bird mating season – Chicken Girl

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Raising different farm birds in your backyard makes for some funny stories. And keeping roosters and drakes adds even more amusement. Since we’re approaching duck mating season, you might wonder if a duck and chicken can breed. A simple definition for the verb breed is to produce offspring or young, while mating is basically sex. While my own mixed flock mates, or at least tries to mate on occasion, they have not produced any offspring. So the chances of ducks and chickens actually reproducing a hybrid are slim. Even though inter-species mating certainly happens, it isn’t the norm. Thus, certain conditions must be met for it to occur.

Some cites claim chickens and ducks can’t mate. Likely because they’ve never witnessed it or the circumstances weren’t right for it to develop. Nevertheless, I’ve seen chickens and ducks mating. I’ve even seen chickens mating guineas, and guineas mating ducks, and all kinds of backyard shenanigans. Although, it’s not something you should want. Due to completely different sexual anatomies, one species could get injured or even killed during mating. Therefore, continue reading to find out what properties create the perfect opportunity for inter-species mating. Plus, I’ll explain how to prevent it.

Chicken-Duck Hybrids: Fact or Fiction

First, let’s look at whether ducks and chickens can in fact breed. There have been many chicken-duck hybrid stories for the past decade or so, though I couldn’t find any that were DNA confirmed. Some stories also mentioned separate characteristics of each species, trying to prove it was a chuck or a ducken. But later the person making the claim learned it was a duck species they didn’t know about. Or it had a deformity. Both female ducks and female chickens can hold the sperm of multiple lovers, aka drakes or roosters. It’s in those scenarios when sperm from 2 different males wind up fertilizing a single egg that sometimes result in a chick or duckling having a deformity; consequently, looking like a hybrid. In addition, some of the photos I saw looked like juvenile ducks that were molting.

Why Ducks and Chickens Shouldn’t Mate

Even though both ducks and chickens reproduce through internal fertilization, they still have distinct reproductive anatomies. For instance, roosters don’t have outward sex organs, unlike drakes. Rather, hens and roos have cloacas that, once the roo mounts the hen, touch in what is commonly known as the ‘cloacal kiss.’ This lets his sperm enter her reproductive system, and it doesn’t travel far to get to the sperm storage tubules (SSTs). Plus, it happens within minutes of copulating. And once released from the SSTs, the sperm hurries further into the hen’s reproductive organs, primarily the left oviduct. Finally, after entering the oviduct, the sperm waits for the next egg to be released. Then, the moment the egg is released during ovulation, both sperm and egg join to be fertilized.

On the other hand, ducks typically mate in the water. Although, they can also mate on land. Moreover, it’s estimated that as many as 40% of Mallard duck mating encounters alone are forced. Aggression is an understatement for drakes when we’re talking multiples. Whether one or many, drakes can rape a female duck to death. A final distinction between duck and chicken reproductive anatomy is that drakes have corkscrew phalluses; some as long as 18 cm or longer. And female duck vaginas are anti-corkscrew with spirals and blocked pockets. They developed this way to prevent unwanted fertilization due to rape. Drakes might force a female duck to copulate, but she has the last say.

Roosters mating with female ducks most likely will not end in injury. However, it’s a different story if a drake tries mating with a female chicken. Aside from an aggressive sex drive and a long mating season, drakes are also much bigger than female chickens. And since female chickens aren’t designed to be penetrated, drake phalluses can cause internal damage to a chicken. Or if the drake decides to mate in water, the chicken will drown. As a result, always discourage drakes from mating any female chickens you have.

Why a Duck and Chicken Can’t Breed

While there are several definitions for the words ‘breed‘ and ‘mate‘, sometimes they’re used interchangeably as well. Although, for this article, I didn’t do that. Now that I explained that ducks and chickens could copulate, what about breeding? Can they reproduce even if there aren’t any confirmed hybrids? Both ducks and chickens have cloacas. Hence, it’s hypothetically possible, because female ducks decide, just like female chickens, whether they’re going to cooperate with the males. For example, if my rooster, Megatron, decided to mount my Pekin, Bakugo, it might make her day. She seems to like him at least. Yet, she also might or might not go for it. Recall that female ducks have a convoluted vagina due to forced mating. Therefore, would it even work? On the other hand, a drake mating a female chicken would just tear her up. It’s not worth it to try finding out, or letting it happen.

Why Ducks and Chickens Try to Mate

This picture features some of the 10 boys we had to get rid of last year!

Now it’s time to find out what causes chickens to want to mate with ducks in the first place, and vice versa. These are from my own observations only. Whether you have guineas mating with chickens or roosters mating with ducks, the following are always issues with inter-species mating, such as

overall space

Not only will overcrowding cause males to breed voraciously, but it can cause inter-species mating. If you have multiple bird species with new hatchlings on limited space, be prepared for inter-species matings and aggression. Moreover, sometimes you might think one of your males is mating, when in fact he’s actually being domineering, or putting another bird in line. Our second-in-command roo, Ravage, did this with our oldest drake a few times before getting his spurs. We had almost 10 roosters we needed to cull last summer, but it was too early to do the job. So, he was showing the drake who was boss of the backyard. Whereas chickens need ~ 3 to 4 square feet each in the coop, they need 10 sq feet each in the run. And ducks need even more space.

and female to male ratios within the species

Both too many males and not enough females within a species will cause the males to look elsewhere for possible mates. Again, expect to have issues with inter-species mating when having different bird species in your backyard, and later increasing your flock, especially if you end up with more males. We have guineas, ducks, and chickens. Our drakes tried mating with the guineas, while our roos tried mating with the ducks. Thankfully no drakes tried mating with the hens. On the other hand, we had too many boys in all 3 species, so none of the females got injured. Regardless, a good ratio for chickens is 10 to 12 hens per roo, while drakes need at least 4 female ducks each.

Mating Behaviors of Chickens and Ducks

Chicken Mating Behavior

Once roosters are sexually mature, they’re ready to mate all the time. And depending on the breed, they don’t slow down for years, especially if you add competition.
Plus, roos woo their potential mate by doing a little dance and spreading their wing feathers downward.
And if the hen is willing, she lowers herself down so he can mount her. He stands on her while grasping her neck feathers with his beak.
But, even if she isn’t willing, it doesn’t mean the rooster will let her go. He just might chase her down and take her anyway. It makes for an interesting show, because usually he doesn’t succeed.

Duck Mating Behavior

Conversely, both male and female ducks bob their heads, as if they were flirting with each other. (And don’t forget Bakugo who always bobs her head at Megatron, my rooster). But in the water it’s signaling more than flirting.
So, a willing female partner will elongate her neck and flatten her back in preparation for her male partner. Sometimes it can be another female partner as well. (It happens).
Then the drake will stand on the female before grabbing the back of her neck and doing his business.
After copulating the male makes a grunt-whistle, which he does above water. And when our drakes are finished having sex, they vacate the sex pool to go clean themselves in a separate pool.

Keeping Ducks and Chickens Together

At this point you may be wondering if you should even try raising ducks and chickens together. But don’t worry. Keeping chickens and ducks is definitely possible. And it isn’t difficult. There are just some pointers about both you need to keep in mind, such as

have a body of water for your ducks to access. Not only do they need this for mating activities, but they need it to keep their feathers water-proof.
If your chickens get near this source of water, they will likely drink from it. That’s ok too. Just clean it out a couple of times a day, providing fresh, clean water.
While your chickens won’t get in the water, chicks might flit around and fall in. So be careful with any chicks you have or might get.
Whereas chickens roost at night, ducks sleep on the floor. And be sure to have enough space for all the birds.
Both ducks and chickens can eat the same food.
Some chicken breeds and duck breeds aren’t as aggressive as others. Therefore, if you have the perfect ratios and space, aggression in drakes and roosters is probably more breed specific. For instance, we have Pekin and hybrid Mallard drakes and Ameraucana roosters, and none of them have come to blows. Except when we had too many males.

So, Can a Duck and Chicken Breed

Despite the fact that a duck and chicken can mate, it’s not something that should be allowed. Granted, if a rooster mates with a duck, she’ll be ok. But, if a drake mates with a chicken, it could be deadly. Additionally, the main reasons ducks and chickens try to mate is due to overcrowding and too many males. Alternatively, because producing offspring hasn’t successfully occurred, it’s safe to assume ducks and chickens can’t breed.

We had to cull 4 roosters a few weeks ago, and the 2 extra drakes last weekend. And I have no idea how many male guineas we have. But so far, they haven’t bothered any females, other than their own kind. If you keep males with your birds and incubate eggs or have broody hens, you might find yourself in similar situations: too many males at times. It doesn’t always happen, but it frequently does. Usually I can tell pretty early which will be female and which male. However, we don’t want to cull them too early, because we eat those ones. Thus, we watch the flock dynamics, making sure everyone is getting along. Although in my house, I’ll tell my husband for a few weeks it’s time to cull the boys until he’s finally ready. And typically he’s waiting for the weather. Something about being a hunter, I think. By the time that happens, I get to see a lot of crazy bird behavior before things settle down again.

Do you have ducks and chickens? Have your birds ever tried mating with each other? What caused them to do so? And how did you handle it?

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Early spring marks the start of mating season for most birds, both wild and domesticated. But how do birds find a mate? No doubt many of you are aware of courtship displays among birds. However, how, in particular, do ducks and chickens find mates? While it’s likely you know what a rooster dance is, how do ducks exhibit their desires? In addition, how do ducks and chickens recognize their mates? Moreover, how do they distinguish between male and female within their own species, and that of another?

A lot of birds, including chickens, are recognized by sex visually, as you’ll see below. However, it’s not so simple with ducks. For instance, we only have 2 kinds of ducks in our backyard: Pekin and hybrid Mallards. Hence, they all look similar by grouping in size and color. The only obvious difference are the tail feathers on the males. Rather than being straight like a female, they curve or curl upward. Well, not long ago we had an Olive Egger we named Benjamin Franklin. And he was a little odd.

Since his egg hatched the same time the guinea and duck eggs hatched, we raised him with them when he was a chick. But when he was a juvenile, we tried moving him in with the other juvenile chickens. Though, he resisted and kept going back to his original family, the ducks and guineas. However, as he got older, he’d do chicken things, like foraging and hanging out a little bit with the other juvenile roos. Though he’d always go back to his family. Eventually he started having rooster urges, like mating, but not toward any of the female chickens. He would only try to mate with the female ducks. But how did he know which of the ducks were female, and which were male? Join me as I attempt to answer these questions.

How Do Birds Find a Mate

Ravage already did his tidbitting, and now he’s sharing a banana peel.

Before a male bird performs for his intended, it’s logical for there to first be attraction. Thus, what causes roosters and hens to be attracted to each other? Likewise, what about ducks? Or, as in the case of my wayward juvenile rooster, what causes cross-species attraction?

What Attracts Roosters & Drakes to the Opposite Sex, and Vice-versa

Mainly what attracts both ducks and chickens to the opposite sex is all about the looks, such as

color

While both sexes prefer red combs, female chickens also look for red wattles, and red eye color of potential mates. For chickens, red is a sign of health and fertility. And female ducks fancy blue plumage in a drake, which indicates reproductive strength. It’s also referred to as a special breeding plumage. Female ducks lack breeding plumage, with the exception of the Paradise Shelduck in New Zealand.

Most of our female chickens are black, black and white, or gray. Not very exciting if you ask me. However, for a short time we had one Rhode Island Red hen named Jango. She was middle-aged, and all the boys liked her. She saw more action than the rest of the hens combined. I always wondered if it was because the guys liked red-heads.

size

Again, chickens of both sexes lean toward birds with bigger combs. However, comb length isn’t a consideration. And female ducks pick smaller drakes over larger ones.

plumage

It seems both female ducks and chickens go with flashy plumage. For ducks, it has to be the best. Additionally, whether it’s the best ornamental feathers a rooster has or not is up to each female chicken’s interpretation, I suppose. But that’s what a hen looks for.

social display

It’s at this point that the courtship displays come into play. And both roos and drakes have them. According to those in the know, roosters have 3 types of courtship displays: waltz, nesting, and feeding. Though, for a female chicken, the first two don’t affect her as much. Rather, if female chickens are attracted to males, it’s usually via tidbitting. Moreover, female ducks choose the most skillful performer.

and food

Whether it’s food that males ingest themselves or offer to a potential mate, it has an effect on how well they’re received by females. In one study, female ducks preferred drakes that ate free-choice. It was probably more due to physique than the actual feed or schedule. I assume the drakes that ate free choice looked healthier. And female chickens are lured to roosters by type of treat he’s tidbitting instead of just his call. That makes sense, especially as some roos tidbit leaves or trash. The girls have priorities.

How Ducks and Chickens Recognize Mates, and Males and Females of Other Species

This is the only shot I was able to get of Benjamin Franklin trying to mate one of the ducks. But it certainly wasn’t the only time.

Vocalization

Scientists found that chickens make around 30 sounds, 19 of which are identifiable. And both chickens and ducks can recognize members of their own species, and other signals, by vocalization. In addition, according to the University of Maryland Extension, chick embryos are able to hear around the 12th day of embryonic development. Ducklings also vocalize to each other days before hatching to synchronize their hatch day. And moms of both species communicate vocally to their young while brooding.

Imprint at hatch

Imprinting is a quick learning method that occurs at a young age in social animals. Plus, it’s typically a result of visual and vocal cues, which lead us to the next item.

Visual

Vision helps chicks identify and recognize their family. Though, studies claim hearing is more reliable. Additionally, chickens rely on vision for their hierarchy. But vision alone isn’t foolproof. For example, one day Chopper, one of our older ‘Cauna hens, wanted to dustbathe. But Loki, a Sex-link hen, was in the spot she wanted. Chop thought Loki was just another random black hen, because we have so many. She proceeded to bully Loki and almost got killed. Even though they were both on the same spot of the pecking order, Loki was a lot bigger. Alternatively, ducklings know their mom and siblings on sight. After all, it’s part of imprinting.

Smell

It was initially believed that birds, including chickens, had a poor sense of smell. But studies have demonstrated chickens react to olfactory stimuli, especially in the absence of visual and auditory cues. In addition, this study revealed that chicks form behavioral associations with distinct odors that are added while they’re still in the egg. Thus, chicks can recall scents from the nest before they even hatch.

And in this experiment, it seems smell is a factor for ducks finding a mate. Even though it’s established that chickens have individual body odors and respond to familiar smells, I couldn’t find anything supporting the same in chickens. Therefore, olfaction could have an effect on mate choice with chickens, and we just don’t know it yet.

and Pheromones

Lastly, pheromones go hand in hand with the sense of smell, especially regarding mate choice and reproduction. But since birds weren’t thought to have a sense of smell, so too they obviously couldn’t have pheromones. Although, as more and more research has shown, birds, like chickens and ducks, do have a sense of smell. It would be logical to assume then that they also release pheromones, or at the very least, their very own unique perfume.

Both ducks and chickens have a uropygial gland, aka the preen gland, which is located at the base of their tail feathers. In ducks this gland secretes a waxy fluid, which helps water-proof them. On the other hand, chickens don’t require water-proofing, but the gland still secretes an oily substance. Besides feather care, what other purpose could this serve in chickens? Additionally, it has been observed that both species emit different odors from this gland. And distinct studies on both species conclude the secretions from this gland are likely pheromones.

So, How do Birds Find a Mate

Most birds, including chickens and ducks, find mates based on color, size, and plumage. After this point, the males try to win their intended’s affection by performing a courtship display. And for some birds, like ducks, only the best performer will succeed. But don’t discount the importance of food in the bird dating game. Moreover, birds recognize each other by sound and smell often in the embryonic stage, especially if incubated together. And it’s only after hatch that they visually recognize each other.

Since my species-confused rooster was incubated and raised with guineas and ducks, it’s a possibility that he could also recognize the sounds and smells of the guineas and ducks in ova as well. And when he hatched, he could very well have imprinted on them, recognizing them as family by all of his senses. Therefore, with this insight, it also seems plausible that he would be able to distinguish between male and female. Are you wondering why Benjamin Franklin chose a duck to love instead of a guinea hen? It’s obvious to me: ducks are way smarter compared to guineas.

Have you noticed your chickens were more responsive to a particular mate, or chose one over another? Do you think there are other ways birds can recognize each other?

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