Remember the little white duckling that my dear husband brought home so many months ago? I searched until I found its soul mate in the form of a beautiful black duckling. The two were meant for each other and are attached at the hip. We assumed that the black duck was the male because the nice woman at the duck store told us that his quack was deep and that meant he was a male. The white duck seemed to quack in a higher pitch so we have assumed that she was the female. We were wrong.
OK, do you also remember how the little white duckling was confused when she was a sweet little fluffy thing and thought she was a chicken? Of course you do, my dear husband had to sing to her his version of "you're not a chicken, you're a duck." Well, we thought she understood her place in the world after his song. We were wrong.
It turns out that our sweet little duckling is actually the male (we still don't know what the black duck is, we do know he is a duck but as to his gender...that is still questionable). How do we know the little white duck is a male? Well, he has taking a liking to the hens. That's right, he prefers the cute chickens over his duck mate. I found this out while I was eating lunch a few days ago. There I sat, enjoying my lunch and watching the serenity of the farm life. Next thing I knew, the chickens started squawking, the goats were running around looking like they were on high alert for a predator, the pig made her usual high pitched squeal that I am sure will break glass some day. As I watched, one of our poor hens was being "loved on" by that white duck. For those of you who have ever seen ducks mate, you know how brutal it looks, it looks even more brutal when it is happening between a duck and a chicken. Alarmed, I immediately ran to the internet to find out why my duck would take a fancy to the hens.
Of course, the internet is never a source of good news. I found out that with their different anatomy, my poor hens could die if I let the behavior continue. I now have 3 options:
1. Get a rooster. Apparently, the rooster will show the duck who is boss and keep the barnyard species in order. Cons: I will have a rooster.
2. Separate the ducks from the rest of the animals. Cons: I don't have anywhere else to put the ducks. I tried putting them in the garden after witnessing the first assault but they quickly escaped. They have since been locked up in their coop but that is not a permanent solution.
3. According to my internet sources there are little apron type clothes I can make for the hens that will prevent the duck from doing any damage. Cons: My chickens will be wearing clothes.
Surely there must be another solution that my city brain cannot find. Please someone, somewhere give me the answer!
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