New Ducklings!! And Questions... Lots of em :)

[CJkid]

We have 11 little ducklings just a few days old and mama is doing a beautiful job.
But I have a few questions since this is our first time hatching ducklings. The ducks have their own coop. There is just the mama and daddy and the new babies.
Do we have to worry about the drake hurting the ducklings? Should we separate him from them until they are older?




This is the mother with her babies.



And the Rouen is the father.

 

[Happy Camper]

We have 11 little ducklings just a few days old and mama is doing a beautiful job.
But I have a few questions since this is our first time hatching ducklings. The ducks have their own coop. There is just the mama and daddy and the new babies.
Do we have to worry about the drake hurting the ducklings? Should we separate him from them until they are older?




This is the mother with her babies.



And the Rouen is the father.

Well, I'd say the drake does not "need" to be there. Some will be nice but some will just stress mom out more... I'd keep and eye or just remove him for a couple weeks until babies are bigger and stronger and mom has some time to rest and reset.
Ducklings grow soooo fast! They are adorable! congrats!

 

[thomasboyle]

I raise mallards, and I've always kept the mate in with the female and babies, and never had an issue. If you have other ducks, he could just as easily be in with them, but he won't want to be by himself. Anytime I let the male out of the nursery with the other ducks, he would go swimming in the pool and then be back waiting by the door to go back with his mate and the babies. Hope you enjoy them! They grow up quickly!

 

[Happy Camper]

I raise mallards, and I've always kept the mate in with the female and babies, and never had an issue. If you have other ducks, he could just as easily be in with them, but he won't want to be by himself. Anytime I let the male out of the nursery with the other ducks, he would go swimming in the pool and then be back waiting by the door to go back with his mate and the babies. Hope you enjoy them! They grow up quickly!

Well, there you go

I know nothing about mallards... my drake is a raping, crazy Pekin and would just drive her nuts... It has not happened to me but I have read here people talk about Pekins killing ducklings... so, I guess mallards are tamer and not brutal as Pekins can be.

 

[CJkid]

Thanks for all the advice.
We only have these ducks, so there are no others for him to socialize with and he's never been a fan of our chickens
This morning we thought we'd let him out of the little run to give both him and mama a break from each other.
He wandered around for a very few minutes and then was waiting to go back in. He and Lefty(the mama) were standing on exact opposite sides of the fence trying to get to each other and the babies well...
half found out how to get to daddy and half were still in with mommy.

So we let him back in, the ducklings went back through the chicken wire and everybody was happy again.

So for now, since he's not been a problem to them, we're gonna keep em together.

P.S. Do ducks mate for life? It sure seems like our little old couple will never part willingly.

 

[thomasboyle]

Mallard males seem to be good dads. Typically, ducks mate for a season, and often the male moves on to another female while the first is sitting on the eggs! But I have an injured female (hit by a car) and she will never fly again. Her mate stays with her all the time, and has never gone after any of the other 7 females I have. He has been with her for 2 years now, and he can fly. When all of the other mallards I raised flew south, he stayed with her. So I truly hope to have both of them in my flock for many years to come!

 

[thomasboyle]

Good to know about the Pekins. I just acquired 5, 3 females and 2 males, so I will have to be on the lookout and watch the males.

Mallard ducks remind me of human couples at the mall. The female duck seems to be on a mission, going from place to place, and the male is following behind her, sort of wandering!

 

[CJkid]

Mallard ducks remind me of human couples at the mall. The female duck seems to be on a mission, going from place to place, and the male is following behind her, sort of wandering!

We've noticed a similar thing with our ducks. They seem to go everywhere together, like a little old couple that have always been together.
We throw out scratch grains for our chickens every morning. And there were times when the ducks would be running over from across the yard and the male would get ahead of the female. And he would stop and wait for her to catch up then take off again to get the treat.

I always liked ducks and thought they were cute. But since having our own ducks and watching the way they interact, I will forever be in love with them.

 

[duckins]

I have 3 pekin drakes love them but they are mean, and rough. I personally would not trust any drake around ducklings or hens unsupervised to much could happen. As they grow and get more rowdy they might agitate your fellow. Your babies are so cute enjoy them they grow so fast.