Jiminy is almost a year old. I did find that the hose works great on him but it's only practical while I've got it in my hand filling water bowls. He likes to stand in the doorways of the chicken coop and the duck coop and the gate where there is limited room to pass. Sometimes I block his bill and sometimes I just pick him up and move him. He is such a heavy boy though. I use a combination of "consequences" for biting me depending on the severity and his persistence level. Someitmes he just gets more hacked off and just keeps coming back and coming back. I use blocking when he's not biting but might have the opportunity to do so. Then I grab his bill ans maybe neck and hold them for a little bit. After that comes flattening. Then comes upside down therapy--which I hate doing but it mostly puts a halt to it unless he keeps trying to have a go at me. Then it's just more of the ole leg dangling. While I'm filling water bowls, he's always trying to sneak up on me from behind and I can see the wheels spinning in that little head and I can feel the the tension building right before he's going to go for it. Then it's the hose. Like I said, I hate to turn him upside down because I don't want to hurt him but nothing else phases him on some days.
As for the way he treats Xochitl, he usually just ignored her even though she would "make herself available" to him. But since the duckling came, he has taken Blossom's lead and goes after Xochitl. Since they are molting right now, I just thought maybe she bled a little when she lost some flight feathers. At night, I had Blossom and baby in the duck house and Jiminy and Xochitl in the chicken coop. After the baby was big enough to go out in the yard w/ Blossom, Jiminy wanted to be right with them all the time and when I put him him up at night w/ Xochitl is when I started noticing the bloody wings. After that, it was obvious to me that she was terrified of Jiminy. One evening, when I put him in the coop with her, he chased her around trying to bite her and the poor little thing was just frantic. So, Jiminy was put in the duck house w/ Blossom and the baby and everybody was happy with that arrangement. However, Xochitl wouldn't come out of the coop all day if the two of them was within her sight. She'd meander out if they were on the other side of the house but not very far.
I love Jiminy. Like you say, he's my baby. I could stick it out trying to condition him to quit biting but I don't feel I can keep him if he's aggressive to a hen. Xochitl and Blossom raised him too, on some things he takes their lead---like Blossom chasing Xochitl away from her nest or her baby. Do you think he'd behave the same way (biting the owner and hurting hens) within a new flock with several girls for him to service? My hope is that with plenty to keep him busythat his bad behavior would tone down.
The baby duck is still the same this morning. He didn't eat as much as I would have like him to. He lost interest fairly quickly--never a good sign. But he seems to be scooting around a bit more. Poor little feller. I'm going to keep trying though.
Your Opie sounds like a funny guy. I'm glad to hear from someone with their own "Jiminy" who has had success. In your opinion, do you think it's best to find him another home because of Xochitl? I really, really hate to lose him because I'm attached to him and at the same time, I'm afraid to think of what might happen to him if he causes the same problems for someone else. They probably wouldn't have the patience and willingness to work with him like I would.
What is it about biting Opie on the neck that works in getting him to stop biting. Is it like grabbing the scruff on a dog's neck? a place on their body they recognize as something their mama would do to keep them in check?
How does jimmy treat the baby duck? when my duck had her first clutch my drake was pretty laid back about the whole thing. but when another duck my drakes favorite hatched out her only duckling he was constantly trying to separate them from each other. Could all the stress have been making it so this ducklings hasn't been getting food and water like he should? I don't know if Jimmy would treat new owners the same since he won't know them like he does you. But i think the more ducks he has the better off he'll be and him going into a totally new enviroment would probably help instead of the other way around. can you try him on boiled egg yolk and warm water mashed up with some peas too? also you might try getting the nitri drench because you can give it to them straight and it works super fast. He is separated from Jimmy and mom right now right? you sound like me in all the things i have tried with OPie, I found if I would be aggressive, pushing him away and grabbing his bill it would make him worse, even the mushing him to the ground didin't work as well as the hose or biting him on the neck, lol the biting was just a last ditch effort to make him stop. I usually have him in my arms when i do this and I just come down from the top and lightly bite down. My husband thinks i am crazy. lol but it does stop his aggression. I'd try it on my gander but he's so big I don't think i could pick him up and hold his neck still long enough before he would bite me good. I usually just use a short walking stick to keep him at a distance or what ever I have in my in my hand at the time. I'll go and see if i can find some info for you about leg problems in ducklings.
