Mating season yet for my runners???

[liv22]

Ok so I have 3 black Indian runners (2 male,1 female) and I got them June 12th 2015 and they were babies and they are grown now but they also live with another duck which is half Pekin and half mallard but he kind of just follows along with them and I guess they are friends since he's the only one who didn't grow up with him so he's kinda the odd one out but he gets along with my 3 ducks but I feed them all but my ducks are very aggressive and territorial when I give them food they will chase the other duck that did not grow up with them (the half mallard and half Pekin one) and he will run, it's always the males too that chase him, not the one female, and I live in Northeast PA, USA and it's been cold, but it's been getting warmer out and I know it is March, and this week has been very warm, probably the warmest it's been since last early October and I've noticed the 2 male ducks that grew up together have been very aggressive and territorial against the odd duck out and have been chasing him away not letting him ANYWHERE near the female at all and the duck their chasing is a couple years older than my 3 ducks he's with but they aren't being nice to him at all and it's upsetting me and no I haven't seen any mating activity since they live on a pond, they are fine on the pond I live literally right next to it so please don't think I abandoned them I love them and feed them everyday but I would just love to know why they are being mean? I was thinking it was because of spring and mating season but they are they old enough and it's only early March? Lol I thought not until May? Plus if they do have ducklings will they even survive because I read online that they're mating abilities to lay eggs have been bred out over hundreds of years?

 

[GitaBooks]

Sorry it took so long to respond.

Ducks can be quite aggressive towards one another, all year round, but as the days begin to lengthen around late winter or early spring then their aggression and desire to breed with heighten all the more. Unfortunately, the only way to stop it is to separate the males, otherwise, they will just be stressed. You could, however, also try getting three females for each male, but that would likely be too many. : )

Drakes need to have about 3-6 hens before they will feel as though they have passed on enough genes, otherwise, they may be overly aggressive towards other males and towards the females.

If your female does lay eggs the eggs will likely be fertile, but she probably won't sit on them and brood them. However, if you put them in an incubator or under a broody hen then they will hatch out into healthy little ducklings. What has been bred out of laying ducks is their desire to brood their eggs after laying 10-12, though some individuals and certain breeds are more prone to it then others.

I hope this helps. : ) Best of luck!