can't just be fenced off, she needs to be in a place where they cannot see her, or they will continue to fight over her. I would not keep her with ANY of the males, not just the small ones. One male can overmate one female.

You can either rehome her and keep all your boys, or rehome several of the boys and keep her and add more girls. You need a minimum of 4 girls per male that you keep. If you keep a pekin you should get large breed girls to match (ie: dont get a handful of call ducks)

I'd only rehome any of them to your friend if she's going to build them a predator-proof pen and actually care for them. You cannot just dump them on a pond and hope for the best, theyre domestic breeds and cannot fly. As such, they cannot protect themselves.