Ducks Drowning Eachother?

[antirice]

Anyone else have this problem:

They ONLY do this when the water in the pool is fresh. (They free-roam 14+ hours a day and never exhibit this behavior unless it's in a freshly filled pool.) Once it's full, I walk away with the hose and all 5 rush over to drink/get in. Once they start getting in it seems like one of the brown ones will get on the back of one of the other brown ones and try to drown her. This usually only lasts for a minute or two but, once the duck on bottom is let up, the other two brown ones will also pick at her feathers. The duck being harassed holds her wings a little differently as to allow the aggressors to do this easier. I'm wondering if this is just normal behavior and they're establishing an Alpha? Of the 5 ducks, there's only two that are ever the aggressors, and they're both Golden Layers. It seems like the runners are never involved one way or the other, but they've always been pretty chill and usually hang in the back anyway, so maybe they're not a threat to the Alpha?

I just want to make sure this isn't behavior I need to address and that the duck on bottom isn't actually being injured.

Thanks
- Chris

 

[Mama Runner]

They are mating. I freaked out the first time I saw this.

 

[antirice]

They are mating. I freaked out the first time I saw this.

They're all female...

 

[Mama Runner]

LOL I have no idea then. It looks exactly like my pool in the morning but it's my boys acting like teenages with the girls.

 

[gal5150]

They're all female...

Females will mount each other just as a male and female will. My girls do this with every pool change as well. It's completely normal and sort of deciding the daily pecking order.

 

[antirice]

LOL I have no idea then. It looks exactly like my pool in the morning but it's my boys acting like teenages with the girls.

I kinda figured it was a dominance thing, like how one male dog will hump another in order to show who's boss. The duck on bottom doesn't holler like she's being injured

 

[antirice]

Females will mount each other just as a male and female will. My girls do this with every pool change as well. It's completely normal and sort of deciding the daily pecking order.

Thanks! That's more or less what I figured it'd be. This is my first go-around with ducks and I wanted to make sure rather than to assume. Seemed odd to me that it ONLY happens when there's a fresh water change. I wondered if it was because (in part, anyway) of the size of the pool. We're building an enclosed run and the pool in that will be at least twice the size.

 

[Mama Runner]

Mine are like that's well. I will try and take some pictures tomorrow morning. If it ever gets out of hand I will and do break it up

 

[chickens really]

Ducks are very sexual...Its normal behaviour....Hens mount Hens...My little Call Drake mounts my Old 15 year old Dog too.....lol.....

 

[Poultrylord]

Definitely wrestling or mating!