New drake to all female flock

[mandabach]

I’ve had my six pet Ancona girls since I hatched them almost five years ago. There hasn’t been a male since Kyle died at age 3 months. They were the most peaceful flock ever.

Then I adopted a young Rouen drake, Russ, this week. He won’t let them alone, always chasing and herding them around the pen, and pecking when he gets close. No mating at all that I’ve seen. He tried some head bobbing but they just ran away. Nobody can relax anymore. He is very wild, unlike my hand-raised pets, and has been alone since dogs killed the rest of his young flock.

One of my Ancona hens, Gimli, is part Rouen, I guess, because she has a lot of Rouen plumage. She is sort of aligning with Russ, staying near him while he chases them. But when I separated the girls from Gimli (female duck, male dwarf name, lol), letting them out to forage, her sisters quacked and quacked for her and she clearly wanted to get out with them until I let her.

Are they just adjusting? I’ve been thinking that this transition period will pass and they will get used to each other. But I’m wondering. Will this situation settle down? Will my babies ever be able to relax again?

 

[Miss Lydia]

5 yr old females and a young hormone driven drake is a big difference I would have placed him in a temp pen fort a few weeks so they could all meet and greet. Let them out for free foraging but keep them separate and let them get use to each other. Hopefully He will begin to settle down as far as becoming their leader , he's young and needs to do some maturing.

 

[mandabach]

I’ve thought about that—I can set that up right now. I thought they would adjust more quickly if I just put him in there, but they are pretty stressed

 

[Miss Lydia]

Of course they are stressed poor ladies. You brought home a young buck. Give them time they will all adjust to each other. And hopefully they will teach him a thing or two in the mean time. My older 6-7 yr old Muscovy's had to put my young Runner drake in his place his first year here. They have their own Muscovy drake and didn't like his advances. Now he is too busy with his own girls to do much except lower his head and make the Muscovy females move away. It takes time for adjustment. Very sweet of you to give this young one a chance at a new life.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I hope you do that. I was lucky with the young drake I just added for my girls but he hadn't "hormoned" out yet when added so it went very very well for us. He was only 11 weeks old when we got him.