My video of drake attacking or mating female duck is this normal?

[Buckas]

That's why I got the females because one of the drakes kept mating with the other drake and then they were getting aggressive with me. I just got the females yesterday and then I noticed her wing was bleeding today so I separated them.

My original flock was two boys and one girl, I figured that wasn't going to work so a few months later I added the other two females. I remember how the boys were very aggressive at first with the two new girls and they would even try to break down the fence to get to them. I was worried they were going to kill em' if I ever put them all together. However after a week or so of letting them get use to each other through a fence (chicken wire) the aggressive "attacks" stopped and things worked out great. Then of coarse mating season changed that. My point is this, keeping them separated for awhile so they can "meet each other" and still be safe might be just the ticket for your group.

 

[MWAFORD]

How do I know if they are just be mean to my new females or really trying to mate? They have only had contact with the females about 10 times since the females are scared and stay on the other side of the yard. That doesn't seem like a lot considering how much he mounts the drake on a daily basis.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh man... Since I don't have room for more and I have 2 drakes and 1 duck, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get rid of my girl!!

This morning when I let them out, all 3 ran over and jumped into the pond like they usually do. But, right away Raspberry (my big Swedish Blue) jumped on Spot (my Swedish blue girl), grabbed her by the neck and pushed her head under. Peepers (mallard drake) swam over a few minutes later and started bobbing his head at her. But, he's so little compared to her I wonder if he could even mount her!

I did read a bunch of posts here about drakes drowning ducks (because that was, truly, what I was afraid of). But, what I got from all the posts were mixed answers. Therefore, I'm still confused and unsure of what to do. These really are our pets and even though they're not actually 'handled' at all like our dog or cat, we love them - all of them. I, definitely, do not have room for 8-10 ducks in our pen. ...I'm very unsure of what to do right now... I really don't want Spot to get hurt. But, I'm not even certain either of them is hurting her since some of the posts I read said that was normal. *sigh*....

I think your ducks are probably too young to even be mating yet. they are probably going through the motions though especially with the drake pushing the duck under water, but that is normal behavior with drakes and ducks, it's when more than one drake mounts a duck and they keep her under too long that's when death happens, You Mallard can probably mount her and possibly hit the spot but he'll have to work at it pretty hard. My Bantam Roo does this with our big EE"s he jumps on and rides them like a horse. If she was being hurt you'd see feathers pulled out and not just a few. Next spring though you may have to make a decision to either get more ducks or rehome one of your drakes. To protect your duck.

 

[RacerWife7]

Thank you for your input, Miss Lydia. I was surprised to see this type of activity at 15 weeks. I didn't expect it for another month or so. One issue I have is that I work full time. So, I'm not here during the day to watch them. I'm wondering if I should split my pen in two and enclose the bottom of the house for her (the night enclosure is off the ground. I'm thinking I should close up the underneath space) so she has separate space to sleep in. Or will she be okay until spring?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you for your input, Miss Lydia. I was surprised to see this type of activity at 15 weeks. I didn't expect it for another month or so. One issue I have is that I work full time. So, I'm not here during the day to watch them. I'm wondering if I should split my pen in two and enclose the bottom of the house for her (the night enclosure is off the ground. I'm thinking I should close up the underneath space) so she has separate space to sleep in. Or will she be okay until spring?

Might not be a bad idea to have it ready in case, but at 3.5 months they aren't ready for mating, just playing at it.

 

[Buckas]

How do I know if they are just be mean to my new females or really trying to mate? They have only had contact with the females about 10 times since the females are scared and stay on the other side of the yard. That doesn't seem like a lot considering how much he mounts the drake on a daily basis.

I think both things are going on, those boys are excited to see females AND they need to establish a pecking order of some sort so they are in a since putting those gals in their place. Just keep the girls safe for a while and supervise their time together. Even after letting mine get to know one another through a fence there was still a bit of aggressiveness and it looked cruel at times but eventually it will settle down. Check some posts about introducing new ducks to already established flocks, I think you'll find it helpful too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think both things are going on, those boys are excited to see females AND they need to establish a pecking order of some sort so they are in a since putting those gals in their place. Just keep the girls safe for a while and supervise their time together. Even after letting mine get to know one another through a fence there was still a bit of aggressiveness and it looked cruel at times but eventually it will settle down. Check some posts about introducing new ducks to already established flocks, I think you'll find it helpful too.

 

[MWAFORD]

I think both things are going on, those boys are excited to see females AND they need to establish a pecking order of some sort so they are in a since putting those gals in their place. Just keep the girls safe for a while and supervise their time together. Even after letting mine get to know one another through a fence there was still a bit of aggressiveness and it looked cruel at times but eventually it will settle down. Check some posts about introducing new ducks to already established flocks, I think you'll find it helpful too.

Thank you for your help.

 

[ducktastic]

I'm so stressed, my darling florrie has a bold patch from rough mating, the two drakes don't seem to be interested in the other female, why? What shall I do, hate seeing her hurt!!!

 

[3Ducks]

You need to separate her ASAP. I had the same problem, you need to have 3 females per male duck....I know its touph but you may want to get rid of one of the males...they will severely hurt her with there only being 2 females