Recent content by Booodog

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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    I'm not sure. The largest duck, who was seriously aggressive, died a few months ago. At this point, nobody's getting hurt. It's just like a bunch of kids squabbling in the backseat the whole way to Disneyworld. Which, to be perfectly heartless, is not what I had in mind, not for months on end...
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    Update: unseasonably warm here, and the duck hut is a battlefield. After working through a bunch of scenarios, I can pretty much confirm that mixing breeds is the whole problem here. It's NEVER directed at the same breed.
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    Victim, Villain, or Jerk?

    They are all drakes, but a mix of breeds and sizes (which I now recognize as a mistake). The target of the aggression is a call duck, which makes it especially problematic. He has his little call buddy, and there are three runners and a jumbo Pekin. I've made a little area that only the calls...
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    Victim, Villain, or Jerk?

    I'm so glad things have worked out well for your son. I want to learn more about the approaches you described. Obviously, we all do what we can, when we can, with what we have and who we are. My six ducks are all drakes. No females on site. This bachelor flock approach is more complicated than...
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    Victim, Villain, or Jerk?

    I teach 5th grade. I think I just sent this kid to middle school.
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    Victim, Villain, or Jerk?

    This guy is not giving any ground, though. He's lucky to have one loyal buddy. Sounds rough for your guy.
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    Victim, Villain, or Jerk?

    Trying to figure out how to interpret some behavior. Wondering if anyone has any insight. I have a duck who is constantly the target of aggressive behavior from the most dominant ducks in the group. This seems like it would most likely be a power struggle. Thing is, if it is, he lost a long...
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    Ducks and deep litter discussion

    First off: I've only been doing this for a year. I could be back here in two weeks posting about problems, but so far, it's been great. My duck run is filled with grass clippings and old leaves over soil. I added to it each week until it got to be 8-12 inches deep. Once full, I turn it weekly...
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    Ducks Scared of the Water

    He definitely has his finer points. I don't worry as much about them as I otherwise would. As for the salt marsh, gators would be an oddity (not an impossibility). They stick to freshwater, for the most part. Haven't seen one out there in a dozen years of kayaking. Ditto for venomous snakes...
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    Ducks Scared of the Water

    Yes, really. About thirty years ago, I took a picture of a house on a little inlet with a weeping willow out front and a little flock of ducks in the water. Man, I thought. That dude has his own duck pond. Nice. Twenty years later, I bought a fixer-upper on a salt marsh in SC. With the...
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    I've seen my runners doing this, too now. Before, they were just bumps on a log. First I was surprised by how unique each personality was. Now I see that they change over time, too.
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    Update: it's now mid November, and as several folks predicted, they are all buddies again. Had them in two separate groups for awhile. When the two little call ducks we're let out, all they wanted to do was go taunt the others through the wire. One day, about two weeks ago, I was doing some...
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    I don't like where this is headed.
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    This is all very interesting. Thanks to everyone who wrote in. There are some new developments. Had them all split up as described for about a week. Today, I tried some reintroductions outside the pen. Things went really well with the the Jumbo Pekin, the runners, and the little call duck...
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    Bachelor Ducks Run Amok

    I believe I have some memory of that dynamic. Have you known it to ease up any in ducks?
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