I have a flock of ducks that I bought as baby ducklings, it was just fine and I enjoyed them and their lovely disposition, they were really comfortable and nice and there were no obvious problems. They quickly blossomed and began to show signs of puberty. But the most disturbing thing for me is their excessive mating.
The problem does not lie in the abundance of mating but in the damage to female ducks. Where drakes mate with females in a violent manner several times a day, which led to the plucking of the females’ feathers almost from the back and neck area, and they also suffered from separate bruises and wounds!
What should I do to reduce the mating of ducks and restore my flock to the peace and tranquility that it was before the ducks reached puberty?
Male ducks really have a high sexual desire that lasts almost all year long! Except for one month during the harsh winter! They also maintain this high sexual ability even after they are old.
You may find drakes at the age of 7 or 8 with their full sexual ability as they were in their youth! It may seem like an advantage, but in fact, if it is not managed in an exact manner, it leads to negative results due to female injuries and their loss sometimes as a result of frequent mating!
So if you own a duck barn, you should pay close attention that the mating is reasonable and not excessive.
In order for us to provide you with all the information that interests you about duck farming, we have gathered for you the most important tips about how to keep ducks from mating. Let’s dive into the details in the next lines.
How To Keep The Duck From Reproducing?
There are 4 main steps that you need to take in order to keep your ducks from excessive mating:
- Don’t Keep Male Ducks.
- A Sufficient Number Of Ducks For Each Drake.
- Do Not Have More Than One Drake.
- Consult Your Veterinarian.
Now, let’s get into the details:
1. Don’t Keep Male Ducks
You can control the matter and relieve your head of the problems resulting from ducks over-mating very easily. Do not keep a male in your flock! Think about why you even need a drake in your herd.
The males’ primary job is to mate and fertilize the eggs to produce fertile eggs and produce ducklings. In addition to protecting ducks from threats. If you want to keep ducks in order to benefit from their ducks and fatten them up, and you have prepared a safe shelter for them, then there is no need to raise drakes.
Some may think that males must be present so that ducks can lay eggs, but this is not true at all. Ducks, like chickens and many other types of birds, do not need a male mate to produce eggs.
Female ducks produce their eggs naturally whether there is a drake around them or not. The only difference is that in the presence of a male, the eggs will be fertilized so if you do not intend to incubate duck eggs, you will not need to keep a drake.
2. A Sufficient Number Of Ducks For Each Drake
If you intend to raise male ducks in your flock, you must adjust the ratio of males and females. Male ducks have a special hormonal nature that makes them have very high sexual impulses, which often appear in the form of very harsh behavior by males toward females.
Drakes practice mating several times a day in a violent way that may lead to some injuries. It leads to the plucking of the feathers of the head and neck, and back in addition to bruising and Various wounds and sores from the claws and beak of the drake.
Therefore, to reduce and prevent ducks from mating in abundance and harming the duck, you must know the extent of the needs of male ducks from females in order to provide them with the appropriate ratio to avoid any harm to females.
One drake in your flock needs 5 to 8 ducks that have the ability to mate with him on a daily basis!
Indeed, male ducks have enormous sexual energy, so the amount of damage that will result from not having enough ducks will be very large! If all this energy is directed at only one or two ducks, then you will inevitably lose them as a result of the excessive violent mating that they will be exposed to.
To reduce the risks that the duck is exposed to during the mating process due to the presence of a heavy load on its back, especially in the larger breeds. which may lead to injury to its leg as a result of loading it on solid ground.
You can provide a watery spot so that safe sex can take place. It is not difficult at all. You can put a children’s pool or build a small water pond so that the mating takes place perfectly, as the duck floats in the water instead of lying on solid ground.
3. Do Not Have More Than One Drake
You shouldn’t have more than one drake in the same herd because that would be really scary. When a drake notices another male mating, he will want to join and compete with the other male, and another male may join them!
They violently attack the duck while she is tied up, which leads to her serious injury or death! As a result of the heavy load on her and the violent stampede, each of them wants to single out his dominance and wins by marrying the duck, which leads to her death.
Also, a male duck, if he was dating a duck and found her mating with another male, even if he had no desire to marry at this time, would attack and beat her and the other male! The problems of male ducks are really many and endless, so in order to avoid these problems, you have to suffice with only one male if necessary.
4. Consult Your Veterinarian
You can consult your veterinarian about the use of a drug that reduces the high sexual desire of drakes. We do not recommend using any hormonal or medicinal product without consulting your vet so as not to harm your drakes.
Whereas, in general, it is not preferable to use drugs to reduce the sexual desire of drakes, as this may lead to an imbalance in the male hormones or a lack of sexual desire, which makes you lose the basic function of your drake.
Frequent mating of ducks is not very bad in all cases, as the high sexual desire of males and their frequent mating with females ensures obtaining fertilized eggs and the production of new generations, so the matter must be managed wisely.
Consult your vet about this. He is the only one who is responsible for the extent to which drugs can be used to reduce Drake’s sexual desire.
