More than 1 male duck in flock?

[Tinkey71]

I have 15 ducks right now 5 different breeds - they are only a bit over 2 months old right now, but I've heard that male ducks will fight and sometimes kill each other. I have no idea what my male to female ratio is right now and was wondering what to look for or worry about . At what age does this become a problem?
Right now they stick together at all times and hate to separate.

 

[SniperGoose]

It's definitely possible to keep more than one male in a flock. I've kept multiple males together in a flock in the past. Though mine were always free-range, and yes fights did break out sometimes, but no one was ever hurt. They all got along very well - especially the mallards I had. If they're kept in an enclosed area, it may become a problem.

 

[sourland]

I think that available space is more of an issue than number of drakes, but much depends upon the personalities of the drakes involved. In my opinion a far larger drake problem than fighting is the gang breeding and possible injury/drowning of hens. If such behavior initiates, it is time to separate or eliminate drakes.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have just five Indian Runners, bought them straight run at the local farm supply store and they turned out to be 3 girls and 2 boys. Everything was fine before they were ~6 months old they were an inseparable pile of ducklings. Now Donald, the larger drake is carefully watching that Limpy, the smaller drake has no chance with the ladies and he also blocks him off treats and food. They have over 2000 sqft to free range, so space isn't the issue, there are just not enough girls for both drakes.

 

[chickens really]

Hello. Space isn't a requirement with Ducks its the Drake numbers. I run two Drakes and two Hen groups. I have to keep my Drakes separated during free range time. Each flock lives in separate pens. One Drake to 10 Hens is a common number with big Duck breeds.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a Muscovy drake who is perfectly happy with 4 females so if your property won’t hold 10 females per drake it’s not necessary. That’s high end on the ratio.

 

[Tinkey71]

Hello. Space isn't a requirement with Ducks its the Drake numbers. I run two Drakes and two Hen groups. I have to keep my Drakes separated during free range time. Each flock lives in separate pens. One Drake to 10 Hens is a common number with big Duck breeds.

I might have to go this route as mine also have “ free range time” but are caged for a lot of their time for their own protection- lots of predators here , my neighbors flock recently went from 20 ducks to 3 because she forgot to turn on her electric fence one night

 

[Tinkey71]

I have a Muscovy drake who is perfectly happy with 4 females so if your property won’t hold 10 females per drake it’s not necessary. That’s high end on the ratio.

Yeah 10 females per male seems high, since I already have 15 ducks and they were hard enough to raise to adults- I’m not sure what my ratio is yet, but I may have to separate them into 2 groups

 

[Miss Lydia]

So just wait plenty of time to sort it out once you know I have kept as many as 4 Muscovy drakes with their own females . It’s not ideal because these guys love a good fight. But if you can give them all their own space it can work. What breeds are you talking about?

 

[Kkrista123]

It won't become an issue until late 4 moths-6 months. That's when hormones will spike and males will become aggressive towards whatever moves. You don't have to worry until it happens though. If you only have a couple of males you can separate them off with their own females. Or you could rehome some males. Don't worry about it until you see the aggression or someone getting picked on though! If someone is getting picked on you'll notice they're feathers are being pulled out or messed up by the other ducks, even to the point where they can bleed and it can look pretty gross. This is usually right on their backs. Keep a close eye out for that!