think i might have to many drakes

[someguyhere]

as my little ducklings grow up its starting to look like I have more males than females. we were obviously hoping for more females but from the sound they are making only 2 of the 6 are female. I know this will end up a problem so my question is if I try to re home these guys will anyone want 2 drakes ? will just having male ducks create a problem if say I give 2 males to one person will those 2 males be ok with each other ? right now they are just pushing into 7 weeks old and they are all the best of friends but I know natural instincts will kick in pretty soon. what should I do ?

 

[TLWR]

If you got ducks for eggs, then you want to keep the 2 females and maybe 1 male. You should rehome 3 males.
If you didn't get them for eggs, keep the boys and sell the girls.

 

[someguyhere]

ok awesome! something to think about and never thought about that. we didnt get them for eggs, actually no one in the house even likes eggs ha. we just got them for fun it seems that everyone always wants females so I just figured they were just what one would want to get but never really thought of the use for ducks either. we just wanted some pet ducks to swim in the pond lol

 

[MelissaZeno]

Is it possible to keep more males than females is I can somehow keep them separated at night?

 

[Amiga]

Is it possible to keep more males than females is I can somehow keep them separated at night?

You may need to separate them in the daytime as well - seems to me we need to watch them closely, and make adjustments so that every member of the flock is safe.

 

[Choctawrabbits]

We bought a strait run of Cayugas hoping for hens mostly. We ended up with 1 hen. We now have 3drakes and one is acting weird. I don't know if he is sick, sad, or low man on the totumn pole. But I am kind of worried as he is the one that we wanted to keep with our hen. We plan on culling the other two, but don't really know how old they should be when we do that. Feeling stuck because of course the one that is sick/sad is the only one with a name, Fuzz Buttons. Not sure what to do. The hen is laying beautiful eggs though.

 

[quackingdom]

We bought a strait run of Cayugas hoping for hens mostly. We ended up with 1 hen. We now have 3drakes and one is acting weird. I don't know if he is sick, sad, or low man on the totumn pole. But I am kind of worried as he is the one that we wanted to keep with our hen. We plan on culling the other two, but don't really know how old they should be when we do that. Feeling stuck because of course the one that is sick/sad is the only one with a name, Fuzz Buttons. Not sure what to do. The hen is laying beautiful eggs though.

We cull/butcher our young males when they are three or four months old. Of course, procrastination often sets in...we have two drakes that are now seven months old and are still around! So your other two drakes are definitely old enough to cull. I'm sorry I can't help with the sick/sad one...but hopefully he's just sad and will get better when the other two are gone!

 

[bh1duck]

ok awesome! something to think about and never thought about that. we didnt get them for eggs, actually no one in the house even likes eggs ha. we just got them for fun it seems that everyone always wants females so I just figured they were just what one would want to get but never really thought of the use for ducks either. we just wanted some pet ducks to swim in the pond lol

if you aren't interested in eggs sell the females. people will actually pay ($15-$30 a piece depending on your area) for females but males are tough to give away.

 

[someguyhere]

today I was able to tell that we have 3 drakes and 3 ducks, I thought we might have 4 and 2. but 3 are clearly making the same sounds as well as the other 3 are the same and that is what we ordered because on the site we got them from it said if you had less than 10 you could have pairs of males and females so we ended up getting what we wanted Im pretty sure but now im still worried from everything else I have read that suggest one male can handle many females. .... I guess we will just see how its going to go, might just have to make a separate for the males and only let them mingle from time to time.

another question I just thought of , I guess I could google it but is duck mating seasonal ? could we keep them together most the time and separate during mating ? Id hate to break this little gang up but dont want problems either. at least I still have some time to decide I guess

 

[PINOAK RIDGE]

You didn't mention what breed of duck you have, but many ducks are seasonal layers. That being said, laying vs breeding are two different topics. Males will be males and they can be interested in breeding whether laying is involved or not. Too many males can injure or kill females.

You have a few options. 1) keep one male and three females and sell the other two males. 2). Keep one male with females and keep other 2 boys in a separate enclosure. 3). Sell all of one sex if you aren't planning to breed.

Depending on the breed, they may be good mothers and hatch their own babies. If not, you can sell the eggs or artificially incubate them. A bachelor group of males can make great pets and are quiet with their antics, compared to females. Also, females' loud voices also "advertise" to predators. Several different factors to consider. What exactly you want out of your little flock? Pets? Eggs? Ducklings?


Hope this helps. Good luck & enjoy your ducks.


PINOAK RIDGE
Call ducks in: Apricot Silver, Aztec Blue, Black, Blue, Blue Fawn, Buff, Butterscotch, Chocolate, Grey, Khaki, Pastel, Snowy, Silver & White.
Black East Indies, Miniature Silver Appleyards, Mallards and Silver Mallards.

Silkies: Black, Blue, Buff, Grey, Partridge & White
Bantam Cochins & Frizzles: Black, Blue, Silver, Mottled-Black & Blue, Millie Fluer (Calico) and White.