Should I keep my ducks separated?

SharkNewt

Chirping
Jul 21, 2021
33
40
61
Hello, all! Quick question. I have 2 ducks, about 4 months old, a male and a female. The male keeps pinning down the female by her neck. I took this as bullying and separated them, because I read somewhere that they're not sexually active until they're 1 years old, and any behavior like this outside of mating, is bullying. Am I right to separate them, or are my ducks really just trying to mate?
 
He is trying to mate her. They start laying eggs around 18-20 weeks and they will practice sooner than that. Pairs work for some people, but some males need more females. You will need to keep an eye out if he is overheating her. Usually males need 4-5 females, or even more depending on the male. I had a male that likely needed 12+, so I got rid of him. But I have another male who is far less active and did well when I had 2 females. I got him more females because I assumed the worse, but he probably would have been fine with less. Each one is different, so you never know.
 
Shoot, I only have females and they do that all the time.

All.
The.
Time.
The females will do it too, but they are not usually as rough as males are. Males will chases after a female and grab her by the neck, as she is trying to get away, and not let go. The male will also shove them to the ground. I have never seen that behavior from my females. Without a male it could be possible, but it is far less likely. If you see a lot of feathers on their neck and wings missing, that is when you note a problem. I had some females scared and in pretty bad shape from that highly active male before I got rid of him.
 
Hello, all! Quick question. I have 2 ducks, about 4 months old, a male and a female. The male keeps pinning down the female by her neck. I took this as bullying and separated them, because I read somewhere that they're not sexually active until they're 1 years old, and any behavior like this outside of mating, is bullying. Am I right to separate them, or are my ducks really just trying to mate?
I’m new to all this but that being said I have 2 female Pekins and 1 khaki Campbell male
The girls were born start of may and my drake start of July. I introduced them to him in sept by October they were fully living together day and night. The last 3 weeks he has been mating with both girls
I also thought he was to young but they all seem happy
the first time we saw him mating them the one girl was having trouble walking after. I removed my drake for the night to let her rest and by morning she was fine. I put him back in with the girls and nobody has been hurt since so maybe it was just him learning how to mount her Since then we have caught them doing the head bob then him mounting her many times ( always in the pond ) And no issues
 
The females will do it too, but they are not usually as rough as males are. Males will chases after a female and grab her by the neck, as she is trying to get away, and not let go. The male will also shove them to the ground. I have never seen that behavior from my females. Without a male it could be possible, but it is far less likely. If you see a lot of feathers on their neck and wings missing, that is when you note a problem. I had some females scared and in pretty bad shape from that highly active male before I got rid of him.
I was trying to be silly. Sorry.
 
Development in the situation. I have watched the action happen in full, finally. Caught her laying down on the ground, in front of them, and he started pecking at her neck and ripping feathers off her wings. Then she got up and ran towards me, chirping erratically. I have separated him again.
 

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