Help!!! We ended up woth 2 muscovy drakes and we aren't sure what to do.

[CrazyChickensLady]

We recently decided to expand our chicken flock by adding a duck. Well we had gotten a muscovy drake from the Amish and we get him home and he flew away well we had giving up on hoping he would come back then went to a farm and got a male a female (same breed) and well a week later herman came back well now I have 2 drake muscovies and 1 female and I dont know what to do any advice

 

[cavemanrich]

Go back to the farm and get more muscovy hens.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Miss Lydia]

At least 4 females per drake.

 

[Isadora]

Keep the ducks separate from the chickens if at all possible. If your drakes try to mate with the chickens they can injure or kill them. They have different anatomy than roosters do.

 

[DuckGirl2021]

I bought a Muscovy not realizing they weren’t actual ducks and under the impression I was getting a female. To my surprise… she was a he which complicated things. During the spring they get very territorial, needless to say we now have 15 females currently to cut down on the fighting among the drakes. I’m probably going to add more to my flock by next spring just in case. I don’t regret getting my Willow, he’s super sweet to me but he’s not so nice during the spring with the other drake I have.

 

[Weeg]

Sounds like you have two options here. Go back to the farm and get 7-9 more hens, or get rid of your hen.

Why are ducks important to you? Do you want them for eggs, or companionship? If your interested in owning them as pets, you could easily take that hen back since hen's sell easily, and keep the two drakes. All drake flocks do great together. They don't fight as long as there are no hens, don't suffer from reproductive issues, and are much quieter than hens.

If you want ducks for eggs and you aren't willing to give up that factor, than you have to get more hens. You could get rid of one drake, but you need at least 4 hens per drake, so either way, you need more hens. Drakes can be hard to get rid of. Maybe see if the farm will take him back, or if you can rehome him, but not everyone wants a drake. If you will take them back, see if you can get at least 3 additional hens so you have a 1:4 ratio.
If they wont take him back, than see if you can find at least 7 adult female ducks to keep your drakes under control. Of course, this will requite 20ft of space per duck in the run, and 5ft of space per duck in the coop. For 10 ducks, ( 2 drakes, 8 hens) thats a 200sft run, 50sft coop. You have to make sure you have the space for this before pursuing. Without enough space, your setup will be hard to clean, stinky, muddy, and your ducks will be stressed. That can lead to poor egg production.

If you don't have enough space for 10 ducks, then getting rid of your hen and doing an all drake flock might work well for you. To keep both drakes without adding more, that would require a 40sft run, and 10sft coop. If you could get rid of one drake and got 3 more hens for him, that would require a 100sft run, and 25sft coop. Thats for 5 ducks, 1 drake, 4 hens. I hope this information is helpful. Good luck in your duck journey!

 

[indianaducks]

Get more females, or only keep drakes.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have never been able to keep Muscovy drakes together even with females. It's something to think about. Even getting more females. I had to build stalls in my coop so I had a place for my drakes each with their own bedroom overnight I had 4. And outside if I didn't give them each their own space with their girls they spent all day chasing each other all over the place. Maybe some have but my drakes have been fighters and did not like it if there was another drake anywhere on their property. I only have one Muscovy drake now and he has 2 Indian Runner drakes that live here and he could care less.