One of my babies passed, what do i do now

katiemichelle4

Chirping
Apr 24, 2018
15
18
56
I’ve had two pekin ducks for the past two years. They were brothers and inseparable. This morning my baby passed away and it was the most heartbreaking thing ever. My other one is okay right now but i’m afraid of him being lonely or depressed because his buddy won’t be around anymore. I was thinking of getting a new duck but not sure what to get. Would i be able to get a different breed or would it new to be the same breed. Do i get a male or a female, Chunk is very agreesive during mating season so i’m afraid he won’t like the new male duck. is a female a smarter move? Also Smudge (who passed) was my cuddly baby he absolutely loved me i would love for me to get a duckling so i can raise it and he be imprinted to me just like Smudge. Or is getting a duckling not a good idea. i just don’t know what to do at all and need help
 
I’ve had two pekin ducks for the past two years. They were brothers and inseparable. This morning my baby passed away and it was the most heartbreaking thing ever. My other one is okay right now but i’m afraid of him being lonely or depressed because his buddy won’t be around anymore. I was thinking of getting a new duck but not sure what to get. Would i be able to get a different breed or would it new to be the same breed. Do i get a male or a female, Chunk is very agreesive during mating season so i’m afraid he won’t like the new male duck. is a female a smarter move? Also Smudge (who passed) was my cuddly baby he absolutely loved me i would love for me to get a duckling so i can raise it and he be imprinted to me just like Smudge. Or is getting a duckling not a good idea. i just don’t know what to do at all and need help
I know exactly what you are going through right now I had my two Pekins for two years and this past Saturday my male was attacked by a random dog we took rushed him to emergency vet and he passed on Sunday. My heart is breaking. My poor female is left all alone and these past two days have been tough I’ve given her extra attention such as going worm digging with her for an hour today. No duck should ever be alone so as I a man planning you should as well. Because he was a male who passed I decided to incubate for the first time and attempt to get offspring from my boy who passed. My female supposedly has three weeks laying his hopefully fertilized eggs. I did read before a male with ducklings is not a good idea so in you scenario that wouldn’t work unless you have the space and time to keep them separated until they are older. I had read prior you can have a chicken wire fence so they can see one another but not get to. However, you could always adopt. If you get a female it would I’m sure be like a normal pair as mine were and he mate. It can be dangerous because the ratio ideally is 1 drake to 3 female or even 1:4. But my female Pekin was fine and we actually had one male Pekin And a male mallard who flew away last year. She at times had both on her and I didn’t know what to do but the problem solved itself when he flew away. If you get another male I am almost certain they would get along unles you would later bring in a female then they may not and they both could even mate her to death. Either way bringing in whether a duckling or older whichever sex I honestly would separate them for a bit with a chicken wire fence so they can see one another and get used to each other first. Maybe an expert will give you better advice though. Good luck and sorry for your loss you are not alone we literally had the same thing happen and it stinks
 
I’ve had two pekin ducks for the past two years. They were brothers and inseparable. This morning my baby passed away and it was the most heartbreaking thing ever. My other one is okay right now but i’m afraid of him being lonely or depressed because his buddy won’t be around anymore. I was thinking of getting a new duck but not sure what to get. Would i be able to get a different breed or would it new to be the same breed. Do i get a male or a female, Chunk is very agreesive during mating season so i’m afraid he won’t like the new male duck. is a female a smarter move? Also Smudge (who passed) was my cuddly baby he absolutely loved me i would love for me to get a duckling so i can raise it and he be imprinted to me just like Smudge. Or is getting a duckling not a good idea. i just don’t know what to do at all and need help
This is a tough situation for you, I'm sorry for your loss. Mrichard is correct about the male/female ratio, it's important to keep that in mind because drakes have a voracious sexual appetite and can injure or kill a single female. I had 2 males at one time, a few years ago and although they got along very well, they were always trying to mount each other and one of them would end up bleeding. I had to keep them in separate but adjoining pens unless they were out free ranging under my supervision. Unfortunately, a fox got one of them (Pippa) and Avalon was so lonely and miserable that I found it best to send him to a buddy of my husband's who has a flock of females. He is happy and thriving with many offspring running around now. Ultimately, you will have to decide what is best for Chunk. You can try another adult male with him and see how it goes, he may resist at first but eventually may become buddies with the new one but I would not put him together with a duckling. If you want to get a duckling for yourself, you can do that for sure but don't let it upset you if they don't get along, just keep them apart until the new one is the same size as Chunk and watch them closely whenever they interact. 3 or 4 females would be your best option in this case, imho. (if that's possible where you live and space wise)
 
I had a very bad learning experience, trying to integrate young ducks in with the older ones too soon. They seemed to be doing fine all day, but when I went to put them in for the night, the older ducks had pecked a lot of the younger ones & a few were already dead. Since then, I keep the different ages separated by a mesh fence for about a week. Once the older ducks get used to the babies being there, they've always accepted them just fine. However, check on them often for the 1st 24 hrs. If anyone is getting bullied, you'll be able to stop it before one is injured or killed. I found a good trick to getting new ducks to bond together is to put the older or larger duck in a new place first, or putting him into the younger duck's environment (instead of the other way around) - this putting him in a new (or neutral) environment keeps him a bit off-guard and will prevent him from being agressive over his territory. If the older/established duck has to get used to a new environment at the same time, the two are more likely to bond quickly, as they'll seek comfort in each other, while navigating scary new territory. After all, they're both ducks & ducks want to be with their flock.
 
I am so very sorry to hear about your duck :( I also had a pair and lost my favorite girl in January. My other duck was upset and lonely all by herself so we ordered new ducklings a couple days later.
While we were waiting for the ducklings to arrive we put a mirror in with our solo duck and spent lots of extra time with her. She just loved the mirror and would talk to it and sleep in front of it (it was so cute but also very sad).
When the babies were finally big enough we introduced everyone...she hated them and did her best to stay as far away as possible. It took a week or so before everyone finally started to get along and they are all getting along well now.
In total we now have 3 females and one male and things are working out quite well. I hope you find a new friend/friends for your duck soon :)
 

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