New female in flock

LMates

Hatching
Jul 9, 2021
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I have 5 mixed breed ducks, 3 females and 2 males.
Last week I adopted another young female (Khaki Campbell) from a rescue (was told she was btw 6-8 mos. But I'm thinking younger, maybe 5?!, as she has not started laying yet).
The two drakes will not leave her alone! Within seconds of her walking out of the carrier create they were on her and it's been that way for a week now. I originally put her in a smaller temporary enclosure inside the main enclosure to let them all get used to each other and give her a break (they literally try to get her through the fence). The last 2 days I've left the door of her special enclosure open so she could go out if she wanted, and she has started to (they've also spent the last 2 nights all in the duck house together with no issues), but the drakes still won't leave her alone.
Today I found her alone in some scrub brush and the other 5 on the other side of the yard. As soon as I got her to walk out of the brush they came running and she hid back in the brush so they would leave her alone. *Note, she's pretty quick, so while they have gotten her pinned, I don't think either Drake has actually successfully messaged with her yet.
Is this normal and if so, how long are they likely to be so fixated on mating/dominating her? (They are still mating with the other females as well, but in a more regular manner.) Will they eventually just let her be with them without constantly trying to mate her (and her running away)?
Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!
 
You need to put the drakes together and leave your new females with the other females. You may have to leave it like this for a while. Let the females bond and have some time out without the drakes. Then once the females have all gotten use to her it will be easier to integrate her into the flock. This may take several weeks to months don't get into a hurry you don't want her injured or killed yes ganging up has caused death in females. Bless her heart she needs a chance to get acclimated into her new home and having to hide from the drakes isn't helping. If the females start picking on her maybe try just one of your laid back females with her for now. It takes time and patience. :welcome
 
I have 5 mixed breed ducks, 3 females and 2 males.
Last week I adopted another young female (Khaki Campbell) from a rescue (was told she was btw 6-8 mos. But I'm thinking younger, maybe 5?!, as she has not started laying yet).
The two drakes will not leave her alone! Within seconds of her walking out of the carrier create they were on her and it's been that way for a week now. I originally put her in a smaller temporary enclosure inside the main enclosure to let them all get used to each other and give her a break (they literally try to get her through the fence). The last 2 days I've left the door of her special enclosure open so she could go out if she wanted, and she has started to (they've also spent the last 2 nights all in the duck house together with no issues), but the drakes still won't leave her alone.
Today I found her alone in some scrub brush and the other 5 on the other side of the yard. As soon as I got her to walk out of the brush they came running and she hid back in the brush so they would leave her alone. *Note, she's pretty quick, so while they have gotten her pinned, I don't think either Drake has actually successfully messaged with her yet.
Is this normal and if so, how long are they likely to be so fixated on mating/dominating her? (They are still mating with the other females as well, but in a more regular manner.) Will they eventually just let her be with them without constantly trying to mate her (and her running away)?
Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!
You should always quarantine new birds for at least a month before introducing them to an established flock, as you don’t want to introduce any viral diseases into your flock.

With the issue with the drakes, I recommend seperating them maybe into the enclosure she was in before. This will give her time to establish a pecking order with the females which may take up to a week or more. Don’t be surprised if she runs away from the other females as it can take them a few months to become friendly and come up to you with the others in the flock.
 

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