Much needed duck and drake advice please

[Miss Lydia]

I believe it will too eventually you may need to add a few more females but that is next spring. So just enjoy them

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I believe it will too eventually you may need to add a few more females but that is next spring. So just enjoy them

Thank you, we have planned to expand the run beginning in the spring, so we will have the room to separate the chickens and ducks and add if needs be, I just need them to be ok at least until we get the chance to expand (need time to accumulate funds) we toyed with the idea of adding more girls earlier than that but we got two chickens coming tomorrow, a hen and her chick, will be working on integrating them for a while, as well as readying the coup for winter and it would be selfish and unfair to the birds for us to add while the coup is the size it is.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

They are so cute!

Thank you I got two more chickens coming tomorrow, a hen and her chick, I have no idea how the others will react seeing a chick for the first time, but I will have them in a holding pen until I am sure they'll be ok but knowing my drakes they'll probably be scared of them lol

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a hen and chick in a small coop giving everyone a chance to get to know the chick,mama has been here since hatch 3 yrs ago but she is a tiny bantam and her chick is so tiny don’t want it stepped on accidentally .

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I have a hen and chick in a small coop giving everyone a chance to get to know the chick,mama has been here since hatch 3 yrs ago but she is a tiny bantam and her chick is so tiny don’t want it stepped on accidentally .

The mother is 20wks old its her first baby, the baby is 11 days old, this is my first experience of a mother and baby, I have never had a chick this young - nor a mother and baby for that matter - they will be in a holding pen away from the flock, I will be taking the flock for visits two at a time, for as long as I feel is necessary. I will be learning as I go along, am nervous but confident I will do good

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Hi, I just thought you might be interested in an update - just to fill you in with a bit of background, our drakes are quite possessive with their pools and insist on having first swim before letting the females in, we have two pools, if the boys are in one the girls get in the other so then the boys will jump into that one and make the girls wait. The alpha female (Midnight) seems to be the one who runs the show most of the time and for a long time shes shown a preference the older drake (Napoleon) and her sister (Aurora) sticks more with the alpha drake (Jughead) so I'm hoping this is the pairing which will stay.
A couple of weeks ago our midnight started flirting a lot with Napoleon and would lay submissively in the pool for him but he hadn't a clue what she was doing and chased her out of the pool as usual, after a time she gave up and went over to Jughead who was sitting with Aurora but just looked at her as though she were an alien and walked away from her. I remembered what you guys said about mating season being in the spring so figured she'd have to wait till then but this morning when the boys finally let the girls in the pools, Midnight again lay submissively for Napoleon who to begin with took no notice but then just as though the penny dropped, realised and made his first attempt in mating but made a real hash up of it, He is so clumsy, kept falling off her - any way after a while, Jughead who was in the other pool with Aurora, seemed to cotton on too and joined them in their pool, trying to mate with Midnight too, There was no fighting, no aggression, just two complete novices making a complete hash up of their first attempt to mate. Midnight was getting shoved under the water a lot not through bullying or aggression but through the drakes falling over - I tell you they were making a right mess of it! - any way, I decided to go over to them just in case she needed assistance but when she saw my heading towards them she got out the pool and ran off, in the meantime her sister entered the pool and without any fuss or bother Jughead successfully mated with her and the two of them looked real chuffed with themselves but poor Midnight is yet to be mated although shes been trying for weeks.
My only concern thus far is that Midnight and Aurora are actual blood sisters and have always been very close but I noticed after Aurora was mated she went over to her sister as always but Midnight got snappy with her and although very lightly, gave Aurora a peck - she has never done that before, nor has the sisters ever fought with each other, everyone warned of male aggression which so far there is none but I am worried that Midnight will turn on Aurora and worried the girls will fight. In your opinion do you think she might have been annoyed because Napoleon failed at breeding her and that her sister got bred?
I'm worried that if Napoleon doesn't get his act together and figures out how to breed her, she will attack her sister?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am sure there is some frustration when mating begins I have seen it here too, but as far as full out fighting I haven't ever seen any thing more than one girl chasing the other holding her down and pecking her some never any blood drawn. Spats is what I call them and it's never the same female they seem to take turns. This is with my Muscovy's I have never seen anything similar with my Runners and Buffs they stick together like glue. Main thing you want to be careful of with 2 drake that will get in the pool together is ganging up on a female and possibly drowning her. Since My 2 drakes live peacefully but don't share their females with each other I have never had 2 drakes in the pool at the same time with females but I have read about it many times. So let them work things out in their way but just keep an eye on the boys when both are in the pool at the same time with the girls. Sounds like they are growing up and working things out.

 

[chickens really]

Hello your putting to much thought into this. They are young and sexual behaviour begins at a young age and has nothing to do with breeding season. I have a mature Drake who is 5.5 years old and one Drake that is 5 months old. I have two separate pens with two breeding groups of Hens. My older Drake has the older Hens and the young Drake has young Hens between 3 and 4 months of age. My older Hens are done breeding for the season. My One Hen is coming in sexual maturity so the other day in the kiddie pool she submitted to my older Drake so he bred her. He is not in full hormones as when it's breeding season or I would not be able to free range both groups together. My Drakes would be fighting viciously.
The best thing to do is wait till breeding season and then you will see the difference in hormone levels.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I am sure there is some frustration when mating begins I have seen it here too, but as far as full out fighting I haven't ever seen any thing more than one girl chasing the other holding her down and pecking her some never any blood drawn. Spats is what I call them and it's never the same female they seem to take turns. This is with my Muscovy's I have never seen anything similar with my Runners and Buffs they stick together like glue. Main thing you want to be careful of with 2 drake that will get in the pool together is ganging up on a female and possibly drowning her. Since My 2 drakes live peacefully but don't share their females with each other I have never had 2 drakes in the pool at the same time with females but I have read about it many times. So let them work things out in their way but just keep an eye on the boys when both are in the pool at the same time with the girls. Sounds like they are growing up and working things out.

Thank you, this is very good advice

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Hello your putting to much thought into this. They are young and sexual behaviour begins at a young age and has nothing to do with breeding season. I have a mature Drake who is 5.5 years old and one Drake that is 5 months old. I have two separate pens with two breeding groups of Hens. My older Drake has the older Hens and the young Drake has young Hens between 3 and 4 months of age. My older Hens are done breeding for the season. My One Hen is coming in sexual maturity so the other day in the kiddie pool she submitted to my older Drake so he bred her. He is not in full hormones as when it's breeding season or I would not be able to free range both groups together. My Drakes would be fighting viciously.
The best thing to do is wait till breeding season and then you will see the difference in hormone levels.

Thank you, I will remain vigilant - my main concern is the females at the moment, the boys are their usual selves so no cause to worry there at least for now. Just is my girls are spatting with each other and never have before. Will be sad if they lose their bond and closeness over this matter.