Behavior

[PoultryGirly]

Hi. I have a female mallard duck and whenever she gets excited she points her head really fast to the right over and over again. Usually when we give her food she does it too. Sometimes she walks with her neck pointed a little. Why does she do this?

 

[PoultryGirly]

Anyone have an idea?

 

[DenverDucky]

My duck does that too when she's excited. I think it's just a personality trait. I love it when she does it, always makes me laugh

 

[PoultryGirly]

Oh, okay! I sorta thought there was something wrong. Lol!

 

[DenverDucky]

Unless she seems like she's doing it out of discomfort or pain, I wouldn't worry. Does she make noise while she does it? Mine quacks when she does it which makes me think she's just excited

 

[desertdarlene]

That's the flirting head bob. They do it to males that they've "chosen" to be mated with. If she's doing it to you, she's saying that she thinks you're her mate. Is she an only duck?

 

[PoultryGirly]

I used to have 3 mallards; her and her 2 "brothers". I had to get rid of the 2 males because they were aggressive to my other 2 ducks; a pair of call ducks. Now I have her and the pair of calls. She seems to have gotten used to being away from her brothers. When she bobs her head, she makes a cooing-quack sound.

 

[Quack Addict]

Our Pekins do this when they are feelin "frisky". Get that gal a drake.

 

[PoultryGirly]

She has a drake. It's a call duck or a BEI. Don't know which one.

 

[countrygirl74]

My female Rouen and my two female Pekins also do the head-bobbing quacking thing. They do it anytime they see me coming with food or treats, or when it's time to get out of the pen and do some free ranging. I always figured they were just showing their excitement. I also have a Rouen drake with them that joins in the quacking but the girls are the ones that do most of the head bobbing to the side.

Maybe this thread could be continued for people to share about all kinds of duck behavior questions???

For instance, my silly Pekin girl "Yangtze" has started doing this thing when I let her into her pool where she flattens herself out onto the water and just lays very still. Her neck and beak are flat on the water and she just floats like that for a bit. It's the funniest thing... at first I thought she was doing it because she saw a hawk above but she does it often and there is never anything around. Anyone else's ducks do that? Do you know why?