With almost all waterfowl, males usually account for a larger percentage of
the population. The reason, females suffer much larger rates of predation
since they are the ones to solely attend the nest and young ducklings. The
males, as most of us know, have no part in raising the young. Instead, they
spend their summer days with the guys while they molt, leaving the hens to
do all the family chores. Thus, the population in waterfowl is naturally
skewed towards the drakes. That is why some hunters (all should) practice
"voluntary restraint"; where they try to the best of their ability, to
harvest only drakes. I and a few of my hunting partners practice this, but
not all hunters do.

This is also they reason that during courtship, you often find 5-6 drakes
following and courting a single hen.


Jeff Kozma
Yakima