The drakes keep killing the female ducks.. what should i do?

[lovelyducklings]

Unfortunately, there are more males than females, so they tend to be quite rough. Two of my females have been killed already. I had two females that are constantly being targeted by a group of males; to be safe, i put them in the pen to let the wound on their necks heal. After a few weeks, i released them and went to school, after i came home i noticed that both of them had bloody necks and were limping, i hated the idea of keeping them pinned up, so i applied medicine to their wounds and let them go. A few days later, i sadly found one of them dead.. so i immediately looked for the other female and put her back up, but now, two males sit outside her pin waiting for her to be released, everyday. Ive raised all of the ducks myself, so it pains me to lose one. Any advice on what i should do? I don't really want to sell some of the males, since they are all so close, but if i must, i will.

 

[eggbert420]

You only need one male. Do you have a water source like a pool or pond for them? Or do they mate on land?

 

[Hillaire]

sounds like you have too many drakes... time to rehome however many extra you have as you only need 1 (or you can put them in the croc pot if you do that kinda thing)

 

[lovelyducklings]

You only need one male. Do you have a water source like a pool or pond for them? Or do they mate on land?

yes i do have a pond for them but they tend to mate on land. and i know only one male is needed, but i didn't sell extra males when i first hatched them, so they've all been together since

 

[eggbert420]

yes i do have a pond for them but they tend to mate on land. and i know only one male is needed, but i didn't sell extra males when i first hatched them, so they've all been together since

get more females or lose some males.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Raising poultry is not just about hatching eggs and feeding and watering them and mucking them out. It is also about understanding their behaviour and keeping them safe, not just from predators but each other. There are difficult decisions that are part of the responsibility of raising them. You are clearly aware of the problem here and yet you seem to be repeatedly exposing the females to injury and abuse and sadly death, because you seem unwilling to part with the males. If you care so much about the males, rehome the females and just keep a bachelor flock but please don't just assume that this situation is going to sort itself out. Those young drakes are rampant because of their hormones and that will not change overnight or even over the period of several months. They also compete with each other for mating, so the same female will get mated repeatedly by one after the next, sometimes with 2 drakes on top of her at once, no wonder one has been killed.
Please bite the bullet and make the decision which you know in your heart is necessary ie. get rid of the boys before they subject your other female(s) to a similarly sad fate.

 

[Quackems]

Hi everyone. I'm new to BYC and have noticed that the "too many drakes" situation seems to be a common issue amongst new duck owners. Do any of you seasoned duck owners successfully separate your drakes and ducks permanently in 2 different enclosures? And are there any instances in which a larger drake to duck ratio can actually work if the pasture/ facility is large enough? Lastly, are there any duck breeds that tend to have more gentle drakes than others?

 

[chickens really]

The thing is Drakes are all about breeding the Hens....Hormones are high during Breeding season....Domestic ducks do not pair up for a season...Even Wild Drakes have to constantly battle other bachelor Drakes from stealing their Hen....

I keep my Drakes and Hens in separate pens....My Appleyard Drake now hears the Wild Mallards in the ponds close to my house and tries to take his hens down to the pond....I spend lots of time daily chasing him home or locking him back up....I never let my two Drakes together...I have Three Drakes and when the first two were young, before hormones took over...They were best buds...Now it would be a death sentence for my Call Drake and his two Hens....


Cheers!

 

[Quackems]

Wow. Very interesting. Thanks for the info, CR!!

 

[chickens really]

Wow. Very interesting. Thanks for the info, CR!!

Your very welcome...Management and knowledge goes a long way with raising Happy Ducks.....


Best wishes..