Big Bully

[jdywntr]

I have to disagree with the advice to seperate him and get him some girls. You would be opening a whole other can of worms unless you are able to keep them very far apart. Putting females into the mix could cause all of your drakes to start fighting, again, unless you are able to keep them far apart. You could try seperating them into pairs and see if that works. Your best option may be to rehome him. If that is what you decide, be honest about his behavior to whoever takes him. It would be unfair to a new owner to "discover" he has a mean streak.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[davekayse62]

Thank you all for the advise. Were going to see how they do this week and if Ex is still at it we will put him up for adoption.
Yesterday Rubber finally stood his ground and fought Ex back, but then it turned into a huge fight...everyone got involved. We stood back and let them go at, I figured they just needed to hash things out and show eachother who is boss. We broke things up a few times but after their brawl, they cleaned themselves and then they went down for a nap. LOL No more fights after that! Ex didnt even chase Rubber the whole night.

 

[davekayse62]

Bad news.... Rubby has been inside with us for the past few days due to a cut on his foot, the Dr. today gave the ok to let him back outside..... it was horrible!!! I let him out of the pet carrier as soon as we got back, he ran over to his brothers and they all ganged up on him..... it was sad to watch. We broke it up a bunch of times & then just let them go at it for a bit. We tried to just put Ex in the pen and leave the rest of the boys out but the other two bullied up on Rubby... in the end we finally decide to bring Rubby back inside. Brought me to tears.

What breaks my heart even more is that we might have to give Rubby up since the other two have now rejected him.
Im so heart broken... is this the right thing to do?!??

 

[jdywntr]

Removing a bird from the flock and then reintroducing it can cause fighting. You had to remove him so his foot would heal but now he needs to be reintroduced to the others slowly. Flock dynamics may have changed since you took Rubber inside, now returning him is shaking things up. If you are able to put him in an area next to the others where they can see each other but not touch would be best. Even if he is in a large crate or carrier, preferably wire not plastic.

It is hard with many birds, we expect them to just act like we would and say "oh I've missed you, welcome back". Unfortunately, they don't do that.

 

[davekayse62]

Thank you.
This morning we let Rubby out in the yard while the others were still in the pen. He stayed close to them and they were just quackin back and forth. After I get home from work today im going to do the same, then maybe after a few hours ill let the others out and see how it goes. I wish i thought of this stuff earlier.... poor Rubby is just havin a rough week. ( & us too )

Thanks for helping us "new parents" through this!