so I am a new duckie mom and I have 11 ducks. This is the story. Followed by the question.
I bought two Ancona ducklings at the local feed store. They were about half grown, when my brother-in-law asked if I could take one of his rescue drakes (Rouen) because of the constant fighting. So Eugene moved in. As it turned out, one of the Anconas was a drake and one a girl. Now I had the problem. The poor girl was getting "attacked" non stop by Eugene and the little drake was run off by the older Rouen drake. So I had no choice but to separate the two drakes. Eugene was on his own. The two Anconas were once again happy. In the meantime I had three little girls that were ready to join the Anconas, one white crested, one Cayuga and one Buff. One big happy family, except poor Eugene is by himself watching thru the fence. So, I found 5 mature Welsh Harlequins on Craigs List. And we went and got them this afternoon. Now Eugene will have his own set of ladies. And the Ancona drake has his own ladies. Eugene and his flock are 2 years old and the Ancona with his mixed flock is only about 3-4 months old.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............................... here's the questions:
will they always have to be two separate flocks or will they all get along, especially since there are 9 ladies to 2 drakes now ? Or will the older drake always make the younger drakes life a living hell? And at what age will the little Ancona boy be fertile? Just wondering, not sure I want to make more duckies. How long do ducks lay eggs, the ladies that I picked up today are already two?
After some getting acquainted thru the fence/ quarantine time, can I just let Eugene in with new ladies or will they attack him ? What would be the best way to do that? And any and all other advice would be wonderful. I am enjoying them very much and love spoiling them. Thank You for your time.
I bought two Ancona ducklings at the local feed store. They were about half grown, when my brother-in-law asked if I could take one of his rescue drakes (Rouen) because of the constant fighting. So Eugene moved in. As it turned out, one of the Anconas was a drake and one a girl. Now I had the problem. The poor girl was getting "attacked" non stop by Eugene and the little drake was run off by the older Rouen drake. So I had no choice but to separate the two drakes. Eugene was on his own. The two Anconas were once again happy. In the meantime I had three little girls that were ready to join the Anconas, one white crested, one Cayuga and one Buff. One big happy family, except poor Eugene is by himself watching thru the fence. So, I found 5 mature Welsh Harlequins on Craigs List. And we went and got them this afternoon. Now Eugene will have his own set of ladies. And the Ancona drake has his own ladies. Eugene and his flock are 2 years old and the Ancona with his mixed flock is only about 3-4 months old.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............................... here's the questions:
will they always have to be two separate flocks or will they all get along, especially since there are 9 ladies to 2 drakes now ? Or will the older drake always make the younger drakes life a living hell? And at what age will the little Ancona boy be fertile? Just wondering, not sure I want to make more duckies. How long do ducks lay eggs, the ladies that I picked up today are already two?
After some getting acquainted thru the fence/ quarantine time, can I just let Eugene in with new ladies or will they attack him ? What would be the best way to do that? And any and all other advice would be wonderful. I am enjoying them very much and love spoiling them. Thank You for your time.
