Fighting ducks

[Debby Duck]

Hi fellow duck keepers,
We have 4 drakes that were raised together, and are 10 months old. About 2 months ago one of them started terrorizing this other certain one. A few times he got a couple of the others to all pile on in the lake, which makes me nervous he'll get drowned.
But most of the attacks come in the evening after they get in the coop. Now and then he might have a quick spat with another duck, or they have little ones on their own. But the duck of concern, Princie, really seems to target Bluetooth, and it's relentless. I didn't think they would be going through a pecking order at this point and the attack is so vicious is bothers me. I'm adding a video from the other night. You'll see a quick nip in the beginning with another duck but the real fight is still to come with the other one. I've pulled him off when I see it. Will I eventually have any luck giving him time out or something to put an end to this.

Thanks for hanging in and reading this.

Deborah

 

[fatty and friends]

the first spring is the worst, you may need to seperate them into pairs (so they can still see each other but not attack) and then once mating season is over they’ll be better

if you don’t have females it will end soon

 

[sourland]

I think what you are seeing is misdirected mating behavior. The most vulnerable is being attacked, and with crested birds there is a real possibility of injury. It may get worse before it gets better, and separation may become necessary. Drakes are hormonally driven, and it's that time of year when testosterone levels rise. Good luck.

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm sorry you are having troubles with your drakes. I remember when they were little ducklings.

I don't keep drakes, but I read a lot on here and fighting seems to be pretty common. Since they are individuals it is impossible to predict how they will react. A lot of BYC members have had success with the"look but no touch" method to keep everyone safe.

 

[Debby Duck]

Thank you. That's good news it'll end after the season. I felt so bad last night I had to break them up again. I carried Princie (the aggressor) into the shower and closed him in for a short time. Not with it on, or was just the only place I could take him that was easy to clean afterwards. Yuck. I could feel his little heart pounding though. He is must have been scared to death.

So duck dad is already making a divider to put in. A much better plan than the shower was. Thanks!

 

[Debby Duck]

I'm sorry you are having troubles with your drakes. I remember when they were little ducklings.

I don't keep drakes, but I read a lot on here and fighting seems to be pretty common. Since they are individuals it is impossible to predict how they will react. A lot of BYC members have had success with the"look but no touch" method to keep everyone safe.

Hi there,
Yep, the look don't touch is a much better plan than the one I came up with. That story is below.
How are your girls? I hope they're healthy and don't have as many trips to the vet. But also just so they're not having problems.
My drakes think they own the pond here and half the land around it now! I don't know what they'll do of some duck they're chasing ever turns around and stops running

 

[KaleIAm]

Hi there,
Yep, the look don't touch is a much better plan than the one I came up with. That story is below.
How are your girls? I hope they're healthy and don't have as many trips to the vet. But also just so they're not having problems.
My drakes think they own the pond here and half the land around it now! I don't know what they'll do of some duck they're chasing ever turns around and stops running

Unfortunately I continue to have my share (maybe more than my share?) of duck/vet drama. It feels never ending.

At least the shower was an easy to clean time out. Ducks are so charming, but quite naughty and exasperating at times.

 

[LT71689]

Is this pen/dog crate their "coop"? If so you might just not have enough space. You'd want a minimum of 4sqft per bird, and it looks like you might just barely make that. With drakes and it being their first mating season I'd go for more. The one getting picked on has no where to *go* when the aggressor starts up, he tries squeezing in with the other two and understandably they might get annoyed with that and join in.

 

[fatty and friends]

this is my “coop” setup for 2 drakes (my other drake and 2 hens sleep seperate) so maybe something like this but double the space for double the drakes would work? if they are sleeping outdoors just add a roof and a lock too for safety

 

[Debby Duck]

Is this pen/dog crate their "coop"? If so you might just not have enough space. You'd want a minimum of 4sqft per bird, and it looks like you might just barely make that. With drakes and it being their first mating season I'd go for more. The one getting picked on has no where to *go* when the aggressor starts up, he tries squeezing in with the other two and understandably they might get annoyed with that and join in.

Is this pen/dog crate their "coop"? If so you might just not have enough space. You'd want a minimum of 4sqft per bird, and it looks like you might just barely make that. With drakes and it being their first mating season I'd go for more. The one getting picked on has no where to *go* when the aggressor starts up, he tries squeezing in with the other two and understandably they might get annoyed with that and join in.

Yes this is their coop. But it's as big as we could possibly have it given our situation. It actually is about twice the size that yours appears, maybe a little more. But we don't have space for a bigger one or two. Plus we figured they only go in at night. And they always got along. So we were surprised when this happened, especially after we did already re-home our 2 girls.
But last night was better. Maybe it was the scary time out in the shower. As soon as he started acting like he was about to get aggressive, and I started telling him to stop he did. And we were ready with a divider if we had to use it. I'll put a picture below. It wasn't needed though. A lot of the anxiety comes in the early evening when a couple of wild mottled ducks come up in the yard to eat after they are in the coop. None of them are happy about that situation. But the others don't do to each other what the fighting one does. 2 of them might nip or bite a little. Mostly because one wants to always pace back and forth while the visitors are there, and another insists on preening right up front and won't move out of the way!
And you know ducks. Heaven forbid, they should go around each other. No, they have to plow right through.
But you're right, there isn't any place for him to go to get away. We're just going to watch them and be ready to divide.