Raised a single duck with female chickens; found out he's a drake!

[ducksluvchicks]

I raised a single mallard with two my two female chickens since they were 2 weeks old. They are now 20 weeks and I have recently discovered that he is a male. He likes to hang out with the chickens, I think he thinks he's one of them, but goes down by our pond and hangs out by himself. He appears lonely. I'm also worried, because at night they are housed together, that he may injure one of my chickens trying to mate with them. I want to get a second so that he is not lonely but I don't want baby ducks. Would a second male duck be an option? That way I can house them separately without him being alone. Do I need a female to make him happy?

Please help!

 

[Going Quackers]

Your on the right track, you don't need a female duck .. you can run bachelor flocks, now i should mention you can remove eggs daily so you don't get baby ducks.

I fully agree with your concern on the drake, some are okay with chickens but without any ducks of his own, the concern is much greater.

 

[ducksluvchicks]

Thanks so much for the quick response! That helps

 

[Going Quackers]

Your welcome!

 

[cosbackyard]

You can do it either way. Two drakes housed separately if you like. Or you could get another female duck or two. Extra eggs are always nice. That's the setup I have. One drake, two ducks, and chickens. He hasn't shown any interest in mating with the chickens even though they're housed together.

 

[sarahr0612]

Just get the eggs and don't let them hatch out, or get only males. I had three drakes for a long time and sometimes they would fight a little but nothing crazy. I have heard people say they can end up really injuring each other so I would just keep an eye out. My males drakes now have some lady friends and everyone is happy.Ducks do really well in a flock. Oh and my ducks share a pen with my chickens and they all get along fine.

 

[ducksluvchicks]

Thanks so much for the comments. This is really helpful!

 

[ducksluvchicks]

So I got two female ducks and one male (born around the same time as my mallard) I placed all four ducks in a separate cage by my chickens and my original mallard flipped out; I think he thinks hes a chiken since he was raised alone with my two chickens. I had to put him back in with the chickens and he was fine. I free range my birds during the day and they come in at night. I didn't want to let the new birds out right away for fear that they would just fly back home. I kept them couped up for 2 days and let them out with the others on the third day. They stuck around for a while but by the end of the day the females had flown teh coup and didn't return. The make came in for the night and the following day hung out with my other mallard. I left for a little while and when I returned teh new mallard was gone and he hasn't returned yet (been 24 hours). My other mallard is now alone again with the chickens. He's never bothered them but then hes only 20 weeks old. Ahhh! I think he thinks the chickens are his family so I cant separate them but I don't want him to try to mate with them and injur them. Any thoughts?

 

[Miss Lydia]

So I got two female ducks and one male (born around the same time as my mallard) I placed all four ducks in a separate cage by my chickens and my original mallard flipped out; I think he thinks hes a chiken since he was raised alone with my two chickens. I had to put him back in with the chickens and he was fine. I free range my birds during the day and they come in at night. I didn't want to let the new birds out right away for fear that they would just fly back home. I kept them couped up for 2 days and let them out with the others on the third day. They stuck around for a while but by the end of the day the females had flown teh coup and didn't return. The make came in for the night and the following day hung out with my other mallard. I left for a little while and when I returned teh new mallard was gone and he hasn't returned yet (been 24 hours). My other mallard is now alone again with the chickens. He's never bothered them but then hes only 20 weeks old. Ahhh! I think he thinks the chickens are his family so I cant separate them but I don't want him to try to mate with them and injur them. Any thoughts?

He will eventually try to mate and if he succeeds he can kill them, as for the ducks that flew away you should clip one wing on each bird and keep them closed up for a couple weeks to get use to their new home, did you call the previous owner to see if they came home and if you can go get them? and when and if you do put your drake in with them but not where he can see the chickens, out of sight out of mine eventually.

 

[ducksluvchicks]

I got them a few hours away in another state so I doubt they few back home but maybe... Unfortunately I got her last two females as I've been looking for a female mallard for a little while now (closest I found was the person I got them from). I guess I could buy another kind of duck... Unfortuneately I'm a single mom with a little boy of my own and I work 50 hour weeks so traveling any farther is not an option. Also last time I had birds shipped only two of the 8 survived the the trip so I don't want to do that either. Ugh hopefully I will get another duck before he starts mating. If I clip their feathers will they grow back? I have a 2 acre pond but its about 5 acres from my house through the woods (full of protected falcons) so the clipped ducks wont be able to safely follow my other duck down to the pond (that's where he spends his days)