Bully Khaki Drake – What Can I Do???

[Duckman 17]

I recently had the rapport of my small backyard flock change when a predator took my 2 favorite ducks. We were on vacation with a young family member watching the house. Not sure what happened, but the result was the loss of Katy the Buff duck and our Khaki hen.

Ever since then, the dominant Khaki drake has become aggressive towards the others in the free ranging flock, especially the 6-week old goose and 4-week old Cayuga. If fact, he has stripped off most of the feathers from the back of the Cayuga’s neck and many from the lower back. The goose also has some bald spots on her neck. Since the goose has grown so much larger than the Khaki she is not picked on near as much, but it has gotten very bad for the young Cayuga. The last couple of weeks, she barely leaves the confines of the duck house and spends most of her days huddled in a corner waiting for her next flogging.

I have struggled on what to do and the natural reaction to chase his bully butt when he starts an attack on the youngsters has not changed his behavior in anyway.

So…. Here is my new plan. Please let me know if anyone has tried this method and if it has any chance of working.

I have quarantined the drake by himself in his own free range habitat. He spends his days roaming a large 20x30 foot pen eating bugs and always looking for a way to get out. My idea is to keep him there a few weeks and hopefully by then the dynamics of the flock will have changed. Then this bully drake will be the newcomer and hopefully be so busy trying to become re-accepted himself, that he will leave the young duck & goose alone. Then they will all be one big happy family again.

Is this a fantasy….please advise and/or suggest an alternative.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wifezilla]

It's possible it will work, but he needs some girl friends ASAP.

 

[headred]

I have a rouen that has just become more aggressive (he's 4 months old). I have 5 hens, so seems he has plenty of variety to chase around. I don't like seeing the mating process, but I guess that's nature. I do think it makes a huge difference to have a good amount of girlfriends, as wifezilla said!

 

[wombat]

Not sure if this would work with a duck, but it can work with chickens/roos, so it might be worth a try ...

Hobble him with cord (not too tight!) so he can waddle around, but with some difficuty. Supervise, so the others don't make too much of his plight ... just enough to humble him.

Might reset his ideas about agression.

 

[TK Poultry]

i had an ancona drake like that and he calmed down when i split him up with just one or two hens but other than that it was bad he striped all the feathers off my muscovy drakes and i was really scared that he would do the same with the ducklings so i just got rid of him and his mate i couldnt do anything with him and he did that with my geese too and the geese were real bullys i couldnt do anything with him

 

[revlistless]

I too have a troublesome drake. Spot is a 5 month old Rouen, and he has been aggressively isolating one of the Cayuga males (Curley). I have chased Spot when he does this. I have chased him 1/2 an acre away form the other ten ducks. He still beats up on Curly. My wife and I have been picking him up and flipping him on his back. (this sometimes works with Parrots i'm told) We (my wife) have isolated Spot in the house. (yes our house) I have yet to find something that works. Infact...he seems to like the attention.

Duckman keep us up to date on your efforts, because Spot is about to be invited to dinner!

 

[Dances with Ducks]

If the only other "peeps" in your flock are a goose and the young Cayuga I think you will see much of the same behavior when he is reintroduced. Is the Cayuga a male or female? You need to have a male/female ratio of at least three females for a drake or you will probably have problems. Drakes are not known to be kind to ducks that are less than full grown, so in order to lessen his period of confinement try to find him full grown females.

 

[b.hromada]

I have a drake crested?? Something or other, not sure of his breed. Well, he does the same thing to my female Pekin AND to my hens, especially my Columbian Wyandotte!!

I want to ring his neck! What are their problems? I have to keep him out of the pen with the Pekin and my girls, because he is just so incessant about his "attacks". I was seriously thinking of getting a couple more females, but they are so much noiser! At least our city ALLOWS my ducks. Go figure.

 

[dixygirl]

Gosh I guess I feel lucky I have only female ducks currently. They are so well behaved. The male chickens are the hell raisers that attack everyone and cause chaos. So apparently the male ducks are no better

And to think I am trying to get a drake. Maybe you will have to consider getting rid of him and trying to get a new one if you can't humble him. He might be permanently traumatized by whatever happened to the others.

Good luck with him.

 

[Wifezilla]

What are their problems?

Hormonal derangement​