Duck Discipline?

[raccoonroom]

Any time she pecks you just pin her head to the ground untill she submits. You have to do it every time though until she stops. This works well for my drakes. They learn after 3 or 4 times. After the first pin they will come up from behind and peck you once and run off, you have to chase and pin or they see it as a victory.

Okay. I tried holding her bill and firmly saying "NO" and she didn't care. Seriously. She just waited till I let her go and then did it again about five minutes later Ugghhh if I didn't love her I would implement Operation: Orange Duckling and eat her to show her who's boss

I will start pinning her down until she stops struggling. Should I grab her bill too?

 

[raccoonroom]

I have a very friendly, mouthy drakelet (that i inaccurately sexed early on!) that’s becoming a problem in much the same way now. He’s about 4 months old. He also bites and pinches HARD, especially my feet. He’s not trying to breed with my feet, lol, although some will try that, but he’s definitely dominant. What I found works well for him, since he’s being a jerk and is persistent, is any time he’s rude I “peck” him with my finger on his shoulder, much like another duck would. If he persists, he gets pinned with one hand or a knee (gently!) and “pecked” with the other hand for a bit until he stops struggling and sits quietly. When I let him up he always goes a little ways away and preens much like a cat that falls off a counter and goes “well I meant to do that.” Lol. I don’t feed him by hand anymore and he’s definitely improving. It just takes time and patience. not sure if it’ll be different for dizzy as she is female, but typical drake behaviour over here. Now for the most part, if I peck him, he’ll stop and take a few steps away. This hasn’t made him scared or resentful in the slightest, he’s just gaining some respect. Progress!

I love this

Dizzy also does that preening thing after I let her go. Like she's trying to get the boss mom scent off of her. And I agree this isn't mating behavior, especially since Dizzy is female, but the dominant behavior makes sense.

I didn't even have this much trouble training my rottweiler! And he was nicknamed Jaws as a puppy!

 

[Ratchnick]

You have to hold her head down until she stops struggling. And when you start to let go if she is struggling hold more that's how i do it with my drakes

 

[raccoonroom]

You have to hold her head down until she stops struggling. And when you start to let go if she is struggling hold more that's how i do it with my drakes

Thank you so much for your advice. I've begun holding her body and bill down when she bites.

I don't want to be too aggressive because she's only four weeks old, but I've pinned her about five times now and she will still bite. It's definitely less often, but she still does it.

My ten year old son is just as in love with the ducks as I am and he loves handling them. The only duckling against this is, you guessed it, Dizzy. Even though I've pinned her several times, she still tries to bite my son.

Should he pin her when she bites him or should I? The last time she did it I was the one pin her, but I've been wondering if that's the right thing to do since Dizzy thinks humans are just part of the flock?

If I'm the one the discipline Dizzy, will she respect my son or should he also pin her (of course with supervision, I don't leave my kids alone with the ducks).

 

[Ratchnick]

If your son can pin her that is ideal.

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

We go for the hard tap on the bill like you would with a dog on the nose - its worked so far !

Lovely looking ducks too