why wont my adult drake mate with his wife?

[Nebraskagirl]

I don't see the point of this? Thank you for clearing up Waldo (do you lose him a lot? Lol) leg issues. But why did you explain about the wedding? Yes, they're family. Ok, they're married. Cute. But, they will HAVE to be other females if he over breeds her. Now, given his leg issues not likely to happen, but yes, if he over breeds her, you will have to 'un-marry' them or add a female to the marriage or whatever pleases you, because drakes are horny animals and even an injured / disabled boy can injure a hen if he's too rowdy. I'm fine with the marriage, it sounded very cute and fun, but remember, it's about keeping the ducks happy, right? Well that may not be possible with 1 girl and 1 boy.
Yes, they are just ducks. But that doesn't mean you can love them with all your heart, and treat them like family and even marry them. But it also means that they may not like the marriage come breeding age.

Yes. Agreed. I remember reading about a member who lost a beloved duck because she DROWNED in a pool due to an over-zealous drake who had no other females (whom she said was docile, nice and lovey.) This is the problem when people attribute human characteristics to animals (especially when they approach mating age.) Sometimes folks lose sight of this when they "marry" animals with others. Ducks are not "married." They don't understand it. Drakes usually need more than one female for ALL waterfowl to be healthy and everyone (including the owner) to be happy. It is important for the owner to understand this. I cannot stress it enough. Case in point: The neighbor's bull kept breaking loose from the fence to mate with my uncle's cows. Why? Because the neighbor didn't have enough cows to keep his bull "happy" so the bull sought out others. The end result was a badly torn fence, a pi$$ed off bull, and luckily no one got hurt.

 

[charlindabob]

Yes. Agreed. I remember reading about a member who lost a beloved duck because she DROWNED in a pool due to an over-zealous drake who had no other females (whom she said was docile, nice and lovey.) This is the problem when people attribute human characteristics to animals (especially when they approach mating age.) Sometimes folks lose sight of this when they "marry" animals with others. Ducks are not "married." They don't understand it. Drakes usually need more than one female for ALL waterfowl to be healthy and everyone (including the owner) to be happy. It is important for the owner to understand this. I cannot stress it enough. Case in point: The neighbor's bull kept breaking loose from the fence to mate with my uncle's cows. Why? Because the neighbor didn't have enough cows to keep his bull "happy" so the bull sought out others. The end result was a badly torn fence, a pi$$ed off bull, and luckily no one got hurt.

 

[myfowlfriends]

I can do WHATEVER I WANT with my ducks, ill make em citizens of.my own country if i feel like it . If i havent made that clear already, i can also love them with all my heart and treat them like family( i really dont know who you think you are as to tell me i can't, that's hilarious) and until any of you meet waldo and see for yourself how frail and mellow he is and the dearest bird i ever raised, you have no clue. He is not going to over mate her the reason this was made is because he doesnt at all in the first place!! I dont disagree the rowdy nature of drakes. I state again, since nobody seems to realize the fact that I HAVE EXPERIENCE. I HAD MALLARDS THAT WERE GETTING BUSY TEN TIMES A DAY WITH EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME. I HAD AT ONE POINT 10 BIRDS AND 23 BABIES. But that is NOT waldo, he isnt an average duck and therefore doesnt fit into any of your generalizations, you even said it was unlikely to happen because of this so i suggest everyone quit with their useless 'advice'.

**Staff edit to remove profanity**

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

If you know so much about ducks, why are you asking us? IF you know so much about ducks, why don't you know her girl happened to be a fast maturer and your male just needs to catch up?
None of us are saying you can't marry, love or cherish your ducks. ALL we're saying is there is an inherent risk with having a male and female duck. Sure, frail and sweet now, but even if he is wobbly on his legs, a batch of hormones can turn leg pain or weakness into something that just doesn't exist. Or, even him trying to mount but unable, and just ripping out her feathers. And him not mating now has nothing to do with if he'll be horny and over mating later. Some mature faster then others, but teenage hormones are teenage hormones.
He may always stay a horny boy, he may turn out to be a sweet gentle boy. But there's the teenager phase which is always hard on male animals, ESP, when there's not a big boy telling him how to properly be a flock leader.
Now, if you take offense to that, to us just warning you about something that might happen and if it does, you will have to ignore your wishes and either get more girls or seperate them at times, then that's your problem. We're simply informing you. We're not bashing or trying to undermine you, it's just a risk perhaps you forgot or over looked.


Btw, having 10 birds and 23 babies doesn't make you an expert. Having prior experience shows you may know stuff, but the amount of birds is illrelavent.

 

[DuckLady]

Thank you for your participation.