The amazing escape/Is she safe with the drake?

[K4zn4v3]

So today at 2 in the morning I went outside to check how much snow had fallen so far and when I look over at the duck pen with a flashlight what do I see? ''Moxie'' my nearly 3 month old female was outside in my drakes side of the pen. I was suprised for two reasons. First was that put both of them inside hours ago and blocked the doors so they wouldnt go outside in the snow. Second, she had to climb a 48 inch high fence to get over to where she was. After I put her inside I did a little bit of investigating and found out what happened. She managed to jump and squeeze herself through a 5 inch gap between the wood and the door. After she was outside She managed to climb over the fence, not really a suprise since muscovies are great climbers. I want to put her in with my drake and obviously she wants to go in with him to since she did all that to get over by him. I was wondering If I put her in with him, would she be safe. She is about a week shy from 3 months but she is still pretty small. If my 16 pound drake tries to mate with her I am worried that he will hurt her.

 

[duckyfromoz]

It sounds like she is seeking company, but she is too young to be mated by a full grown drake. Only thing I can suggest is put them together and monitor closely. Putting ducks together really does depend on the temperament of the individual birds. Some drakes will chase down anything with two legs..or sometimes more, but others will happily live with a younger duck and not try to mate with them. After selling a few extra drakes- I am still left with one 28 week old boy who is in a pen with all the young ducks from 4 weeks of age, and two older females that are pets not breeders. He will mate with the older girls- but doesnt bother the younger ones at all. Give them supervised visits for a week or two and you will know how he will treat her if left alone for longer periods. Of course - if he does try to mate the first time you put them together- I wouldnt suggest not trying it again for a while longer.