The Duck Thread

[dotknott]

Hey guys so I posted awhile ago about my drake becoming aggressive and majority said we needed more hens. We rehomed the drake that was being bullied and got 4 new hens. My other drake and hen and even the ducklings are all getting along great. But my drake is still being super aggressive. I have him penned alone but where he can see the other hens and they can see him. During the day they lay by his pen. No fence fighting. The second I let him out he starts really fighting. Biting there chest and wings. I have to catch him and re pen him. Not sure what to do cause we love him so much. ANY suggestions welcome? Thanks.

Really fighting? With the hens? It's not mating attempts or getting back into flock dynamics / pecking order?

 

[jenniferlamar70]

Really fighting? With the hens?  It's not mating attempts or getting back into flock dynamics / pecking order?

More then pecking order. Our other drake did a bit of that. It's really fighting. He didn't even try to mate them. I'm at a loss. The only ducks he seems to get along with is the two he has grown from hatch with. I'm hoping time will help but it hurts me to see him penned alone even though the other ducks visit I feel bad for him.

 

[AmandaMBG]

How fast have you removed him each time? The other drakes weren't top of the pecking order so maybe they just weren't trying to get in a top position. I'm curious if you have left them with him for any extended period of time to see if they work it out on their own.

More then pecking order. Our other drake did a bit of that. It's really fighting. He didn't even try to mate them. I'm at a loss. The only ducks he seems to get along with is the two he has grown from hatch with. I'm hoping time will help but it hurts me to see him penned alone even though the other ducks visit I feel bad for him.

 

[Ren2014]

More then pecking order. Our other drake did a bit of that. It's really fighting. He didn't even try to mate them. I'm at a loss. The only ducks he seems to get along with is the two he has grown from hatch with. I'm hoping time will help but it hurts me to see him penned alone even though the other ducks visit I feel bad for him.

How old is he again? How bad is the fighting? Pulling feathers? Jumping on the others? Is it constant?

How fast have you removed him each time? The other drakes weren't top of the pecking order so maybe they just weren't trying to get in a top position. I'm curious if you have left them with him for any extended period of time to see if they work it out on their own.

X2 (good question)

 

[NZDuckNewbies]

Well, we are finally investing in Storey's guide to raising ducks, In the hopes of ever-improving duck-keeping. While i wait for it to arrive (By the way, www.bookdepository.com is AMAZINGLY cheap... free international shipping too) I need some assistance on sexing ducklings, and on how old they should be before we separate them from mum.

We would like to keep only females for obvious reasons, in-breeding is not ideal, but also have some workmates who want to get into ducks, so we would like to pass on some littlies to them at the appropriate time.

I have pointed them to BYC in the meantime so that they can learn everything they need to initially, and get prepared.

Looking forward to the replies. I don't want to hurt the ducklings, and if someone experienced knows the nest and most informative demo video or something, that's cool.

Thanks

 

[duck-horselover]

Hello, I have an Indian runner drake and a Welsh Harlequin female. I was planning on adding a female indian runner duck to their small group so I bought one whom is around 2 months old. The Welsh Harlequin female likes her but the drake likes her a little too much and is chasing her and cornering her constantly over mating her, luckily no harm has been done as we separated them very quickly but the Indian runner duck is beginning to get lonely and we just don't have a suitable place to keep her. If anyone has any advice please don't be afraid to share I will try anything because if I cannot keep the ducks together I will have to sell her. I AM DESPERATE!

 

[dotknott]

Hello, I have an Indian runner drake and a Welsh Harlequin female. I was planning on adding a female indian runner duck to their small group so I bought one whom is around 2 months old. The Welsh Harlequin female likes her but the drake likes her a little too much and is chasing her and cornering her constantly over mating her, luckily no harm has been done as we separated them very quickly but the Indian runner duck is beginning to get lonely and we just don't have a suitable place to keep her. If anyone has any advice please don't be afraid to share I will try anything because if I cannot keep the ducks together I will have to sell her.  I AM DESPERATE! 

What steps have you taken to integrate the new duck, you don't list any in your post.

 

[mischievouslady]

Wrapped Angel Wings pictures.

I used the wrap they use on horses legs. Its a bit wider than the athletic wrap.

 

[jenniferlamar70]

How old is he again?  How bad is the fighting?  Pulling feathers? Jumping on the others? Is it constant?

X2 (good question)

Well after a few days of being alone I let him out again yesterday supervised. I think he was just so happy to not he alone he was on his best behavior. A few times he started acting like he was going to fight and I locked him up for like a 5 min time out lol. I know silly but it seemed to work. After a few time outs he was just doing mild pecking order stuff instead of all out fighting. Im still keeping them seperate for now when unsupervised so I know he won't hurt the ducklings while I'm out there. But now he has my other drake for company and he is central to the other ducks and ducklings so they can all still see and talk to each other. Today when my daughter gets home I'm going to give him some more supervised time. I think here time is all we need here. I'm so relieved. He is 24 weeks and acting the teenager with raging hormones I think lol.

 

[NZDuckNewbies]

Hello, I have an Indian runner drake and a Welsh Harlequin female. I was planning on adding a female indian runner duck to their small group so I bought one whom is around 2 months old. The Welsh Harlequin female likes her but the drake likes her a little too much and is chasing her and cornering her constantly over mating her, luckily no harm has been done as we separated them very quickly but the Indian runner duck is beginning to get lonely and we just don't have a suitable place to keep her. If anyone has any advice please don't be afraid to share I will try anything because if I cannot keep the ducks together I will have to sell her. I AM DESPERATE!

I would have to echo dotknott here, What I have done in the past is have my new ducks separate but in the same area and visible to the others. My ducks are free-ranging so I don't have to cut down the living area too much in order to give everyone ample space which helps. We were also lucky that initially, our new girl was so used to being with a flock that she wanted nothing more than to follow our drake around - he wanted some space. They got on well very quickly, and not to the point of "friends with benefits" too fast.

Regardless, if possible, I would personally have side-by-side ranging areas where they can see each other to avoid loneliness, but not get too frisky to keep your newbie safe.
But hey, I'm no expert, it's just worked for me in the past.