Questions about drakes!

[Caitiirene]

Hello! I have 6 pekin ducks that are 3 1/2 months old. Two boys and 4 girls. Lately I’ve been noticing and I'm very concerned about my 4 girls. One of my boys is being so aggressive that the necks of my girls are so raw, the neck meat is so nod on and swollen. What should I do about this? Their necks have scabs on them too.

 

[Debbie292d]

We don't raise ducks, but if we had a rooster that was that mean, it would come with me and my 20-gauge into the woods. I would separate him immediately so he can't do further harm and start treating their wounds.

I just have a triple antibiotic cream (without the pain reliever) on hand here for us and them should any of us get injuries. Something like that should work though to help it heal and prevent infection.

Do you not have flies there? I would also worry about flystrike with them running around with open flesh.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I tried something similar, two drakes and three then four hens. It was a disaster. Drakes are hormone driven sex maniacs with long memories about which females rejected them. My opinion, immediately put the offending drake in drake jail. Then, consider finding him a new home. In my experience, it only got worse, not better. I know, the drakes are the most personable ducklings so we fall in love with them. But, unless you want to permanently deal with issues, early intervention might help. Btw, because I waited, one female died, one struggles with her eyesight because the scar tissue on the back of her neck pulled the skin so tight her vision is impaired, and I had to get rid of the second drake too because he became just as bad but to different females. Others might have better experiences but mine wasn’t good.

I put coconut oil mixed with a little bit of lavender oil on the wounds. I know others use vetricin spray from the feed store.

 

[Quatie]

Personally I would get rid of the drakes. I also wouldn't want to pass that drake on to someone else. You are just passing on the problem to someone else.

You can also separate out the drakes and have an all drake flock. It is more work, but it does work for some people. Or you maybe able to give the drake or drakes to someone with an all drake flock. But drakes are hard to re-home.

Whatever you decide, the females need a break from the drakes until they heal up.