Ducky Planking?

[KrazyKZ08]

I have a 5 month old female pekin duck. i know shes getting close to that age where she'll start laying eggs, but i'm not sure exactly when that will be. I take her to the park to swim in the lake, but there is an abandoned male duck there who is very interested in her. the first few times i saw him trying to approach her i scared him off because i wasnt sure what he would do if he got close enough, but the past few times ive let them get close after i realized he's not a threat. he was friendly and was really only trying to get her attention but she wasnt interested. he also started doing this weird sneezing gesture but still remained harmless and she didnt react at all. she has been acting strange though, because the next day while she was swimming in the pool at home she started laying flat along the surface of the water and it was really strange....so i guess my question is, does anyone know if there is any way to tell when your duck is reaching that kind of maturity?

it looks like shes planking...she's a strange duck lol

the weird one with the poof on his head is her friend from the park. he looks like hes part mallard with the shape of the bill and the pattern around his neck. hes definitely a male

 

[duckyfromoz]

How gorgeous!!! Ducks really do have the most incredible personalities. She is displaying mating behavior when she flattens out like that- so watch that fellow at the park... if you dont want to end up with fertile eggs.

 

[AdamD77]

Yep, advertising for a male to hop on

 

[desertdarlene]

I don't know where you live,but we have a crested male duck like that at our lake, too. I think he has a larger crest, though, but the same coloration.

It does look like your girl wants a mate when she does that.

 

[LemonDoodles]

That is so cute. She looks like she's making a heart shape!

 

[sourland]

She is absolutely lookin' for some lovin'.

 

[Funsizeracing]

How does taking her to the lake work for you? It doesn't look in the picture like you keep her on a harness or anything. You haven't had any problems with catching her or her swimming off?

 

[KrazyKZ08]

LOL wow i was so worried that there might have been something wrong with her!! i considered that a possibility too but oddly she only did that at home while the other duck wasn't around so i thought maybe it was something else. She stays really close to me in the lake, so the male duck would have a hard time trying to pull that off anyway

lol.

I take her to a local park with 2 lakes made so people can go swimming in them, so I can go out in the water with her. The male duck swims out to us all excited each time he sees her out there and he gets really close, but hes still really skittish if i start approaching him. i dont use a harness or anything, but i would like to get her an ID anklet in case someone thinks im stealing her lol. it works out really well because she still follows me everywhere. it was also really cute because when i started letting him get close she was hiding behind me like a shy little girl. sometimes like a real kid, when its time to go she wants to stay in the water, but only because she's having too much fun. once she realizes i'm serious about getting out of the water she'll run over to me, especially when the drake is there she runs over like "mommy don't leave me alone with him!!" lol.

I feel bad for him because when he got out of the water, i saw the webbings on his feet were mutilated! i found out why the other day too, because we were surrounded by like a dozen florida soft-shell turtles! it was so scary because i would see them come up underneath her through the murky water like sharks and try to pick at her feet T_T one even bit my toe really hard. i hate those things!! and i never had a problem with them before, but maybe it was just the time of day.

the male duck does have a pretty big poof on his head, and until he got close enough, i thought he was just really dirty lol. the park i take her to is in central florida but its not close to any houses if that helps any

 

[FenDruadin]

Aww. Poor guy! He's so lonely. Can you take him home with you? Seriously, abandoned ducks have a very hard life, and he doesn't even have companions. Your girl would be SO happy to have him, OBVIOUSLY, rofl.

Yah. That's mating behavior.

 

[b.hromada]

Quote:
You know, that would be my question. You're so lucky you don't have a problem with catching her. She is beautiful, by the way.

Yep, she wants a boyfriend.

Oh, hes a handsome fellow too.