Hi, I am new to duck owning & couldn't really call myself a poultry keeper as they are wholly pets... We got 3 day-old Indian Runner ducklings 11 months ago and being complete novices, only definitively identified two of them as drakes... Now spring is here and they have started fighting etc (and not laying eggs, needless to say!) I have realised that they are definitely all three of them drakes. They are very attached to each other but can get into fights and one of them really hurt his leg - the smallest, being sat on by the biggest. Does anyone have any advice as to how to keep them together without them injuring each other?
3 Drakes
- Thread starter Biscuit
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hi Biscuit, welcome to the forum. I'm no duck expert, and I'm hoping someone who is can advise you. I believe that a 'bachelor group' of 3 drakes can sometimes live together quite harmoniously, but this won't be the case of there are any females in the group, and drakes may fight anyway at this time of year when hormone levels are high. In a mixed-sex group the drakes will definitely fight.
So, if you're sure they're all males, you'll just have to wait until they cool down a bit, or rehome a couple and get a couple of females for the remaining one. If you do decide one of them is actually a duck, then rehoming one of the drakes and getting more ducks should do the trick.
There's also some advice on keeping ducks on Poultrykeeper, see https://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-ducks/
So, if you're sure they're all males, you'll just have to wait until they cool down a bit, or rehome a couple and get a couple of females for the remaining one. If you do decide one of them is actually a duck, then rehoming one of the drakes and getting more ducks should do the trick.
There's also some advice on keeping ducks on Poultrykeeper, see https://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-ducks/
dorsetduckowner
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Hiya, your three boys sound like characters! Bonded groups of drakes tend to get on extremely well for the majority of the year and do very well as long term
Flock mates. However , at this time of year, as Marigold said, hormones take over and the urge to mate/ rape is overpowering especially in young drakes. Their testicles enlarge to about 200% of their normal size and it overwhelms them.
You have a couple of options, you can fix up a temporary time out pen to put the bullied one or the bullier in, or you can get your vet to give them a testosterone inhibitory implant (suprelorin), these are about £80 each and don’t always work.
Once mating season is over your boys will be inseparable again.
I would be tempted to keep them as a threesome, they will be very rewarding low maintenance pets unlike females who can have all sorts of problems!
Keep us posted?
Zo
Flock mates. However , at this time of year, as Marigold said, hormones take over and the urge to mate/ rape is overpowering especially in young drakes. Their testicles enlarge to about 200% of their normal size and it overwhelms them.
You have a couple of options, you can fix up a temporary time out pen to put the bullied one or the bullier in, or you can get your vet to give them a testosterone inhibitory implant (suprelorin), these are about £80 each and don’t always work.
Once mating season is over your boys will be inseparable again.
I would be tempted to keep them as a threesome, they will be very rewarding low maintenance pets unlike females who can have all sorts of problems!
Keep us posted?
Zo
I wrote a long reply to this but got logged out and lost it!! But thank you for your replies, and the situation has definitely calmed down - they are still fighting, but not causing injuries and I have got into the habit of giving one of them time-out in the pen on his own when he is too aggressive... They are still inseparable! And generally wonderful!!!
dorsetduckowner
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brilliant news! You will see how much they bond when silly season is over 
