- Apr 23, 2012
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We got three Muscovy ducklings in April when they were just one day old. They were hand raised in the house for the first six weeks and then moved out to our coop with five chicks of the same age, and our lone remaining hen. We have two ducks and one drake, and all had been well until about a month ago when the drake started becoming extremely aggressive. He chases us and bites at our legs and feet repeatedly when we go outside, even when we are bringing treats! We have to spray him with the hose to ward off attacks. Now, it isn't as if he has really done any damage, but no one likes to be bit by a duck, and I am a little concerned about him scratching one of the kids with his claws. He even attacked our 125 lb Great Pyrenees a couple of times! He lost half his tail feathers in the second scuffle so one can only hope he's learned his lesson there. He also just recently started trying to mate with the chickens. If it weren't for my three kids, Donald Duck would be dinner! Does anyone have any experience with this or some advice they could offer (other than cooking him)? Is there something we could try to turn this behavior around? Alternately, and probably a long shot, would anyone have any suggestions for re-homing him? We live in Southern New Hampshire. I hate to separate him from the other two ducks as they do seem to get along well, the ducks even go up into the coop with the chickens at night, but I can't have him attacking everyone all the time. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
