Question for those who have re-homed their ducks

[MarieNC]

I have a mating pair of Rouens and two Pekin drakes, almost a year old. They were a straight run and I got the worst possible combination. I separated the drakes from the mating Rouens a long time ago by putting up a fence between them in their run. I have been reading about how at this time of the year the males who don't have access to females can develop some serious health problems due to testosterone overload. I know that when I am cleaning out their runs and pools I have to keep them separated in the yard as well, or else the Pekin drakes will immediately run after the female Rouen and try to mate with her. I don't have enough room to get additional females for the Pekin drakes, and there is nowhere for me to separate them where they won't be able to hear one another. I am wondering if I should re-home any of them but I want to make sure that if they are re-homed, they won't end up on someone's dinner table. I imagine I would have better luck re-homing the Rouen pair, since they produce fertilized eggs, but Ella (the female) is the sweetest of the four of them and I would be reluctant to give her up. The Pekin drakes aren't particularly friendly, but they will let you pick them up briefly without much fuss. They have never been aggressive to me (only to one another). What is the best solution to this dilemma?

 

[DaughterOfEve]

You could start with an add on here and also speak with your local extension office for any 4h poultry clubs in you area to rehome or maybe make a trade one Peking male for one female. I have a similiar delema with two boys and no females and no room. Good luck.

 

[jdywntr]

As you stated, it would be easier to rehome a pair. Excess drakes are not in high demand unless of an unusual/show quality breed.

Unfortunately, you will need to decide which you want to keep. You can place an ad and see what responses you get. If you still have trouble rehoming them, you can do a don't ask, don't tell type thing and just tell yourself that they are going to a lovely pet home.

Sorry for your predicament. It is a hard part of duck/chicken ownership.

 

[larkflying]

I posted an ad on my local Freecycle and on Craigslist -- you can say pet only, and I wrote a lot about how many slugs they eat, and how quiet the male ducks are compared to female, and how we enjoyed watching them in their pool. I also explained a little about basic duck care, as many people are not familiar with them. I didn't remember about here, or I'd have put them on here as well.

I'm pretty sure that they went to pet homes.. In the end, I used my best judgement about the people that responded and I was lucky that they did go to a good place - to the best of my knowledge . . . There's only so much you can do with extra males of any animal . . .

 

[larkflying]

And, I forgot to say -- keep your favorite duck by all means . . . plus the fertilized eggs are a plus. You can sell the eggs . . . or hatch out more duckies . . Maybe, after the two Pekins are gone, try to get two more girls for the drake, just to make her life a little more peaceful.