Mr. Big Shooting Blanks????

[duckking]

We have 1 Rouen drake, Victor, who is about a year old. We have a Mallard hen and a Rouen hen who are 8 months old and 2 Mallard hens who are 2 weeks younger. The hens are all laying huge beautiful eggs every day...the Rouen eggs are enormous! We eat them and I always check for fertile eggs. So far, none of the Mallard eggs have been fertile, but the Rouen eggs have been on occasion.

So is my Mr. Big shooting blanks or what?????

 

[duckyfromoz]

He may be favoring some girls over others- being that he is larger in size, if he is anything like my Pekin or Aylesbury chasing down a smaller more agile duck can at times be difficult.

 

[duckking]

Could be. I have seen him mounting them all, but it only seems to work in the pool with the Mallards. He squishes them when on the ground and I don't think he gets anywhere! One of my Mallard hens, Josephine, refuses to g in the pool when he is in there, so he chases her down outside! I don't think she is too enamored of him

 

[FenDruadin]

Could be shooting blanks, or favoritism as already suggested, or just difficulty with penetration outside of water--it's common among large breed ducks. Keep in mind also that it's still fairly early in the season for you northerners (heh heh I love living in a southern clime), so he may get better and more fertile as the season progresses. Or you might want to see if you can offer more/larger bodies of water for breeding. Good luck!!