My drakes are rescues and have had traumatic back grounds. I have a pekin that was an Easter duckling in 2021. He was attacked by a raccoon and has a damaged bill. His brood mate died in the attack. He was cared for by a wild life rehabber but his original owner abandoned him when he was healed. Meanwhile, 3 months later, she took in a waterlogged muscovy and as that duckling grew he was cared for with the injured pekin and other ducks. I took in a muscovy that was found alone in a storm in a parking lot. At 6 weeks old he was introduced to the muscovy and injured pekin from the rehabber. All three got on well together -- my "three musketeers" --last fall. My muscovy preened the other muscovy and napped during the day with his head acroos the other muscovy. So sweet. We thought mine was female. We werent sure about the other muscovy. The pekin being older was certainly a drake.
Fast forward to January this year. By that time, all three were obviously male and trouble started brewing. The two muscovy started fighting: full frontal feet and claws to the fore. There were occasional skirmishes between my original muscovy, Daffy, and the pekin, although Daffy quickly learnt that I didnt like him fighting and largely ignored provocation by the pekin.
The worst behavior was by the other muscovy who started attacking me in February. Something happened in his head when his drake hormones started rising. I was seriously concerned about him. He three times got up on the side gate where he was my height as the 4ft gate was at the top of two steps. I have written about his "therapy" and his behavior on the gate previously. He has stopped his worst attacks on me, stopped getting on the side gate, but frequently starts biting my feet. I now keep a dogcrate in the garden and put him in there for a few minutes time out when he bites my feet -- it only takes 3 or 4 minutes in the dogcrate before I can release him and he comes out all contrite
So currently, he has almost finished molting and looks good (his other issue is that he will not bath in the wading pool and had become very yellow stained down his previously white chest). He is still very close to the pekin with the damaged bill although he bites the pekin on occasions to assert domination. He has started periodically fighting again with Daffy who is a great soft lump that doesn't like fighting, and Daffy comes off the worst for the attacks. And the troubled drake terrorizes a pair of pekin drakes that I rescued as juveniles in April. The pair of rescued pekins are frightened to go in the coop with him.
I have had all three pekins in dogcrates in the coop -- they will go into the coop and their crates if the troubled muscovy is not already in there. As its too crowded in the coop with three dogcrates, i tried new sleeping arrangements tonight: troubled muscovy in a dogcrate with Daffy and the three pekins loose in the coop. Daffy was pecking at the pekins (pecking order behavior) when i locked them in. I will have to see how it goes: I might have to put Daffy in a crate at night too, but hope not to have to do that.
Free ranging during the day, there is little trouble except for the very occasional fight between the two muscovy. Daffy likes to hang out near the troubled muscovy but gives him a wider berth when he is being aggressive.
