What to do?

[BickeringToast]

I have 4 males about 10 months old. They have been together since day 1 (I got them when they were about 2 or 3 days old).
Daphne (WH), Niles (KC), Doc (Runner), and Mose (Cayuga).

All summer Niles picked on Daphne- it was never too bad, more like a little nip here and there. Nile also picked on Mose a little bit. Doc is Niles' little sidekick-he never nipped anyone but he is right by the little felons side during it all and never gets nipped himself.

I have tried removing Niles from the whole area for days and it didn't seem to make much difference. In any case, once it got colder everyone seemed to calm down quite a bit.

Now it seems like Niles, Mose and Doc all want nothing to do with Daphne. Daphne is always apart from the group and seems lonely. I feel bad that Daphne just does not seem to be one the pack.

So my question is: What do I do? Do I re-home Daphne where he can possibly fit in (but this may made Mose the odd-guy out)? Do I re-home Niles and hope Doc and Mose allow Daphne into the group then? Would re-homing just Niles stress him AND his buddy Doc out? Do I rehome Doc and Niles and figure Mose and Daphne would be fine together? Or do I re-home Niles, Doc, and Mose together and get Daphne a harem of women? Or do I just leave everything the way it is now?

Any suggestions or thoughts would be hugely appreciated!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 4 males about 10 months old. They have been together since day 1 (I got them when they were about 2 or 3 days old).
Daphne (WH), Niles (KC), Doc (Runner), and Mose (Cayuga).

All summer Niles picked on Daphne- it was never too bad, more like a little nip here and there. Nile also picked on Mose a little bit. Doc is Niles' little sidekick-he never nipped anyone but he is right by the little felons side during it all and never gets nipped himself.

I have tried removing Niles from the whole area for days and it didn't seem to make much difference. In any case, once it got colder everyone seemed to calm down quite a bit.

Now it seems like Niles, Mose and Doc all want nothing to do with Daphne. Daphne is always apart from the group and seems lonely. I feel bad that Daphne just does not seem to be one the pack. So my question is: What do I do? Do I re-home Daphne where he can possibly fit in? Do I re-home Niles and hope Doc and Mose allow Daphne into the group then? Would re-homing Niles stress him AND his buddy Doc out? Or do I re-home Niles, Doc, and Mose together and get Daphne a harem of women?

Any suggestions or thoughts would be hugely appreciated!

Well I think the last one with keeping Daphne and getting him a harem of women at least it would make him happy.

I had 3 drakes once they lived at the river at first. They weren't actually mine them but I later adopted them. Anyway they all seemed to get along good, swam together and basically hung out together all the time, One was dif the alpha drake the other 2 followers . Then I decided to get some ducks, well what happened next was not good, they drakes started fighting and the 2nd in command killed the 3rd. while the alpha drake got all 3 of the girls, Drake dynamics aren't all they are cracked up to be, seems there is always one that gets snubbed and picked on whether drakes or ducks, have you tried separating in 2's to see if that helps Daphne settle in with just one drake? as time goes on and days lengthen and it gets closer to breeding season things may even get worse for Daphne, very hard decision and I actually don't know what to tell you. you have to go with your heart.

 

[BickeringToast]

It's a tough one, I love those 4 brats! In all honesty I know I cannot separate Nile and Doc-they are definitely a pair. I think Mose and Daphne shoudl stay together simply because they have always got along, and I am afraid that without Daphne, Mose becomes the odd-drake out.

I hate the thought of re-homing any of my four felons, but I hate Daphne being on his own even more I think.

If I was to get females for 2 of them does that mean 6 females? Could I go less or would that just cause problems? Aarrgh! I just do not know what to do!!

 

[StruckBy]

I would not get females unless you go down to one drake. Some drakes live together fine no matter what else is going on but yours clearly don't have that personality type. Personally I'd try splitting them up into the buddy pairs with separate housing (well actually I wouldn't have 4 drakes at all since I like duck eggs )

 

[BickeringToast]

I have no idea how I managed to pick 4 drakes out of about 100 ducklings!

Unfortunately I do not see any way I could make 2 separate areas permanently. I really wish that was an option. I am going to try separating them into pairs for a a week or two to make sure Daphne and Mose can get along together.

If only that little Niles wasn't such a thug....I think he has short-man syndrome!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have no idea how I managed to pick 4 drakes out of about 100 ducklings!

Unfortunately I do not see any way I could make 2 separate areas permanently. I really wish that was an option. I am going to try separating them into pairs for a a week or two to make sure Daphne and Mose can get along together.

if only that little NilesI wasn't such a thug....I think he has short-man syndrome!

short man syndrome is probably correct alot of guys have it. Now what will you do if it works out to have them separated for a week or two and they get along great that way then will you try putting them back together? since you can't separate for good.

 

[BickeringToast]

If I separate them for a week or two and everyone does well, I will try putting them back together. If the 4 cannot get along even then, I will have to seriously think about re-homing one of the pairs.

I just hate this. It's not actual fighting between them- no one is injured or even losing any feathers. But poor Daphne is just so excluded. Like just now when we pulled up in our driveway: the 3 are near the front of the outer fencing and Daphne is like 7 feet away laying by himself and sleeping. And poor Daphne is so **** dopey, he always has been. That little felon Niles is the brains of the whole operation! When they first moved outside months ago, I would have said Niles was #1 and Daphne was a definite #2. I don't know what happened to make Daphne the outcast.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If I separate them for a week or two and everyone does well, I will try putting them back together. If the 4 cannot get along even then, I will have to seriously think about re-homing one of the pairs.

I just hate this. It's not actual fighting between them- no one is injured or even losing any feathers. But poor Daphne is just so excluded. Like just now when we pulled up in our driveway: the 3 are near the front of the outer fencing and Daphne is like 7 feet away laying by himself and sleeping. And poor Daphne is so **** dopey, he always has been. That little felon Niles is the brains of the whole operation! When they first moved outside months ago, I would have said Niles was #1 and Daphne was a definite #2. I don't know what happened to make Daphne the outcast.

Duck dynamics something us humans may never figure out. I hope it will work out that you can keep them all, I have enjoyed all your stories about them as they grew up.