Runner Ducks Mating Season?

[MolliMonster99]

I have noticed my runners have started mating at almost 4 months old. The boys get on top of the girls in their pond and hold their necks down. It makes me anxious, but I know it is natural. I was wondering if ducks have a 'mating season'? Do they mate at a certain time of year only or is it a constant thing? I have done plenty of research on looking after my runners, but this seems to be the one thing I forgot about!

I'm keeping an eye on the gang for now as we do have 3 males and 3 females, along with my 5 female chickens. I do know that this is not an ideal ratio, but we hatched them all together and wanted to see how they would get along growing up. So far there has been no fighting, but I will keep checking on them and will separate the boys if needed.

Any advice on the mating would be amazing!

 

[Isadora]

I have noticed my runners have started mating at almost 4 months old. The boys get on top of the girls in their pond and hold their necks down. It makes me anxious, but I know it is natural. I was wondering if ducks have a 'mating season'? Do they mate at a certain time of year only or is it a constant thing? I have done plenty of research on looking after my runners, but this seems to be the one thing I forgot about!

I'm keeping an eye on the gang for now as we do have 3 males and 3 females, along with my 5 female chickens. I do know that this is not an ideal ratio, but we hatched them all together and wanted to see how they would get along growing up. So far there has been no fighting, but I will keep checking on them and will separate the boys if needed.

Any advice on the mating would be amazing!

The drakes definitely get more rambunctious in the spring, but my drakes only slow down slightly in summer and winter.
Are the chickens in with the ducks? Or separated?

 

[MolliMonster99]

The drakes definitely get more rambunctious in the spring, but my drakes only slow down slightly in summer and winter.
Are the chickens in with the ducks? Or separated?

They are all in together

 

[Isadora]

They are all in together

Okay, it occurred to me because we were talking about the mating habits of drakes.
It's not recommended to house drakes and chickens together due to the fact that chickens vents are a one-way street and a drake has an actual penis, whereas a rooster does not. If a drake tries to mate with a chicken, at best he can injure her, and at worst kill her. A prolapsed vent is pretty common for hens that have been mounted by drakes.
Now it may be fine, and your drakes may pay no attention to your hens. But if they are all housed together and your female to male duck ratio is equal instead of having a lot more females for both drakes, I'm concerned that they will attempt to mount your hens in the future.

 

[MolliMonster99]

Okay, it occurred to me because we were talking about the mating habits of drakes.
It's not recommended to house drakes and chickens together due to the fact that chickens vents are a one-way street and a drake has an actual penis, whereas a rooster does not. If a drake tries to mate with a chicken, at best he can injure her, and at worst kill her. A prolapsed vent is pretty common for hens that have been mounted by drakes.
Now it may be fine, and your drakes may pay no attention to your hens. But if they are all housed together and your female to male duck ratio is equal instead of having a lot more females for both drakes, I'm concerned that they will attempt to mount your hens in the future.

The chickens and ducks have been living together for almost 2 months now. My boys don't pay attention to any of the hens, whereas my girls will tell them off if they take too long eating their treats, but I have resolved this issue by spreading the treats around evenly so there are plenty of areas to go to get some goodies. The boys are honestly really calm and relaxed, they have never had a fight between each other and everyone gets along very well

 

[Isadora]

The chickens and ducks have been living together for almost 2 months now. My boys don't pay attention to any of the hens, whereas my girls will tell them off if they take too long eating their treats, but I have resolved this issue by spreading the treats around evenly so there are plenty of areas to go to get some goodies. The boys are honestly really calm and relaxed, they have never had a fight between each other and everyone gets along very well

That doesn't mean nothing bad will happen in the future, though. Your drakes are very young yet. It only takes one attempt at mating for them to seriously hurt your hens.
Food for thought. They're your animals and you can do what you want. I wanted you to be informed.

 

[Yardmom]

Your hen to drake ratio can work, but only if your ducks have plenty of space. At times I keep 1:1, but they are completely free range even at night. The drakes will still fight in the spring, and even with our pond predators issues happen.

 

[MolliMonster99]

That doesn't mean nothing bad will happen in the future, though. Your drakes are very young yet. It only takes one attempt at mating for them to seriously hurt your hens.
Food for thought. They're your animals and you can do what you want. I wanted you to be informed.

I appreciate you telling me, I'm just saying that at this current moment in time things are going well. I have always checked on them frequently, but I will be checking more now and I have been giving everyone a quick check to make sure they are not injured in any way. If an incident does occur, they will be separated immediately

 

[MolliMonster99]

Your hen to drake ratio can work, but only if your ducks have plenty of space. At times I keep 1:1, but they are completely free range even at night. The drakes will still fight in the spring, and even with our pond predators issues happen.

They are in a large run with a pond and 2 separate housing, but the chickens were housed with the ducks at first due to the older 2 chickens being quite feisty. We plan to move them in with eachother tomorrow as they have had almost 2 months to get used to each other and they do not fight. I think that having them housed separately and only sharing an outdoor space may help out with any issues. Also, the ducks are taken on a walk in the allotment daily, which gives them time to spread their wings, try and fly, jump around and investigate. The chickens get that time to relax and have some peace and quiet.

Their housing is a large shed-like coop, split in half for the chickens and ducks. The doors are always open during the day so they have somewhere else to go. We also have a wooden table for the chickens to sit on and jump on that the ducks cannot get onto.

 

[Isadora]

They are in a large run with a pond and 2 separate housing, but the chickens were housed with the ducks at first due to the older 2 chickens being quite feisty. We plan to move them in with eachother tomorrow as they have had almost 2 months to get used to each other and they do not fight. I think that having them housed separately and only sharing an outdoor space may help out with any issues. Also, the ducks are taken on a walk in the allotment daily, which gives them time to spread their wings, try and fly, jump around and investigate. The chickens get that time to relax and have some peace and quiet.

Their housing is a large shed-like coop, split in half for the chickens and ducks. The doors are always open during the day so they have somewhere else to go. We also have a wooden table for the chickens to sit on and jump on that the ducks cannot get onto.

I think when yardmom said "hen" she was referring to your female ducks.