Bitey Drake!

[Ducksmom]

Hello everyone!
We are going trough an aggressive behavior issue with our two drakes. The KC does not allow the WH to get close of the hens now. They are 5 month and living with 8 hens! They never fight until now. I just separated the KC from the flock and see if he calms down. He’s only show aggression against the other drake. It could be their hormones kicking , but I don’t want any of them to get hurt. I found interesting how the little KC dominates the Welsh that is much bigger... and I thought a ratio of 1:4 is a good one...Did not see them mating and no eggs yet..

 

[Miss Lydia]

Separate and give each drake 4 females each. That is about the only way to keep the peace once hormones are running amuck.

 

[Ducksmom]

Separate and give each drake 4 females each. That is about the only way to keep the peace once hormones are running amuck.

Thank you for advice. I was thinking about doing that way but couldn’t figure out which hens prefer him. I may just separate them by breed so he will have 3 hens KC and 1 Swedish, while the WH will keep the 3 WH and 1 Swedish.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sounds like a good plan. Let us know how it works out. I’d say if hormones are causing fights breeding is right around the corner. Those boys can be a handful.

 

[OnTheLabelLabel]

We are happy to put in the work to correct the behavior These will never be dinner, we couldn't bear it! I'm grateful for all the feedback, though!

 

[Runner duck mom]

I agree with @sourland and also, you might need to think about rehoming/processing him given his aggression toward you. I'd like others with actual first-hand experience to weight in on this, but one idea I had for dealing with a dominant/aggressive drake would be to establish your own dominance.

Hmm, there's actually an article that covers how to do this:

https://www.raising-ducks.com/aggressive-drakes/

Good article! Showing them who is boss has worked for us. We've had to pin down our drake quite a few times and it really does make a difference. He can have days where he's so sweet and then others where he just wants to bite and be a jerk (have had many tiny duck bruises)but we have learned to read him and know when he's in a mood...we just don't tolerate it and he backs off. Never hurt him of course.
Can't wait for spring since this will be our first year with 2 drakes...must remember patience and calm, it's not personal! Lol
You may want to seperate for a bit, they should be happy if they are seperate and can still see each other.