Will he or won't he?

[kaumlauf]

We have a new drake (Welsh Harlequin, about 4-5 mos old) for our 2 hens (mother and daughter Black Swedes.). Mother is an excellent brooder, and in the past, has hatched numerous nests. She was "married" to her brother for 3 years. They mated copiously and often, and she misses his company. He is now gone, due to a hungry coon or fox. His replacement, the Welsh, is young, but big. He apparently has no interest in mating, at least with the Swedes. Mother hen does her best to coax him- bobs her head, prances beside him, etcetera. This scares him to bits, and he runs away. Is there any hope for breeding?
Hoping, in Northwestern, PA

 

[kaumlauf]

Is he just too young, and one day will rise to the occasion,(after the hormones kick in) and fulfill his marital duties?

 

[Amiga]

This time of year and his age, I would not expect much. Around here, a couple of days before Valentine's day is the sudden onset of mating season. Mmm.

 

[kaumlauf]

Hmmm...when love is in the air- well that helps. Until then, we'll have to keep him safe from her (she has pecked him at night, pulling out feathers, so they sleep in separate "bedrooms") Thank you for your help-

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I agree with Amiga (as always) that he might just be too young to be interested. I've never known of a healthy, happy drake that had no interest in breeding after they matured enough. It's usually quite the opposite. He might also be unsettled by the move to his new environment, which is totally normal.

Great call on separating them at night if she's picking on him. That will only make him more unsettled and skittish about being around her. You just want to make sure you allow them to have supervised contact frequently so they don't become complete strangers during the time it takes him to come around to the idea of being in a new home.

 

[kaumlauf]

Hi Jade-
Thank you for the encouraging news- I'm looking forward to what their ducklings will look like.

They are only separated at night- during the day, all 3 ducks free roam together in our fenced in half acre meadow. She doesn't bother with him when they can all move freely about. In fact, she tries to seduce him, constantly, by bobbing her head as she sidles up to him. Our other drake took this as permission to pounce. They mated a lot. In fact, he almost killed her by pushing her head under water and holding it there, while mating. I am hoping the new drake will grow confident, as he gets older, and will fight back when she attacks him. Till then, he safely sleeps by himself.