TMI: Duck sex
Apr. 26th, 2008 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summer_jackelBetcha didn't think that ducks have weird sex lives. Mine do, read on at your own risk...
(I've actually wanted to post about Felix for awhile, he's so darn funny, and I want to do it before he dies, which could be any day or a year from now. So here goes).
Our Dramatis Duxsonae, the five who constitute my current flock:
Felix, fawn & white runner drake. At 10-11 years old (the upper end for a domestic duck), he is ancient, decrepit and mostly blind;
Josephine: Khaki campbell drake, a couple of years old; his mate Napoleon was, sadly, the victim of raccoon depredation a while ago;
Vera & Vivienne: fawn and white runner hens, the layers of the flock, lovely young animals;
Petey: white drake, I think he's a pekin/banty cross, or just a really large banty.
First off, ducks are a little sexually violent. They just are. I forget what species of wild duck it is where the drakes occasionally drown a hen in their ardor (and I'm too lazy to go look it up in Dr. Tatiana's book), but even though domestic dux are not remotely that bad and don't tend to injure one another, drakes don't like to take 'no' for an answer, and in spring they are horny as all get-out.
For many years, I had only Felix and Quackworthy, a little banty drake. They occasionally enjoyed a homosexual relationship (taking turns being the 'active' partner), but Felix, the kinky guy, always preferred the chickens. I had many laughs over this (the chickens didn't seem to care; roosters are rough, too, and at least drakes don't have sharp beaks and *spurs*). Poor Quack got eaten by a dog and, when I obtained Napoleon and Josephine as straight-run hatchlings and it turned out I had a girl, I wondered if, now that there was one available, Felix would prefer a hen of his own species.
No dice. He loved the company of other Dux (they are very social and miserable when kept alone) and was SO HAPPY when I introduced them, but I never saw a single mating attempt. He remained a chicken's man. A year later, when I got Vera & Vivienne, Josephine (who's a boy, and hadn't seen a female duck for awhile) was THRILLED and went for it immediately, but Felix still wasn't interested.
This winter, a friend gave Petey to us. I was a little concerned, not wanting the drakes to outnumber and overstress the hens, but he's pretty mellow. I've only seen him mating a couple of times, and he doesn't chase the hens around like Josephine does. Josephine, however, likes to mate with *him* just as often as the girls, so I have another pair of gay ducks. Or bi ducks, more accurately. (Just for the record, I have never seen Josephine attempt to mount Felix. Just dosen't like older guys, I guess). I've never seen Petey go after Josephine or Felix. This behavior lead to the following gem of a conversation overheard in my kitchen the other morning:
Lucy: the brown duck keeps raping the white one.
Kestrel: Did I just hear you use the term 'rape' to refer to duck mating behavior?!
Jackel: LOL
(Actually, Dr. Tatiana does use the term for the aforementioned wild duck lady-killers, but I don't think it's really warranted here, and besides she's just using it for interest/shock value; I just think they're into BDSM).
This leads me to the problem I'm currently facing: we're up against Beltane and all the birds is fuckin', (even Gavin is finding 'creative' uses for his favorite swing; he's very acrobatic but it's yet one more thing he can do to beat up his tailfeathers. But I digress). The drakes...I'm pretty certain it's just Josephine...apparently get frisky EARLY in the AM...like 2-4...and chase the girls, who, at that hour, protest. Hen ducks, unlike the hoarse drakes, have a nice, bell-like, shrill, loud QUACK. (Banties, or 'call ducks' are the worst, bred specifically for their loudness and its ability to lure wild ducks near hunters). Lucy doesn't appreciate this at 3 AM and is concerned that the neighbors feel similarly, though no one has complained, and I haven't yet asked them. But I agree, the quacking must stop.
My options:
1. eat Josephine (and Petey, if he's creating the problem);
2. get rid of either the hens or the drakes, or
3. figure out how to silence them at night. Since I don't like the first 2 options (I have no problem killing fowl for food, and some day hope to have enough space to raise them for my table, but these guys are pets at this point and I'd take that kinda hard), I've locked the 2 drakes in the small coop tonight to see if that keeps them silent. If the hens are quacking for some reason other than sex, they will have to go, but I'm 99% certain that's it, and confining the boys nightly through spring is a small price to pay for keeping them.
Are you with me so far? My ducks are bisexual, kinky, BDSM-y accused rapists who wake up in the middle of the night with erections. (ducks are in fact one of the few birds with penises. Just so you know).
I don't think Felix is going to be a problem...he's so slow and blind I just don't see him needing 'middle of the night relief' and startling the girls. Although, I did see him making a feeble attempt to mount Vivienne the other day. She was even being cooperative. I was SHOCKED.
I think it's just proof of his senility. She was being nice; do a favor to the poor old guy who can't chase anyone down and pin them anymore. He thought she was a chicken.
(I've actually wanted to post about Felix for awhile, he's so darn funny, and I want to do it before he dies, which could be any day or a year from now. So here goes).
Our Dramatis Duxsonae, the five who constitute my current flock:
Felix, fawn & white runner drake. At 10-11 years old (the upper end for a domestic duck), he is ancient, decrepit and mostly blind;
Josephine: Khaki campbell drake, a couple of years old; his mate Napoleon was, sadly, the victim of raccoon depredation a while ago;
Vera & Vivienne: fawn and white runner hens, the layers of the flock, lovely young animals;
Petey: white drake, I think he's a pekin/banty cross, or just a really large banty.
First off, ducks are a little sexually violent. They just are. I forget what species of wild duck it is where the drakes occasionally drown a hen in their ardor (and I'm too lazy to go look it up in Dr. Tatiana's book), but even though domestic dux are not remotely that bad and don't tend to injure one another, drakes don't like to take 'no' for an answer, and in spring they are horny as all get-out.
For many years, I had only Felix and Quackworthy, a little banty drake. They occasionally enjoyed a homosexual relationship (taking turns being the 'active' partner), but Felix, the kinky guy, always preferred the chickens. I had many laughs over this (the chickens didn't seem to care; roosters are rough, too, and at least drakes don't have sharp beaks and *spurs*). Poor Quack got eaten by a dog and, when I obtained Napoleon and Josephine as straight-run hatchlings and it turned out I had a girl, I wondered if, now that there was one available, Felix would prefer a hen of his own species.
No dice. He loved the company of other Dux (they are very social and miserable when kept alone) and was SO HAPPY when I introduced them, but I never saw a single mating attempt. He remained a chicken's man. A year later, when I got Vera & Vivienne, Josephine (who's a boy, and hadn't seen a female duck for awhile) was THRILLED and went for it immediately, but Felix still wasn't interested.
This winter, a friend gave Petey to us. I was a little concerned, not wanting the drakes to outnumber and overstress the hens, but he's pretty mellow. I've only seen him mating a couple of times, and he doesn't chase the hens around like Josephine does. Josephine, however, likes to mate with *him* just as often as the girls, so I have another pair of gay ducks. Or bi ducks, more accurately. (Just for the record, I have never seen Josephine attempt to mount Felix. Just dosen't like older guys, I guess). I've never seen Petey go after Josephine or Felix. This behavior lead to the following gem of a conversation overheard in my kitchen the other morning:
Lucy: the brown duck keeps raping the white one.
Kestrel: Did I just hear you use the term 'rape' to refer to duck mating behavior?!
Jackel: LOL
(Actually, Dr. Tatiana does use the term for the aforementioned wild duck lady-killers, but I don't think it's really warranted here, and besides she's just using it for interest/shock value; I just think they're into BDSM).
This leads me to the problem I'm currently facing: we're up against Beltane and all the birds is fuckin', (even Gavin is finding 'creative' uses for his favorite swing; he's very acrobatic but it's yet one more thing he can do to beat up his tailfeathers. But I digress). The drakes...I'm pretty certain it's just Josephine...apparently get frisky EARLY in the AM...like 2-4...and chase the girls, who, at that hour, protest. Hen ducks, unlike the hoarse drakes, have a nice, bell-like, shrill, loud QUACK. (Banties, or 'call ducks' are the worst, bred specifically for their loudness and its ability to lure wild ducks near hunters). Lucy doesn't appreciate this at 3 AM and is concerned that the neighbors feel similarly, though no one has complained, and I haven't yet asked them. But I agree, the quacking must stop.
My options:
1. eat Josephine (and Petey, if he's creating the problem);
2. get rid of either the hens or the drakes, or
3. figure out how to silence them at night. Since I don't like the first 2 options (I have no problem killing fowl for food, and some day hope to have enough space to raise them for my table, but these guys are pets at this point and I'd take that kinda hard), I've locked the 2 drakes in the small coop tonight to see if that keeps them silent. If the hens are quacking for some reason other than sex, they will have to go, but I'm 99% certain that's it, and confining the boys nightly through spring is a small price to pay for keeping them.
Are you with me so far? My ducks are bisexual, kinky, BDSM-y accused rapists who wake up in the middle of the night with erections. (ducks are in fact one of the few birds with penises. Just so you know).
I don't think Felix is going to be a problem...he's so slow and blind I just don't see him needing 'middle of the night relief' and startling the girls. Although, I did see him making a feeble attempt to mount Vivienne the other day. She was even being cooperative. I was SHOCKED.
I think it's just proof of his senility. She was being nice; do a favor to the poor old guy who can't chase anyone down and pin them anymore. He thought she was a chicken.
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:02 am (UTC)What fun. :P We're currently dealing with lesbian cockatiels and gay finches, but at least they aren't THAT disruptive about it. Hope you can get an end to the early morning birdsexings.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:25 am (UTC)I love your lesbian cockatiels and how they sit on one another's eggs. One of my favorite bird stories ever. XD Have you noticed any actual mating? And I didn't know about the gay finches.
I'm thinking that confining the drakes will stop the loud, early morning birdsex. And, heh, you didn't have a duck icon for this reply? I'm SHOCKED.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:30 am (UTC)And as for the tiels...well, they back into each other. x.x No mounting, buuuuuut. Yeah.
I've been lazy about icons. Have a duck now. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:36 am (UTC)Duck icon: there, that's better. ;) Gorgeous duck, too...wow.
I'm completely in love with the torrent duck since your WTF nature post about it, btw.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:39 am (UTC)Torrent Ducks are hardcore, but my waterfowl love is for the mergansers, especially Mr. Smew in my icon. :) There's a male Smew who keeps appearing in Tuolumne every winter, and I'd LOVE to see him.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 04:20 am (UTC)Mergansers are very near and dear to my heart as well...I just find them riveting. Although Smew is good for its beauty and its oh-so-sayable name...smew! smew! smmeeeewwwww!!!!
It would be neat to see one in Tuolumne. Far from home, little buddy.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:28 am (UTC)I'm hoping that cooping up the boys solves the problem, but if not I have some good reds, I think.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:25 am (UTC)Best luck in finding the solution to your conundrum there. ;D
no subject
Date: 2008-04-27 03:26 am (UTC)