Drake and new ducklings

[mindam]

We have a "pair" of ducks, on Mallard female, one Runner male - they are about a year old. The female just hatched 15 ducklings in the last couple of days. We have a large irrigation pond, where they swim every day. They took the babies to the pond today for their first swim, and we noticed that the drake is sort of aggressive towards them, chasing and snapping a little. Should we separate him? It seems harsh, since he was so dedicated to her while she was sitting on the eggs, but I'm a little concerned he will actually hurt the babies. Also, am I wrong or is 15 a lot of ducklings for one mamma duck?

 

[Orca5094]

Yes, you should keep the drake separated from momma and ducklings for a few weeks until they are bigger and can defend themselves. Drakes are often aggressive with ducklings, so you want to be safe because they can kill or injure them pretty easily.

15 is quite a few, but ducks like to hatch out alot of ducklings because so few usually make it to adulthood. Ducklings are easy prey for many predators, so they are typically picked off pretty quickly in the wild, leaving momma duck with maybe just a few that actually make it.

 

[mindam]

Thank you for your response. We will separate them. He'll be an angry duck, but he'll survive. We can put him in a pen with a little pool to swim in.

 

[Orca5094]

Thank you for your response. We will separate them. He'll be an angry duck, but he'll survive. We can put him in a pen with a little pool to swim in.

Sounds good! No, he won't be very happy and will likely pace along the fence, but he has no choice. And it's just for a few weeks. He'll be ok.