Single drake behaviors + drake/duck ratio

[Squiggs]

The purpose of this thread is to share different personal experiences with drakes and how they behave in different duck/drake ratios. All individuals of the same species can very rarely be described with blanket statements; they obviously have breed or gender tendencies that you can expect, but it's not always going to be the same for each animal. All drakes are going to mate their girls and roughly, but how frequently? How does a drake treat it's person outside of mating season? During? These questions about the intensity and danger of such acts year long is what drove me to make this thread. I wanted more personal opinions and anecdotal evidence with other flocks.

I'm not going to cull Moony if he is a boy. I got these three after months of preparation to be pets with production a pleasant side effect. As I shared in previous posts, I have a setup that will allow me to house him separately away from the girls if needed. I can also get another girl or two, rehome him, rehome the girls and get him a drake pal, or whatever is needed to keep them all healthy and happy.

 

[happy duck]

The purpose of this thread is to share different personal experiences with drakes and how they behave in different duck/drake ratios. All individuals of the same species can very rarely be described with blanket statements; they obviously have breed or gender tendencies that you can expect, but it's not always going to be the same for each animal. All drakes are going to mate their girls and roughly, but how frequently? How does a drake treat it's person outside of mating season? During? These questions about the intensity and danger of such acts year long is what drove me to make this thread. I wanted more personal opinions and anecdotal evidence with other flocks.

I'm not going to cull Moony if he is a boy. I got these three after months of preparation to be pets with production a pleasant side effect. As I shared in previous posts, I have a setup that will allow me to house him separately away from the girls if needed. I can also get another girl or two, rehome him, rehome the girls and get him a drake pal, or whatever is needed to keep them all healthy and happy.

They should be calmer after mating season, but it can very depending on the breed and duck(there personality).

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

Based upon my experience sometimes a drake is just aggressive no matter how many females he has to breed. Females can be aggressive too.

Much like any domesticated animal, it’s pretty darn individual but there are breed tendencies. The size of the space they’re in is a factor too. If females have ample space to escape I think that helps.

When we sent two to the smoker it was because there were three that were just gang raping everyone in the yard. We put the two largest in the smoker, and the remaining one calmed right down.

Honestly, I don’t think they’re real happy when they’re sexually aggressive. They’re insatiable because they are sexually frustrated and never really feel “done” so to speak. Once they’ve mated their just looking for the next one to mate. Separation doesn’t make them happy either because ducks are flock animals, and were never meant to be alone.

Obviously some people choose prolonged drake jail and think that is the most humane thing to do. I’ve done drake jail and I personally think it’s kinder to just cull. They don’t have the ability to reason, and they are literally only doing what comes naturally to them; they aren’t bad or evil, they just have high sex drive.

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

Ducks can and do mate year round, so it’s entirely possible they won’t calm down when mating season is over because they don’t recognize a specific breeding season.

 

[happy duck]

Ducks can and do mate year round, so it’s entirely possible they won’t calm down when mating season is over because they don’t recognize a specific breeding season.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy recognize a specific breeding season it has to be an instinct because all the time I have had them since 2004 they have always stopped breeding and laying late sept till mid March the next year. But seems those in warmer climates say Texas Muscovy breed and lay year round according to a member on here who has Muscovy and lives in Texas.

 

[happy duck]

Like @Miss Lydia said there has to be some instinct. I mean how do birds, bees, butterflies know it is spring.....instinct!