Aggressive Pekin or First Attempts at Mating?

[Amykins]

I like how pretty the Cayugas color is. It shines so green!

Yeah! When I got my house ducks I was torn between calls and cayugas. Cayugas are supposed to be friendly, and they're good egg-layers. What kind of characteristics are you looking for? Each breed has a specific purpose; like runners are excellent foragers and will keep your garden totally free of bugs, and they're hilarious to watch, but unimprinted ones are skittish and won't really come to you if called. Stuff like that.

 

[tanaBanana]

I don't know too much about the breeds other than what I have but I'll say that the Blue Swedish are the most loving, friendly of them all, although all of mine are (with Abu turning into a bit of a bully, of course, possibly due to hormones?). The Blues are LOUD though! I'd originally had their own on the opposite side of my yard, but my sister (who's my next-door neighbor) put an end to that! As soon as the sun is up, they're letting me know they want to be free. But they love to talk to me and how can I really fault them for that? lol! And they periodically let me know they're alive and well during the day. The others let them do all the talking, I guess! They all have awesome, yet different, personalities! I never knew ducks were so awesome. Phantom actually got a fish hook stuck in her tongue on Monday and there was fishing line and a bobber attached to the hook and they were wrapped around something in the pond. I heard her and was able to hold onto her so she'd stop pulling on it. The whole time, blood was just pouring out of her mouth and I was shaking and crying, unable to get it out myself while holding her, yet unable to carry her away because she was still attached to the pond. I always keep my Swiss Army knife in my pocket but I'd been inside in pajamas when I heard her and didn't have it on me so I couldn't even cut her loose. I sat there helplessly yelling out to my sister, praying she's hear me. I hated doing that, knowing it was freaking her out even more. Thankfully, my sister heard me and she got Nick (my nephew) and he was able to cut the barb off the hook while I held her trying to comfort her at the same time I was holding her mouth open. There was lots of blood but we got it out. I got her some antibiotics just to help ward off any infection. We were lucky! It could have been far worse! Anyway, my point is that while I was joking her, all I could think about was how income the my backyard would be without her there. She's the one that listens to me the most and even after the others head back to the pond, she tends to linger a few extra moments with me. So, they're all awesome in their own ways. I have no complaints against any of them. Just be aware of the chatty Blue Swedish. It doesn't bother me one bit, but neighbors (even though one is my sister) might not take to kindly to that!

I've got to run coop them for the night now. Good luck with whatever/whichever you decide on!

 

[tanaBanana]

Here you can see how loving they can be. They wanted me to come out and play! Lol!

 

[ryanhodapp]

Or maybe this one?

This is a good clip--mine sounds like the 4 week old male (hane). Dang it

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm hoping to get one of each of my favorite breeds, so that I can tell them apart and have the best of all worlds. Is this a good idea?

 

[tanaBanana]

This is a good clip--mine sounds like the 4 week old male (hane). Dang it

they were very vocal tonight. The key to getting them in pen each night is getting between them and the pond. They usually come when I call but because I was posting stuff here, I was about 30 min later than usual and they didn't want to come out. My shining stars, Tuffy, DA, and Phantom were the only ones to come and that was with Abu and Nuck trying to tell them it was a set-up to lock them up. Luckily they didn't give in to peer pressure and I was able to get them in. This was the first time I've had to divide and conquer and they DO NOT like being divided! They kept talking and talking until finally my two delinquents finally got out of the pond and came home! So, I can tell you now that Abu does not sound like that first clip. So, he's a she. Let me restate my original question....

Was Abu trying to drown Phantom? Would an almost three month old Female Pekin try "mounting" another duck for anything other than to establish dominance? If she's going to be a bully, could she actually drown one of the others? I'm really sad right now!

 

[tanaBanana]

Based on my limited knowledge and experience, I don't think it would be problematic unless one of the breeds is a more aggressive one. I don't know that much about the different breeds. Mine get along fine (with the exception of Abu's recent behavior). Like everyone is saying, just keep the number of drake/hen ratio low. I personally love having a diverse group of them. I'd like to add a couple of welsh harliquins but I like that these were all raised together and kinda want to leave it at that. I'd just be sure to research the different breeds in case they're like certain medications and can't be mixed with other breeds.

I'm hoping to get one of each of my favorite breeds, so that I can tell them apart and have the best of all worlds. Is this a good idea?

 

[GitaBooks]

Thanks!