Gave the ducks a treat of frozen peas floated in the pond for Christmas morning. 5 of the 6 ducks didn't want to get in the pond for some reason (the only morning in the last 9 months they wouldn't get in the pond), so Ciscoe had a big treat all to himself.
I love my Ciscoe. He is spoiled....he also has taken to attacking me....which breaks my heart. Little jerk!
Yeah, an angel who no matter how many times I try to convince him not to attack the head duck, ignores me and does it anyway. Have blood blisters on my hands. Love the darned duck, but not sure what I am going to do with him. He's the only one who eats out of my hand, the one who immediately comes when I call or look out the window or whatever....but he's just nasty once he's in the duck house.
Quote:I have been having some problems with my soon to be 7 months old Muscovy drake, biting and acting nasty around me, but I am trying different tactics now, I have been letting him come in the house for visits a couple times a day, and when he bites hard I take hold of his bill and push him some and tell him not to bite so hard, or pick him up and bite him gently around on his neck, kinda playing with him, and when he grabs ahold of my pant leg I will run across the floor with him holding on and make a game out of it it does get his mind off of what ever he thi nks he's doing. He acts like a spoiled kid that wants all the attention. It has made me look at him in a different way as far as just thinking he is just being mean, I really think he does want attention. He isn't head duck and hasn't challenged him yet that will probably come in spring when the mating starts up.
Well, Ciscoe is the biggest drake, but he isn't head duck. Watson is. And Watson, and his best buddy, Walter, let Ciscoe know it. He gets picked on by them terribly. But, he gets a trade off, all the lady ducks LOVE Ciscoe and want nothing to do with the Khaki drakes. Maybe Ciscoe just needs somebody to push around, and I am it. I still love him. Hubby says he needs to go, but that isn't going to happen. I do 99 percent of the duck care, and if he beats on me, oh well. I may try your approach, Miss Lydia. He may just be a might spoiled and want more spoiling......hand fed. But he really doesn't like me in the drake house....husband says I should keep him away from the hens. They are separate at night, but not during day (except during breeding insanity last August/Sept). Maybe he just doesn't like it when he's separate from the girls and stuck with the other two drakes....but I have tried putting him in the house with the hens and then he bullys them. Won't let them eat, ETC.
Quote:As Miss Lydia says, try to make a game out of his biting. He is either looking for attention or demonstrating his dominance. (trying to) As he tries to bite, slip your hand around and under his beak.. palm onto his neck underside. He can;t get to you there and he will start sliding his head up your arm as you slip your hand under his beak. AT some point when you are comfortable you can lift him or hold him with the other hand and gently stroke him on his neck and belly..Whenever my drake tries to nip at me I will hold his beak closed gently, and say NO BITING and now he understands and stops. He'll nibble a little bit now, but its affection, not attacks. When you slide your hand under his neck and he can't get to you, he figures out that its a game and wants to play. I think the bites are a test. He knows who you are..he just does not know what you want. From a bird that you know well and have raised, its his instinct to test whatever enters his personal space...Drakes play a little rougher than do ducks. Just as they chatter when you get close...the next step is to take a taste and see what you want to do...to play, or to eat him. Although they can be rougher when they play, they can be just as much a baby when they feel safe & secure. Mine will relax to the point that he slips off my shoulder when we're sitting on the patio and he's climbed up there to sit with me. The more I play with mine, the more docile he becomes when I hold him. The game on the ground is almost for show...because once I pick him up, I can rub his neck and he will close his eyes and nod off... Its funny...he actually gets annoyed when he can;t find the shirt pocket...when there is'nt one. He'll squawk a bit then just hang his head and want me to scratch his beak or rub his neck...The birds hopeless.
