Ok - it's been a week .... Need advice

[Andrea PNW]

Hey there duck family - haven't posted for a minute cuz I lost my sweet Ed last week to a raccoon in broad daylight and was so upset and was focused on spending a fortune on all the reputable gadgets and cameras --- and being overall angry and feeling guilty that I allowed it to happen .... it's been a lot.

However - the loss of one drake - as painful as it is since he was my favorite - made my sex ratios 10000000000 times better. I'm embarrassed to say that but it does. So now I have Ruthie my drake pond rescue who STILL is in lady feathers and 3 Welshies at about 4.5mo and poor Barbe who has lost her man (Ed) and is walking around as traumatized as you can imagine.

Because my Welshie ladies have been too young I've kept them in the front yard and the other 3 (Ruthie/drake, Ed/drake, Barbe/hen) in the backyard. The goal was always to integrate the two mini flocks into one but naturally the sex ratio was never ideal. Now that I only have 1 drake I figured - I've got to be uber vigilant about predators during the day so let's get these two little flocks together.

So now we come to the integration part - Ruthie/drake is absolutely ferocious and relentless in his pursuit at mating (raping) my 3 Welshies the minute he has them in eyesight. He so bull-like I've always intervened because they scream as soon as he charges at them and I had one hen actually climb up my pant leg like a cat when I stepped in between them because she was so terrified.

At one point Peaches actually busted thru the mesh fabric on my screen door into my house trying to get away from him - cuz he was charging.

Now with Barbe (the new grieving widow) he's not that way with at all and never has been. And now that she's all traumatized and walking around like a toddler he seems to be very preoccupied with making sure she's ok.

So there is all the context. I'm fine with them having sexy time - that's not the issue. It's the violence in which he pursues. And we've been spending several hours each night trying to integrate but he just goes into rape mode - viciously - I can't really stomach it. I've been supplementing his treats with melatonin and he's gotten a little better but not much.

Do I basically have to stand by and let this rape sitch happen even tho they are terrified so we can move on or can I keep doing these daily meetups for a few hours every night and eventually he'll just do the normal thing ---- head bob, bill poke, neck feather pull ---- and then they do sexy time and it's over and we all move on?

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Hey there duck family - haven't posted for a minute cuz I lost my sweet Ed last week to a raccoon in broad daylight and was so upset and was focused on spending a fortune on all the reputable gadgets and cameras --- and being overall angry and feeling guilty that I allowed it to happen .... it's been a lot.

However - the loss of one drake - as painful as it is since he was my favorite - made my sex ratios 10000000000 times better. I'm embarrassed to say that but it does. So now I have Ruthie my drake pond rescue who STILL is in lady feathers and 3 Welshies at about 4.5mo and poor Barbe who has lost her man (Ed) and is walking around as traumatized as you can imagine.

Because my Welshie ladies have been too young I've kept them in the front yard and the other 3 (Ruthie/drake, Ed/drake, Barbe/hen) in the backyard. The goal was always to integrate the two mini flocks into one but naturally the sex ratio was never ideal. Now that I only have 1 drake I figured - I've got to be uber vigilant about predators during the day so let's get these two little flocks together.

So now we come to the integration part - Ruthie/drake is absolutely ferocious and relentless in his pursuit at mating (raping) my 3 Welshies the minute he has them in eyesight. He so bull-like I've always intervened because they scream as soon as he charges at them and I had one hen actually climb up my pant leg like a cat when I stepped in between them because she was so terrified.

At one point Peaches actually busted thru the mesh fabric on my screen door into my house trying to get away from him - cuz he was charging.

Now with Barbe (the new grieving widow) he's not that way with at all and never has been. And now that she's all traumatized and walking around like a toddler he seems to be very preoccupied with making sure she's ok.

So there is all the context. I'm fine with them having sexy time - that's not the issue. It's the violence in which he pursues. And we've been spending several hours each night trying to integrate but he just goes into rape mode - viciously - I can't really stomach it. I've been supplementing his treats with melatonin and he's gotten a little better but not much.

Do I basically have to stand by and let this rape sitch happen even tho they are terrified so we can move on or can I keep doing these daily meetups for a few hours every night and eventually he'll just do the normal thing ---- head bob, bill poke, neck feather pull ---- and then they do sexy time and it's over and we all move on?

You could separate him and let the one you are adding get used to the others.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Hey there duck family - haven't posted for a minute cuz I lost my sweet Ed last week to a raccoon in broad daylight and was so upset and was focused on spending a fortune on all the reputable gadgets and cameras --- and being overall angry and feeling guilty that I allowed it to happen .... it's been a lot.

However - the loss of one drake - as painful as it is since he was my favorite - made my sex ratios 10000000000 times better. I'm embarrassed to say that but it does. So now I have Ruthie my drake pond rescue who STILL is in lady feathers and 3 Welshies at about 4.5mo and poor Barbe who has lost her man (Ed) and is walking around as traumatized as you can imagine.

Because my Welshie ladies have been too young I've kept them in the front yard and the other 3 (Ruthie/drake, Ed/drake, Barbe/hen) in the backyard. The goal was always to integrate the two mini flocks into one but naturally the sex ratio was never ideal. Now that I only have 1 drake I figured - I've got to be uber vigilant about predators during the day so let's get these two little flocks together.

So now we come to the integration part - Ruthie/drake is absolutely ferocious and relentless in his pursuit at mating (raping) my 3 Welshies the minute he has them in eyesight. He so bull-like I've always intervened because they scream as soon as he charges at them and I had one hen actually climb up my pant leg like a cat when I stepped in between them because she was so terrified.

At one point Peaches actually busted thru the mesh fabric on my screen door into my house trying to get away from him - cuz he was charging.

Now with Barbe (the new grieving widow) he's not that way with at all and never has been. And now that she's all traumatized and walking around like a toddler he seems to be very preoccupied with making sure she's ok.

So there is all the context. I'm fine with them having sexy time - that's not the issue. It's the violence in which he pursues. And we've been spending several hours each night trying to integrate but he just goes into rape mode - viciously - I can't really stomach it. I've been supplementing his treats with melatonin and he's gotten a little better but not much.

Do I basically have to stand by and let this rape sitch happen even tho they are terrified so we can move on or can I keep doing these daily meetups for a few hours every night and eventually he'll just do the normal thing ---- head bob, bill poke, neck feather pull ---- and then they do sexy time and it's over and we all move on?

To me it sounds like Ruthie is trying to dominate the new girls. When you talk about intergrating them, do you have a way to do look but not touch? An example would be to put Ruthie in a large dog crate where they can all see smell and touch each other but he can't run them down. I would try this for afew days then try releasing him with them. He may initally run them down and pin them, but once they submitt and all work out the pecking order he should calm down.

 

[Andrea PNW]

To me it sounds like Ruthie is trying to dominate the new girls. When you talk about intergrating them, do you have a way to do look but not touch? An example would be to put Ruthie in a large dog crate where they can all see smell and touch each other but he can't run them down. I would try this for afew days then try releasing him with them. He may initally run them down and pin them, but once they submitt and all work out the pecking order he should calm down

 

[Andrea PNW]

Yes actually - Ruthie and Barbe have been in a fenced in kennel and have been exposed to the ladies for at least a month now. In the kennel Ruthie would always charge them and Ed (poor sweet baby Ed) was totally not. So I noticed Ruthie charging way back when and Ruthie would also dominate Ed a little when it came to treats but oddly - Ruthie had zero interest in Barbe. Which I was naturally super concerned about to such an extent I got 3 more ladies to balance things out.

Barbe is afraid of the ladies and wherever they get close to her in our afternoon meetups she freaks out running the other direction. Ruthie meanwhile has been trying to rape charge the ladies relentlessly and the minute he hears barbe get freaked out cuz the Welshies are too close he runs after her cuz she's in distress.

It's like a duck soap opera

 

[KaleIAm]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about Ed.

 

[Andrea PNW]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about Ed.

I cried and cried and cried. And when I found what was left of him and had to clean it up - I cried and cried some more. I have a 7ft fence around all 2 acres and since I was such a stickler about locking them in at dusk that they would be fine during the day to free range and my main issue would be eagles. But I didn't anticipate midday tree climbers.

Gosh - I continue to have to learn the hard way.

Any thoughts on the Ruthie/rapey piece? My mom is just so horrified by his behavior she keeps telling me to get rid of him and obvs I feel the same way cuz I always intervene but I'm really feeling hopeless since no one is responding to my post.

The ladies are actually wanting to come inside the house whenever the can't see me cuz they are afraid of him.

I'm about as attached to them as they are to me but my ladies aren't diapered so --- nope nope nope to in-house visits.

Sigh.

 

[LT71689]

ruthie sounds like theyre doing a mix of dominance/rapey behaviour and protecting barbe. I'd keep Ruthie in the kennel where they can look but not touch, and just work on introducing Barbe all the way. Try coaxing the welshies and Barbe together with treats maybe? Show Barbe there's nothing scary (and also there's nobody swooping in to save her so she better get used to it)

Once Barbe is cool with the Welshies it might calm Ruthie down a little and she might even act as a buffer between the two.

I feel like the most ideal set up would be to section off the pen/coop or place the kennel inside of it so you dont have to keep separating them and then bringing them back together and then separating them and bringing them back... at some point they just need to work it out. Taking Ruthie and/or Barbe back out gives them time to forget/refuse to deal with the situation so each time they come back it's all brand new again

 

[KaleIAm]

I cried and cried and cried. And when I found what was left of him and had to clean it up - I cried and cried some more. I have a 7ft fence around all 2 acres and since I was such a stickler about locking them in at dusk that they would be fine during the day to free range and my main issue would be eagles. But I didn't anticipate midday tree climbers.

Gosh - I continue to have to learn the hard way.

Any thoughts on the Ruthie/rapey piece? My mom is just so horrified by his behavior she keeps telling me to get rid of him and obvs I feel the same way cuz I always intervene but I'm really feeling hopeless since no one is responding to my post.

The ladies are actually wanting to come inside the house whenever the can't see me cuz they are afraid of him.

I'm about as attached to them as they are to me but my ladies aren't diapered so --- nope nope nope to in-house visits.

Sigh.

I admit I cried when I heard about Ed. I remember when you first got him. I feel so sad for him, and Barbe, and you. It must have been very painful to clean up the pieces, I'm so sorry.

I don't keep drakes, so my advice will be from reading a lot on this forum and speculating. Like you, I feel a need to protect my ducks from unwanted mating. That is my exclusive reason for not keeping drakes, otherwise I'd be happy to have them. Their aggressive mating is too much for me.

Personally, I would let poor Barbe recover in whatever way feels easiest for her. With Ruthie, without, whatever it takes. My ducks have gone through mourning periods when we lost flock members, and it has taken weeks to months for them to recooperate. Of course, if you can't allow her this time while protecting everyone then you can't.

I would likely continue with a version of the look but no touch method for as long as it takes. I would avoid removing the welshies completely. They are a flock, and flocks stick together.

Another idea I have, but I don't know if this would work or if it is even healthy for Ruthie, is reducing his daylight hours. My female duck has a reproductive issues. If she is allowed to make eggs she will get sick and die, so our avian veterinarian has us keep her on a 10 hour daylight schedule. This lowers her hormones and tricks her body into thinking it is winter. It's really difficult because we have to lock our duck in a dark room for all but 10 hours a day. I've noticed in the spring many people say their drakes who have been behaving all along are suddenly aggressively mating. Perhaps if you reduced Ruthie's daylight and tricked him into thinking it was winter it would reduce his hormones and aggressive behavior. Now, I'm absolutely speculating and you should probably research more and ask your avian vet before trying this!

I'm sorry I don't have an ideal solution for the aggressive mating.

In case you don't know, we have weasels/stoats here, too. I have even seen two during the day within a couple miles from my house just in the last year. Only hardware cloth will prevent attacks from them, that I am aware of.

 

[Andrea PNW]

I admit I cried when I heard about Ed. I remember when you first got him. I feel so sad for him, and Barbe, and you. It must have been very painful to clean up the pieces, I'm so sorry.

I don't keep drakes, so my advice will be from reading a lot on this forum and speculating. Like you, I feel a need to protect my ducks from unwanted mating. That is my exclusive reason for not keeping drakes, otherwise I'd be happy to have them. Their aggressive mating is too much for me.

Personally, I would let poor Barbe recover in whatever way feels easiest for her. With Ruthie, without, whatever it takes. My ducks have gone through mourning periods when we lost flock members, and it has taken weeks to months for them to recooperate. Of course, if you can't allow her this time while protecting everyone then you can't.

I would likely continue with a version of the look but no touch method for as long as it takes. I would avoid removing the welshies completely. They are a flock, and flocks stick together.

Another idea I have, but I don't know if this would work or if it is even healthy for Ruthie, is reducing his daylight hours. My female duck has a reproductive issues. If she is allowed to make eggs she will get sick and die, so our avian veterinarian has us keep her on a 10 hour daylight schedule. This lowers her hormones and tricks her body into thinking it is winter. It's really difficult because we have to lock our duck in a dark room for all but 10 hours a day. I've noticed in the spring many people say their drakes who have been behaving all along are suddenly aggressively mating. Perhaps if you reduced Ruthie's daylight and tricked him into thinking it was winter it would reduce his hormones and aggressive behavior. Now, I'm absolutely speculating and you should probably research more and ask your avian vet before trying this!

I'm sorry I don't have an ideal solution for the aggressive mating.

In case you don't know, we have weasels/stoats here, too. I have even seen two during the day within a couple miles from my house just in the last year. Only hardware cloth will prevent attacks from them, that I am aware of.

Thank you so so so so much for the kind words. Really means a lot