Biggest duckling eating ALOT... and so fast that he chokes a bit... is this ok?

[TracyLovesDucks]

I would try it for a day and see what happens. Ducks are more sophisticated in their neurological wiring than I used to think.

Certainly. I'll let you know. Thanks Amiga!

(It does seem most of their behavior is very intentional and "thought out," for lack of a better description.)

 

[Amiga]

Certainly. I'll let you know. Thanks Amiga!

(It does seem most of their behavior is very intentional and "thought out," for lack of a better description.)

I think I know what you mean. In duck terms, they know what they are doing. It makes sense. Just sometimes it is over my head

 

[Buck Oakes]

Yes, very insightful, thank you. This is not good. I was planning on eventually separating the two boys from the two girls anyways (I don't think it will be a good ratio when they become sexually mature) while we raise more females to join them all. Will this separation help him take it easier on himself? Most likely I'll just split their barn in to two areas (each with their own water and food) with some light-weight fencing/caging. If it will help him, I'll expedite getting that fence in. So do you think it will?

Do you have any other suggestions for helping this guy relax and stay healthy?

Yes that will help a lot

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Just a quick update - I moved the water closer to the food and... INCREASED mess, DECREASED gorging.
Great! I'm keeping an eye on him to make sure I don't need to take an extra measures.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Hi everyone, I wanted to give another update with more hindsight.

Pretty much every one of my ducklings went through a phase of shoveling in so much food that they choked a bit. The behavior seemed to correlate with individual growth spurts. I don't think it had anything to do with asserting dominance or being aggressive. Still, keeping the water and food close together discouraged pigging out.

Now that they are grown, the two females like to talk with their mouths full. They are very passionate eaters. Because of this they sometimes get choked up a bit for a minute or so, sometimes they cough (the males, too actually). It doesn't seem to be causing any problems, and they are getting better at eating in general. They always have food available, so it's not like they are starving and then suddenly get food. They are eating crumbles, but I hesitate to switch to pellets because we have a group of younger ducklings as well. Who knows?

 

[Amiga]

I was so nervous going from crumbles to pellets. I watched them quite intensely while they ate their first pellets. Ready to do duckie Heimlich.