Do ducks have pecking order?

[Miss Lydia]

Your female needs and break from all males, the males have hurt and killed females.

 

[noodledoodle]

usually the male bites on the females neck, but i’m honestly not sure if they have a pecking order i was actually just researching the same thing bc i introduced my 11 younger ducks into the pen today and this morning the 6 older ones were running up and nipping at the others and running them off when they younger ones would try to come around them but now all is well with the ducks and their just doing their own things now. so i feel like their must be some sort of one.

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

Ducks absolutely have a hierarchy - one of our females (Alpha ironically) is In Charge !

 

[KaleIAm]

Ducks absolutely have a hierarchy - one of our females (Alpha ironically) is In Charge !

Same with my ducks. There is a very clear hierarchy. One is in charge. She bosses around everyone. Then there is a number two. And a number three. Number two can boss around number three but not number one!! They all love each other, but have their social expectations.

 

[3bird]

As others have said, there is a "pecking order," and you likely have too many drakes. I'll simply add to keep in mind that the pecking order can (and probably will) change. We see it changing with something as simple as molting but also for other reasons (e.g., if you need to remove a duck from the flock and then reintroduce). We find it imperative to have a way to segment the ducks in various groups while keeping them together. I disagree with an earlier poster who said they won't hurt each other--they absolutely can, and separation may be essential for the duck's safety/survival.