Hello from St. Pete, FL!

[kymlovesducks]

Hello! I have been trying to research duck behavior, as I am a newbie to all this. A flock of 7 Pekin ducks "showed up" in my neighborhood pond. (Obviously were dumped.) My neighbors and I are all glad to have them here - they are cute and fun to watch!

Except... the biggest one … the drake. There is one duck that he picks on mercilessly. The same one all the time - he chases her away from the group. He won't let her eat any treats I give them (duck feed and mealworms). He is constantly "running her off" and she seems to let him. She appears to have a deformed foot (turns inwards). As he chases her he pecks her back and even pulls feathers out! He is SO MEAN to her. I cannot bear to watch it. Lately I've been trying to get in between them when he starts that. I noticed him mounting her in the lake recently and holding her head under water so long that I just knew he was going to kill her so I threw a stick towards him (about 3 feet away). She came up gasping. I've never noticed him mounting or picking on any of the others. I'm just so upset about that poor duck being bullied. She looks awful now. Any advice or wisdom appreciated.

 

[chickenlittle21]

I recommend keeping the poor duck as a pet.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I hope that the duck peeps will be able to help.

 

[drumstick diva]

I would get rid of the offending drake but, that's just me. As far as duck behavior, drakes prefer to breed on water. It's not unusual for several to try at once and drown the female with their combined weight. Males of a species, why am I not surprised!!

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal flock!!!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. The only solution would be to remove either him or her from the flock. Personally I would have roast drake.

 

[Chullicken]

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
With her having a deformity, removing the drake may cause one of the dominant females to take his place trying to drive her off. An unhealthy prey animal in a flock of prey animals is a liability to the flock.
I would keep her as a pet.

 

[DiYMama540]

Welcome to BYC! The only thing you could do is intervene and make a place at your home for the ducks! A lot of us with bully drakes have a "Drake jail". It's a separate pen for the males that are causing hormonal chaos during mating season. Post on the duck forum and we'll talk more about it!
Thanks for joining!!