Ducks are those social animals that need to be with each other all the time and form seasonal bonds for a mating season.Some of the species of ducks just keep one mate for their whole life for nesting (mallards), while others change every season. The males always defend the territory for the females.Ducks and more than half of the waterfowls like to form bonds (seasonal) with each other to breed and produce young ones. They are very social and hence cannot live in isolation. The mating rituals of ducks can be more complicated than they may seem. The number of male ducks is more than the number of females in the wild, and this gives the opportunity to females to choose with whom to mate for a particular season and have ducklings. Males do decide the female they want to impress, but it’s up to the female at the end to make the decision. The female sees which one among the males is the fittest, healthiest, and is most appropriate to produce healthy ducklings. They like to have a strong male to help them defend their territorial region effectively against many single male ducks who roam around to breed, and this also helps raise the ducklings efficiently. Domesticated ducks also choose their mates if they have the availability to choose from many at the farm. This applies to the males too, they can try to pick anyone among many females available at the farm.Most of the duck species prefer to have a different mating partner each year. Many waterfowls form the bond either in December or March, during the spring migration or wintering grounds. They show different behavior from the songbirds as they look for their new mate when they arrive at the winter breeding grounds. A large group of males performs and from there the females pick their favorite one, which is often the one with the best plumage and courtship dance. The courtships displays always range from a variety of postures and gestures which you can notice if you observe them very closely.Do you have an interest in animals and insects? Here you can read mallard ducks facts and if earwigs bite articles on our website and gain more knowledge on these topics!Do ducks have the same mate their entire lives?Unlike geese, the ducks do not have just one partner to mate in their life. They are seasonal monogamists. In the wild, the female duck chooses a male duck to breed just for a particular season. The male duck defends the female duck from other male ducks, but that male won’t help in raising the ducklings as other male geese do. After that, a bond will be made with another male duck. Domesticated ducks might follow some other rules. As they are less in number, one male duck will breed with a small flock of females every year.The breeding patterns of ducks are divided into a few patterns. Seasonal monogamy is where the female ducks have the same partner for a breeding season, but she does not choose the same for the next season. Polygamy can be seen in waterfowl. This behavior is very common among them though just 7% of waterfowls show this. The males defend their areas in a way that attracts the female ducks and hence, they visit the territory of that male where he mates with many of them. In these kinds of bonds, the bond is not very properly formed, or it has been formed very weakly. Musk ducks, Maccoa ducks, comb ducks, and Ruddy ducks show this kind of behavior a lot.Talking about mallard ducks, there are chances that they choose just one partner to mate. During their mating season, the hen becomes very choosy in the matter of getting a partner, they like to be with a drake that will protect them and their territory. Sometimes, the mallard ducks like to turn their attention elsewhere after laying the eggs which makes the drake feel lonely and then he searches for another hen. Thus, in a few cases, the hen and drake bond temporarily until the hen starts to lay eggs and go on to find another mate. The hen is capable enough to raise the ducklings alone as she does not care about the drake at this point. However, being together gives the whole family a bigger advantage to be alive in the wild as many ducks tend to attack the territories of other ducks. While it is extremely unlikely, a male duck can drown a female duck during mating, especially if numerous male ducks are repeatedly breeding with the same female duck.What happens when a duck loses its mate?Ducks are very social by nature, they all get along really well and rarely fight. These creatures can’t live in isolation and can even go into depression if they are alone. It is advised to never just keep one duck, it would be very cruel for them.If one of their pair dies by any chance, they look for another pair and their mourning period is quite short. This can prevent or interfere with the breeding process of that year of the living mate. If the male dies during the spring migration north, the females quickly go on to find another mate to breed in that particular season so that the nesting won’t get delayed. Ducks are very well-known for not forming any long-term bonds, they always go for seasonal bonds, which is also known as seasonal monogamy, during which new bonds are formed every season. Seasonal monogamy can be seen in about 49% of the waterfowl species. In this type of mating system, the pairs mostly form on the wintering grounds during the first year of their life, but these bonds only get sustained until the female duck lays the eggs. Each winter, these birds need to find a new partner to mate with and establish their bond with them in the breeding season. Seasonal monogamy is very common among diving ducks, sea ducks, and dabbling ducks. An interesting twist can be seen among the sea ducks and cavity nesters as they do not form any kind of mating bond until the second year of their life. Research has given the result that a few goldeneyes pairs reunite every year on their wintering grounds and then return back to their original breeding territory. This is only possible to see in species that show philopatry to both their winter breeding sites. It is like behavior during which the individuals go back to their original site from the previous years. This enables the pair to find each other.Why do ducks stay in pairs?Ducks are social animals in the animal kingdom, and if left alone, they will feel very depressed and lonely. It is very important to have at least two ducks together if someone wants to have ducks. Domestic ducks sometimes face this problem, as they often feel lonely when the owner does not get another duck. That is why they stay in pairs to give each other company.It is not advised to keep wild ducks as house pets. They cannot adopt the indoor lifestyle of humans. We know that you would want to protect your duck from the outside environment, but it will be very cruel for the duck. They need to be outdoors most of the time. As they are social animals, they get along very well with each other, and seldom fight. They are cannot live in solitude and often become very sad when left alone, eventually making it difficult to survive. They also feel the emotions of loneliness, grief, and isolation the same way that we humans do. Leaving them alone in a cage can disturb their emotional well-being - they will just sit with their heads down inside. They need other ducks to live. It is possible to have just one duck if you are spending time with it, but they eventually need the company of a duck and not a human. Having four to five ducks will be the best, but it’s possible for every household to store their fertilized eggs, and that’s why people don’t keep ducks as pets that much. You need to think about the needs of an animal before keeping them. They are social animals. They swim in a tight circle, practically touching each other. This activity must be motivated by a desire to stay warm and a need to be together.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for whether ducks mate for life then why not take a look at where beans come from or where comets come from?
Ducks are those social animals that need to be with each other all the time and form seasonal bonds for a mating season.
