At 02:37 PM 1/23/96 -0800, you wrote:

......Because the vast majority of female Mallards are paired and protected by
>their mates.......
>
>That's true in some cases, but not all. I have seen areas where wild
drakes outnumber the hens and there's no amount of effort on the part of her
mate that will protect her. During breeding season, we get quite a few wild
hens in that need recoop time.
>
......I sometimes get the feeling that social interactions are altered or
>exacerbated in semidomestic Mallards....

You're right, Dennis. I think the domestic breeds are a bit more - how
shall I say this - randy than the wild ducks. Most likely bred that way to
increase the number of viable eggs. The worst I've seen are the Pekins, but
some of those little mallards get going pretty good as well!

Peggi
>



Peggi Rodgers
peggir at ori.org
Eugene, OR
"A bird does not sing because it has an
answer, It sings because it has a song"