Ducks acting INSANE! Help!

[bonnierae]

Okay, so about a week ago i went to collect eggs from our duck house and all of the sudden our sweet litte runner ATTACKS me. Like straight up beating me with her wings and biting! I see shes built a nice nest and has 4 eggs already. Okay? so shes gone broody over night? Neat. NOW our black sweeds and walking around like they need to take a giant dump (which they dont, they crap constantly) and any time i get with in 15 feet of them they act like im coming murder them. Squaking like thevye never squaked before, puffing up, all of it. On top of that our pekin drake is trying to chase me every time i walk past him now too. Are these idiots possesed? They used to sit on my lap, now they're acting like feral cats. Help

 

[sourland]

Nope, not like feral cats - like broody ducks and a protective drake. Just ducks being ducks. The behavior of the hens that you describe is normal for broody ducks.

 

[dotknott]

Broody is as broody does.

Take away the eggs and nest and they'll get back to normal in a few days. Unless you want this for the next month +.

 

[I Love Layers]

Broody ducks. Mine were never this bad though

 

[bonnierae]

Is it normal for all of your ducks to go broody at once? We've talked about incubating some eggs for a while and this would be cheaper than buying an incubator... But MY GOD these ducks are ornery. Thanks, yall!

 

[I Love Layers]

Is it normal for all of your ducks to go broody at once? We've talked about incubating some eggs for a while and this would be cheaper than buying an incubator... But MY GOD these ducks are ornery. Thanks, yall!

My 2 black Swedish and Rouen all went broody at the same time last year, the pekin and 2 runners went broody a month after the others

 

[cayugaducklady]

Is it normal for all of your ducks to go broody at once? We've talked about incubating some eggs for a while and this would be cheaper than buying an incubator... But MY GOD these ducks are ornery. Thanks, yall!

My 3 Cayuga hens went broody at about the same time. One started then a few days later the second started and then a few days later the third started. The first hen to go broody was the "worst". She never became as aggressive towards me. The other two either contributed by plucking their feathers for the nest or being a nest buddy. The nest buddy wasn't allowed to actually sit on eggs. Broody #1 made that her job.

I gathered eggs every day twice day... whatever was laid by early AM when i do those chores and then again whatever was there after I got home from work. This went one for over a month until one day broody #1 just wasn't quacking/puffing up at me. This lasted for a couple weeks and now it's starting again. Except broody #2 is now the complaining "aggressive" one.

I'm completely changing out their nest bedding this weekend in the hopes that it halts this second round of broody behavior.