ruthhope
Free Ranging
Ducks go through phases of being bossy and re-determining who is top duck. My three pekins are currently going through the motions again. The oldests pekis in very noisy and thinks he is top duck. He has never been top duck but he isn't bright enough to recognize that. He is very sweet. He is big pals with one of my muscovy and they like to stand up on my raised beds or my back steps and play king of the castle. But actually the other muscovy is the real king of the castle, although he only reminds them of this with occasional side swipes with his bill and pecking others' wings.
I got a rehomed pekin in April and hefor some time took to provoking the muscovy and pekin, trying to become top duck. The muscovy are quite capable of turning him on his back and standing on him -- one has done that at least 3 times. After 4 weeks, he suddenly became big buddy with the original, not very bright pekin who is now conflicted as his bestie is the muscovy that has stood on the new pekin. Less that a month later, after 1 month quarantine, I introduced another pekin rescue. My not very bright pekin kept shooing him away but he became friends with the newly introduced pekin -- although he was definitely lower in the pecking order -- and at least 12 months younger than him. In the last week all has changed. The previously timid rescue is now on the top step playing king of the castle with his buddy always a step below him and he has chased off my original not very bright pekin. He also makes threatening head movements to my muscovy who basically ignore him.
I just keep my eye close to what is going on so that if anyone is injured and starts losing too many feathers on their face or down their neck, they are separated from the duck that is doing the bullying. Its often the bully who is put in drake jail in a dogcrate and/or in a temporary pen in my back yard. Sometimes just housing the pekins in separate dogcrates at night is all that is needed.
So your little fluffy's behavior is common and will likely sort itself out in a couple of weeks without any harm. But if a duck is losing too many feathers or is injured, look to temporarily separating the warring parties. Things change rapidly in ducky households
I got a rehomed pekin in April and hefor some time took to provoking the muscovy and pekin, trying to become top duck. The muscovy are quite capable of turning him on his back and standing on him -- one has done that at least 3 times. After 4 weeks, he suddenly became big buddy with the original, not very bright pekin who is now conflicted as his bestie is the muscovy that has stood on the new pekin. Less that a month later, after 1 month quarantine, I introduced another pekin rescue. My not very bright pekin kept shooing him away but he became friends with the newly introduced pekin -- although he was definitely lower in the pecking order -- and at least 12 months younger than him. In the last week all has changed. The previously timid rescue is now on the top step playing king of the castle with his buddy always a step below him and he has chased off my original not very bright pekin. He also makes threatening head movements to my muscovy who basically ignore him.
I just keep my eye close to what is going on so that if anyone is injured and starts losing too many feathers on their face or down their neck, they are separated from the duck that is doing the bullying. Its often the bully who is put in drake jail in a dogcrate and/or in a temporary pen in my back yard. Sometimes just housing the pekins in separate dogcrates at night is all that is needed.
So your little fluffy's behavior is common and will likely sort itself out in a couple of weeks without any harm. But if a duck is losing too many feathers or is injured, look to temporarily separating the warring parties. Things change rapidly in ducky households
