Drake Trauma

[OverWyreGrower]

Argh! I have been trying to rehome at least 1 of my Khaki Campbell drakes for over a month now and am really struggling

They are 2 years old and have been living harmoniously with a mixed flock until recently.

The drakes are now fighting with each other, fighting with the cockerels and being generally nasty.

I've put up a FTGH note on a poultry forum and put up a very cheap auction on a poultry auction site; but have had no interest.

I haven't got the room to make a seperate drake run, and I don't really know where to go next.

It has been suggested that I could release him into the wild, but I'm fairly sure that's illegal (and I'd feel really bad) or that we slaughter and eat him, but I think that at 2 years old, he'd be a bit tough.

Any suggestions?

[Hilary B]

Eating might well be kinder than turning him loose for foxes, although if there are any 'park' ducks living near you......
If you decide that he has to be culled, there are ways of making older birds easier to eat. Basically treat like a wild one (the age of which can rarely be recognised until it is dead, so you can't waste the meat...). Hang for a few days (somewhere cold, but not as cold as a fridge), and use in a casserole or pot-roast rather than roast in the more usual way.

[OverWyreGrower]

Eating might well be kinder than turning him loose for foxes, although if there are any 'park' ducks living near you......

That's what I thought... I'm just worried that he is so 'domesticated' that he wouldn't ever survive in the wild...

At work (Uni Campus) there is a lake with various ducks, geese and chickens living on/near it....

I shall ask Mr OWG tonight whether he'd be happier with a slaughter, or would prefer to set him free