Hello darling!
Now that the brace of 15 ducks are old enough for me to identify male/female, I found that I am about even. For ducks and drakes to be truly happy though, a ratio of 1/5 is better. However, I do not want to get rid of any drakes at the moment, so I just ordered 10 ducks which will help balance out the odds a little. Later, when the hormones start kicking in, I will see which drakes need to go.
I am ordering cayuga, welsh harlequin, and white layer ducks. My hope is to have some egg production toward the end of fall, though it might have to wait til spring.
I am also going to be culling the Pekins. While they are gorgeous, they are just not working out well. They are barn sour (only wanting to be in the chicken run), they do not like the pond and will literally go thirsty instead of drinking from it. The only time they are in the pond is to terrorize the brace of 15. Plus the female keeps trying to mate with anyone who sits on the grass, which honestly is freaky.
There are hard choices on a farm. Sometimes you have to get rid of some animal because it is aggressive or weak and you do not want those genes passed on. With our chickens and our ducks, only the placid will remain. The rest will be sold as pets or food.
Anyway, come 22 June, I should have 10 more ducklings to post pictures of!
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