Yet another hen/drake question...

[Miss Lydia]

How awful, were they inside a fenced area?

 

[ibarbidahl]

Oh NO! I'm sorry to hear about the dog. I had that happen once. It's heart wrenching. FWIW I pretty much don't leave home if my flock is out enjoying freedom. It seems every time I let my guard down somehow the predators know it.

I took at look at the photo and circled the definite drakes in orange, hens in red. The ones in the back are harder to see. Your first choice for a drake is a great choice! That darker rust color on his chest is a good indicator for final coloring.

Since you were asking - I also marked the area I see as the final decision maker with an arrow. That upper tail area will normally come in scalloped on drakes and striped on hens. So when in doubt refer to that. It seems most of the boys bills are starting to turn green as well. Are you looking to keep all of the hens or will you be sorting those down as well? I've been showing welshies a few years so I'd be happy to give you feedback on the individuals.

 

[KaleIAm]

Hmm, I have 3 kiddie pools which is fine for the 3 flocks but do you think I should provide a couple more to solve that? The geese seem to want any pool that is being enjoyed lol so they do that to everyone else but I could always add more. Im more concerned about mating behavior because my goal flock number can't really afford to lose any females with what Ive got.

My solution was to remove the swimming water for a few days, since that was the only place the harassment occurred. I rehomed my little drakes pretty quickly.

Maybe you could put a divider in your run to keep your girls safe?