Can I keep 2 drakes and three hens?

[FarrFreshEggs]

Hello,
I have two 9 month old hen ducks. I got three ducklings on Valentine’s Day (6 weeks old now) and I got one female and two males. Can I put all of the ducks together? Can two drakes live with three hens in harmony? Or is it just a matter of time before we have problems?

 

[Callender Girl]

It's not likely that they will get along but, in my experience, it's not impossible.

I chose four unsexed runner ducklings from a breeder. Over the years, I have a proven knack for accidently choosing male critters; three of the original four were drakes.

As they grew to maturity, I worried about the lone hen's safety, so I went back to the breeder and got the only adult hen she was willing to part with. I was shocked when my original girl seemed jealous of the newbie and would try to lure the boys away from her, bobbing her head and flattening out, alluringly.

The three boys were fine with each other, maybe because they grew up together?? They rarely, if ever, squabbled. But, the last surviving original drake and a younger boy do not have that same harmonious relationship, which resulted last year in a seriously damaged wing and expensive vet bill for the younger drake.

I still let all the ducks out together during the day when they have free range of the yard, and Layne can escape his tormenter. But the two boys sleep in separate quarters.

I hope you can find a way for everyone to live peacefully!

 

[Evadig]

Hello,
I have two 9 month old hen ducks. I got three ducklings on Valentine’s Day (6 weeks old now) and I got one female and two males. Can I put all of the ducks together? Can two drakes live with three hens in harmony? Or is it just a matter of time before we have problems?

Harmony really depends on the drakes’ personalities.

However, even if they do get along, it’s quite likely that your three females will be over-mated. This might happen even if you have only one drake.

If you could get a few more hen ducks that would be the best .

 

[Yardmom]

This site is filled with people who insist on 4 duck hens per drake. I've tried it that way, but had more fighting than when I keep my duck hens to drakes at 1/1.

In nature mallards get into pairs in the spring. My ducks do the same.
Personality does matter. Most of my pairs currently hang in their own place during the day.

Some of the 1 year olds hang together and are still working out their pairings. During the time they are working out pairings a bit of scuffling and dominance assertions occur.

All birds come back to the pen every night. (I need to watch if a hen doesn't return, because that means she is brooding). To prevent ducks brooding outside the pen I need to leave them locked later in the morning. After the nesting time slows down all ducks will move as one flock during the day as well.


Occasionally I have extra drakes. Not the ideal, but it gives me a chance to look at what drake behavior can be.
Sometimes the extra will go between pairs to try to mate with the duck hens. This can cause over mating and drake fights.
Sometimes two drakes will pair with one hen. They do not over mate once the pairings or trios are established.
I currently have a couple extra drakes. Two drakes are with one hen. She has the best protection from my roamer drake. (Ideally I need to remove the drake that is going between pairs)
A side note If I remove 2 random drakes, my numbers would be better, but it would cause complete chaos because this would upset the pairings they have currently established. Drakes would be fighting over unpaired hens and not focused on their own hens.

Sorry to ramble, but to answer your question yes you can keep 2 duck hens with one drake. Established pairs (or trios) are fine.

 

[FarrFreshEggs]

Thank you for your input! I appreciate it!

I’m thinking I’ll try it and see how it goes.