If rehoming drakes does not happen

ShelbyCiave

Chirping
May 17, 2022
70
128
81
San Diego; CA
Hello all!
So, some of you may have seen I am at a 6-4 male to female ratio of ducks. I am trying to put up my 4 new baby drakes up for rehoming. However, if I have no luck with this and I were to keep all 10, I would obviously figure out a way to separate the females from the males. My question is, even if I separate them and let the males and females take turns free ranging would I have to separate my existing males from new males? Also, if all 6 males know there are females around, but are still separated from the females, should I worry about the drakes getting aggressive with each other? Sorry for excessive questions. Y’all have been a great help thus far and very supportive! I really appreciate it!
 

ruthhope

Crowing
Aug 16, 2021
1,021
1,883
296
St Augustine, FL
Hello all!
So, some of you may have seen I am at a 6-4 male to female ratio of ducks. I am trying to put up my 4 new baby drakes up for rehoming. However, if I have no luck with this and I were to keep all 10, I would obviously figure out a way to separate the females from the males. My question is, even if I separate them and let the males and females take turns free ranging would I have to separate my existing males from new males? Also, if all 6 males know there are females around, but are still separated from the females, should I worry about the drakes getting aggressive with each other? Sorry for excessive questions. Y’all have been a great help thus far and very supportive! I really appreciate it!
Until you find a new home for your drakes, you can indeed separate your flock into males and females. Depending on the sze and situation of your yard, they might take turns being out free ranging or you could put in a dividing barrier and they could share the yard side by side.

I find it difficult to rehome drakes: mine are all rescues. I took in 2 juvenile pekin drakes that were dumped on the side of the road at the begining of May and have been looking for homes for them since. I know of folks who will take in females but do not want another drake. I had the new ducks in a temporary pen in my back yard, sleeping in the coop in separate dogcrates at night, for 4 weeks. So far, I have managed to rehome one of the new boys -- with my son's flock of females. He is too young to know how to mate even though one of the girls is trying to teach him!!! The other -- they were tightly bonded but neck wrestling and one was pulling out feathers from the other -- has now integrated with my ducks at the bottom of the pecking order.
So in answer to your question, yes you can introduce your existing drakes and make a drake flock separate from the girls. Its easier from August onwards as the drake hormone levels start to wane. But I got mine integrated in June and with patience you can do it in July. Or you can leave your exisitng drakes with the girls. WHich ever works best for you
 
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Miss Lydia

~Gift of God ~ Eternal Life ~John 3:16-17
Premium Feather Member
12 Years
Oct 3, 2009
122,914
149,356
2,032
Mountains of Western N.C.
I agree with @ruthhope drakes can live side by side with a female flock even rotate each drake with the females maybe on a weekly basis might work might not each drake is different. But I do know some members who have to separate their drakes from their females @DuckyDonna is one. Lets see if she can advise. It's extremely hard to rehome drakes main reason I am not hatching.
 

ShelbyCiave

Chirping
May 17, 2022
70
128
81
San Diego; CA
Until you find a new home for your drakes, you can indeed separate yoru flock into males and females. Dependign on the sze and situation of your yard, they might take turns being out free ranging or you could put in a dividing barrier and they could share the yard side by side.

I find it difficult to rehome drakes: mine are all rescues. I took in 2 juvenile pekin drakes that were dumped on the side of the road at the begining of May and have been looking for homes for them since. I know of folks who will take in females but do not want another drake. I had the new ducks in a temporary pen in my back yard, sleeping in the coop in separate dogcrates at night, for 4 weeks. So far, I have managed to rehome one of the new boys -- with my son's flock of females. He is too young to know how to mate even though one of the girls is trying to teach him!!! The other -- they were tightly bonded but neck wrestling and one was pulling out feathers from the other -- has now integrated with my ducks at the bottom of the pecking order.
So in answer to your question, yes you can introduce your existing drakes and make a drake flock separate from the girls. Its easier from August onwards as the drake hormone levels start to wane. But I got mine integrated in June and with patience you can do it in July. Or you can leave your exisitng drakes with the girls. WHich ever works best for you
Well, my new girls and new boys are all almost 8 weeks old. I have a little over an acre, but not a pen/housing situation ready to accommodate 6 boys and the 4 girls separately. Right now, the 8 babies are in part of the barn with the run and my existing boys are in their own house big enough only for two grown ducks and they free range all day. If I can house them all next to each other (males and females) and rotate drakes in and out each week and/or to free range too, then I will try to figure something out. I am in San Diego and hoping by the time I merge new and existing ducks, mating season will over in my neck of the woods. That may buy me some time to figure out housing!
 

ShelbyCiave

Chirping
May 17, 2022
70
128
81
San Diego; CA
Until you find a new home for your drakes, you can indeed separate yoru flock into males and females. Dependign on the sze and situation of your yard, they might take turns being out free ranging or you could put in a dividing barrier and they could share the yard side by side.

I find it difficult to rehome drakes: mine are all rescues. I took in 2 juvenile pekin drakes that were dumped on the side of the road at the begining of May and have been looking for homes for them since. I know of folks who will take in females but do not want another drake. I had the new ducks in a temporary pen in my back yard, sleeping in the coop in separate dogcrates at night, for 4 weeks. So far, I have managed to rehome one of the new boys -- with my son's flock of females. He is too young to know how to mate even though one of the girls is trying to teach him!!! The other -- they were tightly bonded but neck wrestling and one was pulling out feathers from the other -- has now integrated with my ducks at the bottom of the pecking order.
So in answer to your question, yes you can introduce your existing drakes and make a drake flock separate from the girls. Its easier from August onwards as the drake hormone levels start to wane. But I got mine integrated in June and with patience you can do it in July. Or you can leave your exisitng drakes with the girls. WHich ever works best for you
Also, bless your heart for rescuing the poor things when they are in need.
 

ShelbyCiave

Chirping
May 17, 2022
70
128
81
San Diego; CA
I agree with @ruthhope drakes can live side by side with a female flock even rotate each drake with the females maybe on a weekly basis might work might not each drake is different. But I do know some members who have to separate their drakes from their females @DuckyDonna is one. Lets see if she can advise. It's extremely hard to rehome drakes main reason I am not hatching.
I was hoping for girls a year ago… obviously that didn’t happen 😅 but I got the girls for my boys and ended up with the girls and even MORE boys! I was planning on immediately collecting eggs and not hatching. Drakes are just so crazy! My pekin is not that bad, but my Rouen cross is the issue. So sweet, but a major instigator! He gets the pekin wound up for sure! But those boys are inseparable.
 

DuckyDonna

Crossing the Road
Aug 26, 2018
5,508
17,389
826
Dallas, Georgia
It is hard to picture what you've got going on in your run/pen. Can you not make another area in the barn. It doesn't take much to divide areas to keep them apart. Can you send pictures?

My boys and girls are separated with a welded wire fence between the 2 groups in their outdoor run. There are food buckets and water for each group. At night I put the girls in one pen and the boys in the other.

I've got 12 girls and 4 boys and the boys just don't know how to act which is why they are apart. I had a couple of girls snatched almost bald-headed and I knew I had to separate. Hopefully in the fall once the mating season is over they can all be together which is a lot less work. I guess I'm just used to it. Last year was worse. I had 4 sick girls, then the boys and the rest of the girls all in separate runs and pens.
 

duckncover

Duck Obsessed
13 Years
Jan 17, 2009
1,057
143
326
North Eastern PA
If this was my situation (It might be! Still waiting for my babies to voice sex!) I would have a bachelors pad with 5 of the extra drakes in it and then one of drakes of my choosing that would live with the ducks. I also would put a barrier up (literally anything from a bush to a piece of plywood) so the bachelors don't have to share the fence with the ladies are their drake. It may not be the case but I feel like that would drive them nuts lol. Let them out into the pen separately and there shouldn't be too many problems.
 

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