Duckling "fighting" with his reflection

[oshcosh]

I have a very playful little mallard that we rescued who I assume to be a little over a week old. As he's growing like a weed, we moved him out of his cardboard brooder and into a much more spacious Rubbermaid. As soon as he was in his new brooder he noticed his reflection (which I thought he would like since his sibling passed the day after we rescued them, and knowing lonely ducks often make friends with the "duck in the mirror") and started pecking at it obsessively and chasing it back and forth...

My question is will he get used to seeing himself and calm down or do I need to switch him back to his cardboard brooder before he beats himself up? I have fallen in love with my little guy and even though I want him to have the extra space during the evenings when I can't let him follow me around the house, I most definitely don't want him to hurt himself. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[Amiga]

Wow, I don't know what to suggest! Does he have a stuffed toy with no parts he can pull off and swallow? Does he have food with water 24/7? Just wondering if he is getting hungry and cranky. Temperature okay in the brooder?

 

[oshcosh]

Yes, he has all of that stuff. I looked for hours to see if anyone else had a similar problem to no avail. The only thing I could think of was that he is become very accustomed to being out and held when he can see us in the room and his new brooder is transparent and perhaps he got upset that he could see us and not physically be on the couch too. I ended up making a cardboard blinder along the inside edges and he settled right down. Not sure if it was the reflection or lack of being out though.