Aggressive drake update

[GoodEgg]

Thanks for all the replies regarding my drake's attack behavior. Since then he's gotten worse, LOL, so I'm glad to know it's normal.

That little bugger will follow me around and sneak up and body-slam my leg, or bite my shoes (unless I am carrying food!). He's VERY quick to attack a stranger. He even runs along the fence if anyone walks down the street.

He will even break the cardinal law of duck-dom ... he LEAVES the other ducks to pursue his target and will chase until he's 150 feet or more away from the other ducks. Unless you turn around and look at him, which will cause him to back off.

I'm glad ducks can't bite hard (or mine don't, I'm not sure which). He's got the other drake doing it too. I can't leave my chickens alone when I let them out to free range because the drakes will just keep trying to bite them. (Though the chicks are learning to fight back!)

The poor kitten can barely move around in the backyard without being mobbed by 2 drakes and one of the ducks. They roll him over and over, slamming their bodies against him and biting him constantly. He's not allowed to fight back, so he usually runs for the clothesline pole and climbs to the top in order to escape.

At least the other female duck has finally decided she's a female (though she will attack too!) and now we have all 4 of them trying to breed. I just hope I get some eggs out of this chaos, since the girls are now turning 5 months old!

They were supposed to be geese ... now I'm glad they are not or we'd all be bloody and bruised!

trish

 

[SandraChick]

Oh my!

My drake also used to chase all the chickens away (not the cats though), but with as much space as I have, the chickens just went off somewhere else! I have to say though, He's never attacked me, and if he did, he'd probably find himself launched!

Now that my drake is alone, he's completely changed his attitude (no females to protect). He hangs with the chickens all day and I think he's trying to become one. He even tried to go sleep in the chicken coop a couple nights!

On a side note...wild ducks have a female centered territory they defend. In other words, they don't defend a particular place, they defend the space around the female, so the "territory" moves to whereever the female is!

Have you considered blocking off a part of the yard as the duck zone? I did this for a while when the drake was trying to mount all my chickens before the females got old enough to mate. Funny- he never chased the rooster...hmmmmmm.

Sandra

 

[GoodEgg]

Thanks, Sandra.

I've considered it (blocking off part of the yard). I don't know the size of my yard but it is HUGE and the ducks wander over the whole area at different times of day. I can't always see them, because it's so big, and there are bushes and small trees blocking parts of it. I wonder if that's it ... if he's defending a "territory" instead of his ducks. He's definitely a tame breed though.

I'll see how it goes, but a very low fence should keep them in so I might do it if I need to.

Actually ... I'm still wondering if ducks can really hurt anyone. Seems I remember them nipping a bit when I handfed them as babies. Their "attacks" now are more gentle than that. It never hurts at all. (Except the very first time he went after a chick, there were a couple feathers in his bill!) un

The kitten doesn't even know he's being attacked. He thinks it's a game, though he does get tired of it sometimes and escapes (I don't allow him to fight back).

I'm amazed though at how aggressive this drake has become. It just cracks me up when someone walks by on the road and he's off after them, waddling as fast as he can go through the tall grasses ... doesn't seem to remember there's a fence and thick plants there.

As long as he doesn't hurt anyone, I'll probably let it go. The worst he's done so far is scare me to death by slamming into me when I was trying to turn the water on for them and I didn't realize he was near. Like I said, I wonder if they CAN hurt anyone ... if they can he must be restraining himself. He'd probably be afraid to anyway. All I have to do is turn around and let him know I am looking at him and he either stops or turns and runs the other way.

Thanks for the info and reply!

trish