when can i introduce the ducklings to drakes?

[silkielover92]

I have a Drake pekin duck and a female runner. The two ducklings I have are another pekin and a ballad... they are about a month old...how long till I can introduce them to the others?

 

[duckyfromoz]

It can depend a bit on the older group and how they will except the younger ones- to begin with its best to have the babies in a safe area near where the older ones are housed- but so they can see each other- without the adults being able to attach the babies. After they have seen each other a few times you can let them into an area together watching carefully for any signs of the adults attacking the babies. When putting young ones in with a sexually active drake its best to make sure the ducklings are at least 8- 10 weeks old with very careful supervision, 14 weeks is about when they start to display mating behaviour, so you may have issues if the larger pekin is trying to mate with the smaller mallard.

I hatch year round so my flock is very well used to having babies introduced on a regular basis and I know that I can trust the drakes, but for a first time its much better to be very cautious to avoid the young ones getting hurt. They can of course go outside to live in their own area before this time if you want them out of the house if thats where they are.

 

[silkielover92]

Quote:
Okay! Thanks, they right now are living in a shed at night with a heat lamp on and are in a puppy pen with a kiddie pool during the day. He has seen them when he free ranges ocassionally he has looked at them then went on and did his own thing. When I introduced my first guinneas to the chicken flock he would "snake" his head at them and tried to peck them. The ducklings are Deffinatly over a month old I'm guessing around 14 weeks or more. I just guessed in my previous post because that's how long I've had them. They still have the downy fluff but are getting the start of feathers under it. Also I'm assuming the two I have now are males as their starting to sound more hoarse as they peep in their pool. Will they get more aggression shown towards them if they are males? (please excuse the typos, as I'm on my phone)

 

[silkielover92]

Since your a breeder maybe u can help me then I was told the females have a quiet "raspy"mire of a chirping and the males have a actual quack, but now I'm reading its vice-versa? Hellllppp!

 

[duckyfromoz]

It is the other way- drakes have a very raspy sounding voice. The girls have a loud quack- however at a young age it can be hard to tell sometimes. I recently had a duckling that was definitely quacking at 3 - 5 weeks old- but then the voice had changed and I vent sexed and found he was in fact a boy.

Here are some good youtube videos with some very vocal drakes.

And for females...

 

[nornao]

We have a baby mallard that was hatched around the 16th of June. It is almost as big as the females now and we think it is a male because there is a definite green hue to its feathers on its head in the sun. We introduced the drake to it in the pen a couple of weeks ago and the drake immediately mounted it. We got them separated and have kept the drake separated from them since then. I was wondering if it would be okay to let the drake outside with them now since the baby is getting so big. The baby doesn't quack loudly, but still peeps softly. That is another reason I believe it is a male. I don't want to keep the male segregated for long because I am afraid it will make him aggressive. We keep him in the pen during the day with a rubber maid pond. lol Twice one of the females has wanted in with him, so I let her into the pen with him and the baby and other two females wandered around the farm.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If your duckling is a drake and sounds like it is. There is going to be problems your adult drake is not going to be happy with another drake around you may never be able to put them together
But being The duckling hatched there it's always a possibility he may eventually accept him. My Runner drake accepted his son once the son was older and not a duckling.
You can always try letting them be together and see how it goes you just don't want your adult drake mating him. We always rec not putting females in with an adult drake until laying age. With 2 drakes it's just something you have to watch and see. You could start by putting your duckling in a dog crate at night in the coop to get them use to being together. Since this ducking is not quite 2 months old yet I'd take it slow.

 

[nornao]

Thank you, we do put the drake into a dog pen at night when we pen them up and have been keeping him in the enclosure we have for them during the day by himself. The baby and the three adult females go free during the day. About two weeks ago, the drake tackled the baby in the outer pen before we could get them out, not sure exactly how it happened; I wasn't there. My partner was letting them out. The male got right on top of the baby and tried to breed it, so my partner grabbed him by the neck and put him in the pen. The baby doesn't seem to be hurt, it runs all over the yard and it is almost as big as the other ones now.
We were thinking about letting the drake out with them all at the end of the month. Our train of thought is that there are 3 females and the baby would have lots of space to get away from him. One of the females has wanted back into the enclosure with the drake a few times so I just let her go in. I really don't want the baby to get hurt. I am surprised, though that he still just "peeps" for his size. He doesn't quack like the females which is why I think it is a male also.
What would you recommend we do if the drake just keeps being aggressive with the baby?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well if the drake keeps being aggressive to the point he may injure or kill the duckling then you have a few options you can keep the drake separated, rehome one or the other or eat one. The last option I am not fond of because I get so attached. I had 4 Muscovy drakes at one time for many years. It was a pain, I loved all 4 but they could never be together because of fighting so each had their own space within the half-acre fenced with their own females. When my oldest drake died at almost 12 yrs old I decided to rehome my 2 youngest. I was so thankful to find homes for both and good homes too. Doesn't always happen since so many have excess drakes and finding homes is not easy. At this point all you can do is try letting them be together and see how it goes. Just don't let the drake mate him.