Duck attack!!

[Amykins]

Yesterday I had my best friend over, something I haven't done in a while because of our conflicting schedules. When she bent down to say hi to Wobbles, she outright ATTACKED her! She's never shown aggression to any human being in her life, not once, not even with total strangers. But multiple times she put her head down, hissed, and charged! She even got a good nip on her ankle. It's just so bizarre. Wobbles has seen Fiona before, albeit a month or so ago. She was totally fine then. What the heck happened?

 

[Twistedfeather]

What breed of duck do you have? Sometimes the duck can feel threatened or hormonal.

 

[Amykins]

She's a call duck, about 3.5 months old.

 

[dotporter]

Yesterday I had my best friend over, something I haven't done in a while because of our conflicting schedules. When she bent down to say hi to Wobbles, she outright ATTACKED her! She's never shown aggression to any human being in her life, not once, not even with total strangers. But multiple times she put her head down, hissed, and charged! She even got a good nip on her ankle. It's just so bizarre. Wobbles has seen Fiona before, albeit a month or so ago. She was totally fine then. What the heck happened?

Hi Amykins,
I think the answer might be in your description. Your duck lowers her head to show aggression, therefor someone bending down (and lowering their head in the process) would likely be saying "I'm going to attack you" in duck body language. From personal experience, when I'm dealing with the ducks and bend at the waist they tend to get panicky and difficult to catch. If I bend at the knees into a duck crouch, it's far easier to just reach over and pick them up. So, I'm going to bet that your friend accidentally said something rude in Duck.

 

[Amykins]

Well, she was crouching, I think she may have even been in the process of sitting down on the floor. Not sure, I just remember the multiple attacks. IT's just so odd though, since she adores people, nibbling and "grooming" their hands and faces. She even practically fell in love with the plumber I had in my house yesterday, following him around like a puppy dog! It's as if her affections are totally arbitrary and fickle.

Guys, I don't think I have a pet duck. I have a feathered cat.

 

[dotporter]

rofl, lovely. Cats are bad enough WITHOUT feathers. Well, if it wasn't body language or eye contact, then I guess twisted is probably onto something with the hormonal thing. Nothing like a teenaged cat with feathers.

 

[Amykins]

You may be right. And if that's the case, I sure hope it's temporary. :/

 

[Jessica89]

Awww.. it's not nice when that happens!
Maybe she was feeling a bit grouchy.
Sybil did it to me once and it was so out of character!
She hasn't done it since , thankfully.

 

[Amykins]

That's the odd thing though, she was sweet as sugar to me and my husband. But sure enough, when I picked her up and held her to Fiona she started going bonkers! What on earth would set her off against one single person and no one else?

 

[smonkeySK]

Perhaps the clothes she was wearing, maybe even the perfume she had on.
Most out of character aggression is hormonal and usually followed by the patter of tiny feet.
But I know my ducks are much slower to trust me when I'm in my bike leathers; sometimes even fleeing where they would normally follow. I don't doubt that it could show as aggression if it were anyone but me or the missus...

Also my mother has a tendency to be too rough when giving them affection (she's a chicken lady at heart! )- the ducks will peck at her hand and then scarper whenever she tries to fuss them these days.

At least she's still sweet on you and your family