Duck Issues!please help

[dtaratut]

Hey. I have a female rouen with a male that have been together since hatching....they are about a year. This will be her first spring. The problem with her is that she has become very very loud. She was loud before but now she and the male are very agressive and loud. When i come around they scream as loud ad they can. What is this...is she getting ready to lay eggs and go broody? Its really cold where i live and theres snow, so spring is in a long time. Any clue to what this could be?

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Could be a broody, but typically you will see crazy ruffled feathers as well. And my ducks mostly lay eggs until they get their perfect sized clutch, and then the girls go broody. And the males? I really haven't seen any behavior changes from the drakes during that time, so I'm not sure that's it. How is temperature, diet & housing?

 

[dtaratut]

The temp. is about 35 degrees and theres a little snow....they have no injuries so its not an injury their screaming about. Her feathers do spike up when i come around for some reason...she gets teritorial and loud. I take her egg each morning so she doesnt bulid a nest and the egg dont freeze...its not spring yet and i dont want her sitting on a clutch of eggs in winter :/... their diet is good and they are in a coop with attached run untill the snow melts so their legs dont freeze. They are on hay all day.but usually they are happily grazing on grass. I really wanna know what the cause is to her terrorish screams. She hasnt been able to bathe alot lately since the water freezez over in the pond i have. But otherwise they are probably just getting territorial due to the upcoming mating season...does anybody know if im right?

 

[Miss Lydia]

The temp. is about 35 degrees and theres a little snow....they have no injuries so its not an injury their screaming about. Her feathers do spike up when i come around for some reason...she gets teritorial and loud. I take her egg each morning so she doesnt bulid a nest and the egg dont freeze...its not spring yet and i dont want her sitting on a clutch of eggs in winter

... their diet is good and they are in a coop with attached run untill the snow melts so their legs dont freeze. They are on hay all day.but usually they are happily grazing on grass. I really wanna know what the cause is to her terrorish screams. She hasnt been able to bathe alot lately since the water freezez over in the pond i have. But otherwise they are probably just getting territorial due to the upcoming mating season...does anybody know if im right?

That what it sounds like to me, and she maybe fussing because your taking her eggs too. she can still be broody even with out any eggs to sit on my Muscovys do. They just don't scream because they are considered quackless, but boy can they grab hold and pinch the daylights out of me. When you take her egg is she still on it. Have you seen her laying in her nest area at other times too?

 

[dtaratut]

She does make a nest out of the bedding but she isnt sitting on them when i come in...she is just ready to get out as soon as possible. She doesnt seem to show interest....this behavior started when the snow and cold temps came around and she hasnt been able to bathe or pick grass or be outside of the coop and run...is this the reason..or is it the eggs and broodiness?what can i try/do? I am desperate my neighbors are getting mad and im scared to loose my other animals.

 

[Amiga]

She may be a bit cold. My runners fluff up their feathers, scrunch their necks and get kind of crabby when they are too cold for too long. Have you tried bringing her in for a night or two and observing her behavior? Bring her partner in with her, too. Just to see how they are.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Good idea Amiga.

 

[dtaratut]

She does come in each night to a warm coop. And during the day she is on hay instead of snow. She hasnt shown interest in going that broody. She is just loud and moody