HELP! Biting Ducks!

[Aussie Pies]

Help! My 3-4 week old duck is biting me!!!
I bought a pekin and khaki campbell as day old ducklings. Ive been raising them like dogs and as a result they are very friendly. The pekin duck has always nibbled at me since day one. But Lately, she will bite so hard, she will refuse to stop and will draw blood! The other duck does not bite me and never has. The pekin follows me around and loves to be around me. She cant get enough pats and cuddles. So why is she biting me?! And how can i stop it!?

 

[GitaBooks]

She might be in a teen biting phase, or she might actually be a he. Drakes can get nippy, even if they are given the best of care, just because they are naturally territorial and more aggressive. I hear they can be more aggressive towards women then men also.

As for how to train them, I'm not sure. I don't keep ducks (yet).

Best of luck!

 

[Aussie Pies]

Thanks for replying. He/she better grow out of this 'biting phase' soon! I'm trying different methods to train him/her but so far it's not working!

 

[lynss94]

Help! My 3-4 week old duck is biting me!!!
I bought a pekin and khaki campbell as day old ducklings. Ive been raising them like dogs and as a result they are very friendly. The pekin duck has always nibbled at me since day one. But Lately, she will bite so hard, she will refuse to stop and will draw blood! The other duck does not bite me and never has. The pekin follows me around and loves to be around me. She cant get enough pats and cuddles. So why is she biting me?! And how can i stop it!?

I too have a Khaki Campbell and Pekin duo. Both are ducks and the Khaki is way more gentle than the Pekin. I can love on the Khaki and she won't do a thing but the Pekin is a bit nippy. They both follow me around like I'm still their ducky mother. My Pekin has never drawn blood but she'll pinch the snot out of you. I take her bill and I will softly pop it like I'm scolding a young child. I will also tell her no at the same time. She will actually stop. I do not know if you have tried this method but it seems to work for me.

Good luck!

 

[jducour]

I agree, tap her on the bill and say no! They can be trained, most of the time. I have a KC drake named GingerSnap, I named him that because from the time he was a day old, he bit everything that moved. I always tapped his bill and said no! every time he nipped, and if he continued, I would set him down in his brooder and walk away. He has never nipped me or any of my kids since he was about a month old. He is the sweetest duck, and still has a bit of a temper, but he hasn't ever bitten anyone, not even a nip. Another good thing to do is diversion. She obviously likes to chew on things. It is just part of her personality. Give her things to chew on! I would hang dangling things for them to nibble on. Like some thin rope, or plastic boondoggle material. I would leave it in for about an hour a day. And he would go nuts over it. Give her a snack that she has to work at to eat. A tight head of cabbage, watermelon still in the shell, etc. give her something positive to nibble on to get it out of her system. You can also freeze shredded veggies in layers in ice, one layer ate a time, so as it thaws, she has fresh yummies to nibble on. Good luck! Keep giving her all of your love and attention, and I'm sure you'll get through this with a happy, friendly duck.

 

[Amykins]

I'm still having trouble with Bean. Thing is, beak tapping is having the opposite effect. She's just plain horrified of hands and will go out of her way to attack and bite them! And worse, ever since she came out of boarding for the week I was in CA, she hates faces, too. I dunno, maybe she was just uber-kissed by the staff (and cal ya blame 'em?) and decided she'd had enough.

I'm trying to retrain her through positive reinforcement, but that doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere, either! What the heck am I supposed to do stop this girl from biting me??

 

[Muscovynmore]

Here's a link to a post where I gave my (lengthy) advice on the subject: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/991458/muscovy-biting. But, um, let me say that telling ducks no is not something they'll understand. They don't speak English. They do speak duck.

I've had little terrors before, and believe me, they can be taught not to bite humans.

 

[Amykins]

Here's a link to a post where I gave my (lengthy) advice on the subject: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/991458/muscovy-biting. But, um, let me say that telling ducks no is not something they'll understand. They don't speak English. They do speak duck.

I've had little terrors before, and believe me, they can be taught not to bite humans.

Wobbles actually DOES understand "no", hehe! He also knows his name, "peas", and "jump".

Thanks for the thread though, I'm reading it now. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I have calls; try as they might, they're so teeny that the worst they can do is give me a slight pinch!

 

[Muscovynmore]

Wobbles actually DOES understand "no", hehe! He also knows his name, "peas", and "jump".

Thanks for the thread though, I'm reading it now. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I have calls; try as they might, they're so teeny that the worst they can do is give me a slight pinch!

Heh, that reminds me of our goats. They all know their name . . . and that just means they can be disobedient more effectively.