Waterfowl courtship, Paris & Nic...ole

The last month or so has raised eyebrows here at Alpine Learning Center. For starters, Nicole, of Paris and Nicole fame, is not actually female despite our ordering two females from Metzer Farms (now I don't feel so bad that I mis-identified Snowball earlier this year). S/he had slowly gotten larger and larger while Paris kept her slim, trim shape. The hissing as Muscovy drakes do was the dead giveaway. As was his chasing the females.

On the matter of male and female mating behaviour, here are some observations made by myself and Kerrie, poultry novices, to you, dear readers of ALS online.

In an earlier blog I made reference to whether Pate was up to the task or not regarding mating with Foie and Gras. I now suspect that it is not Pate who is the issue, but Foie and Gras. Not that anything is wrong, mind you, but that they are not yet mature enough and are not sending the proper signals. This is confirmed by the books I've read which indicate that geese (gooses?) may require up to two or three years to reach sexual maturity.

Here's the observation that makes it clear that Pate is ready and willing: he successfully mates with the Pekins and Runners.

This sounds obvious at first, but the key is in the duck's behaviour, not in Pate's. When female ducks want to get it on, they flatten their back, sit/squat down (if they are on land), stretch their necks out, and make a distinctively lower-toned quack. There is also a great deal of head bobbing prior to this falling-to-the-ground position. The females literally fall at Pate's feet, sometimes blocking his way as if it'll help them being noticed. If Pate is in the kiddie pool, we will often see half a dozen of the Pekins lined around the edge with their heads out in the "bite my neck and pin me down, big boy" pose. I will try to get a picture so you can see what I mean. Suffice to say, the ducks absolutely love Pate, and Pate loves them back.

When Foie and Gras are old enough and ready for the responsibility of raising goslings, I'm sure that they, too will execute the "take me, I'm yours" pose. Pate has already proven he understands.

One final note: it seems that size matters. One might think that the Pekins would be attracted to the same kind, but they aren't. They run away from the drakes, but follow Pate like he's a rock star.