Juvenile muscovy Drake is aggressive. What to do?

[FowlWitch]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yotajwc8HAcMBVEe8

He beats up the female and bites if I get too close. I've been trying to gently pet his chest (mistake?) in the hopes that I can teach him that touching him won't hurt him. Will he mellow out with age? I'm thinking that he may turn out to be human aggressive, so I'm not sure what to do proceeding forward. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

 

[casportpony]

So sorry. I hate to say it, but if he is biting you now he is human aggressive and will almost certainly get worse. I have no real words of wisdom except maybe read some of the aggressive rooster articles and threads, or maybe @Shadrach can offer some advice.

 

[FowlWitch]

So sorry. I hate to say it, but if he is biting you now he is human aggressive and will almost certainly get worse. I have no real words of wisdom except maybe read some of the aggressive rooster articles and threads, or maybe @Shadrach can offer some advice.

Thank you

I wouldn't want to rehome him if he's human aggressive (I wouldn't want to be the unlucky recipient of an aggressive animal). Chances are I'll have to cull him, then. Life happens, I suppose

 

[DiYMama540]

Following this to see what our duck experts say...my drake is starting to beat up the chickens if they get too close to him (luckily they are fast learners and give him his space), so I could use the same advice! Hoping there is another solution aside from culling. Thanfully we aren't dealing with human aggression from him.

 

[FowlWitch]

Following this to see what our duck experts say...my drake is starting to beat up the chickens if they get too close to him (luckily they are fast learners and give him his space), so I could use the same advice! Hoping there is another solution aside from culling. Thanfully we aren't dealing with human aggression from him.

Yeah, I'm hoping there's a way to teach him not to bite. The only thing is that if I'm not around, he'll continue to bully my female muscovy.

 

[Shadrach]

I can't be of much help I'm afraid.
I have Muscovy ducks here. They have all been aggressive to a greater, or lesser extent.
When there have been multiple males they fought most days. The females fought as well, just not as often.
I have never tried to pet them and while they will take food from my hand, they will also peck me if they think I'm in their space or interfering in some way.
The worst peck I've had from any fowl here was from a Muscovy female who was sitting on a clutch of eggs. I was changing her drinking water and wasn't quite quick enough. Despite wearing leather gloves the peck I got for my troubles managed to draw blood through the glove.
After 6 years of caring for them I've learned very little about their social structure and flock dynamics.
They coexist with the chickens well here but are not housed together. They peck the sheep and the donkeys. They are disgustingly messy and very independent.
My policy here is to let them get on with it. I feed them, house them, keep the coops clean and tend to the injuries and on the occasions that a female flies off, I go and find her and walk her back to the rest of the group (this has meant a few kilometers of walking on some occasions)
I think like chickens they have different levels of pecking. Solomon, the main male here regularly pecks me, but it isn't hard and I wear suitable clothing for dealing with such things. I can pick one up if necessary with a minimum of drama now but it's taken a long time.

 

[FowlWitch]

I can't be of much help I'm afraid.
I have Muscovy ducks here. They have all been aggressive to a greater, or lesser extent.
When there have been multiple males they fought most days. The females fought as well, just not as often.
I have never tried to pet them and while they will take food from my hand, they will also peck me if they think I'm in their space or interfering in some way.
The worst peck I've had from any fowl here was from a Muscovy female who was sitting on a clutch of eggs. I was changing her drinking water and wasn't quite quick enough. Despite wearing leather gloves the peck I got for my troubles managed to draw blood through the glove.
After 6 years of caring for them I've learned very little about their social structure and flock dynamics.
They coexist with the chickens well here but are not housed together. They peck the sheep and the donkeys. They are disgustingly messy and very independent.
My policy here is to let them get on with it. I feed them, house them, keep the coops clean and tend to the injuries and on the occasions that a female flies off, I go and find her and walk her back to the rest of the group (this has meant a few kilometers of walking on some occasions)
I think like chickens they have different levels of pecking. Solomon, the main male here regularly pecks me, but it isn't hard and I wear suitable clothing for dealing with such things. I can pick one up if necessary with a minimum of drama now but it's taken a long time.

That's good information, thank you!

I thought it over and I think I'm going to give him some time and see how he acts towards me when Spring comes. They're getting their own coop soon, so I won't have to worry about the chickens.

So far, Tomo (the Drake) only gives me grief if I approach him, so I think, as long as I give him his space, we should be fine. He actually moves away from me if I wander too close, and only seems aggressive if he feels cornered. I also noticed that he's very protective of Yuna; I picked her up today to take a look at her wing, and he started to hiss, but didn't attack me. He only calmed down once I set her back on the ground, and then he gently nibbled her jaw (she rested her head on his back and they both started wagging their tails lol). I think they'll both be fine, and I appreciate how caring he is of Yuna despite their young ages

 

[Shadrach]

That's good information, thank you!

I thought it over and I think I'm going to give him some time and see how he acts towards me when Spring comes. They're getting their own coop soon, so I won't have to worry about the chickens.

So far, Tomo (the Drake) only gives me grief if I approach him, so I think, as long as I give him his space, we should be fine. He actually moves away from me if I wander too close, and only seems aggressive if he feels cornered. I also noticed that he's very protective of Yuna; I picked her up today to take a look at her wing, and he started to hiss, but didn't attack me. He only calmed down once I set her back on the ground, and then he gently nibbled her jaw (she rested her head on his back and they both started wagging their tails lol). I think they'll both be fine, and I appreciate how caring he is of Yuna despite their young ages

At the risk of inuring some ridicule, I'll add some observations on the Muscovies behavior here.
I've seen lots of demonstrations of what I can only describe as affectionate behavior among chickens. As you mention in your post, this type of behavior is also evident in Muscovies. What I beleive I've seen in Muscovies that I have not seen in the chickens is what I can only describe as a sense of fun, maybe even a sense of humour.
The original pair here came from a large flock. We were told they were a pair. I named them Douglas and Jenny. If you watched them, which I did often, the only fitting description for them was they were in love. Douglas, being considerably heavier and slower than Jenny could not keep up if Jenny ran. Some mornings when I let the pair out, Douglas obviously had mating on his mind and Jenny would it seemed by aware of this. Jenny would run in front of Douglas who even under full steam couldn't catch her. Jenny would run and then stop. looking over her shoulder to see how close Douglas was getting. Just as Douglas got close enough to make an optimistic dive at Jenny, she would set off again, Douglas clumsily trying to catch up. This went on until it became apparent that Douglas was getting tired. Jenny would stop then and they would mate. I've even seen Jenny go back to Douglas when he wouldn't chase her any further.
Douglas like most of the males here wasn't overly attentive to washing. We have a large old style hand washing basin set in the ground that acts as their swimming pool.
Jenny would get in the pool while Douglas hovered on the edge. Jenny would deliberately splash Douglas by flapping her wings in the water and I saw her push Douglas in a couple of times.
Jenny could fly and did frequently and has in the past covered a few kilometers. The males here have difficulty getting off the ground mostly.
The land here is on a slope, terraced in some places (It's the side of a mountain).
Jenny liked to run down the slope to the end of a section of terrace and take off as Douglas watched. She would do a small circuit around the sheep field and return to where Douglas was standing watching. Douglas would have a go and once airborne his flight path just went downhill and ended up in an ungainly landing not much more than ten meters from take off point. Jenny would have another go. Then Douglas would try again while jenny stood by the side of the runway. Poor old Douglas would half crash yet again having made zero altitude gain. I used to imagine Jenny standing on the side of the runway shouting at Douglas as he trundled by "It's flap and run you old fool, flap AND run!."
I used to sit with them some evenings watching the sunset over the ridge. They would sit very close together. Douglas would sometimes rub the underside of his beak down the back of Jenny's neck and Jenny would nibble Douglas's feet which made him hope from one foot to another.
Douglas got taken by a predator early one morning and Jenny was never quite the same. There have been other males since but those demonstrations of affection I never seen since.
My view is Muscovies make permanent relationships much like swans. I have a few examples that have lead me to believe this.
I find them interesting creatures and my impression in general is if they have company of their own kind they are not remotely interested in making bonds with humans.

 

[FowlWitch]

At the risk of inuring some ridicule, I'll add some observations on the Muscovies behavior here.
I've seen lots of demonstrations of what I can only describe as affectionate behavior among chickens. As you mention in your post, this type of behavior is also evident in Muscovies. What I beleive I've seen in Muscovies that I have not seen in the chickens is what I can only describe as a sense of fun, maybe even a sense of humour.
The original pair here came from a large flock. We were told they were a pair. I named them Douglas and Jenny. If you watched them, which I did often, the only fitting description for them was they were in love. Douglas, being considerably heavier and slower than Jenny could not keep up if Jenny ran. Some mornings when I let the pair out, Douglas obviously had mating on his mind and Jenny would it seemed by aware of this. Jenny would run in front of Douglas who even under full steam couldn't catch her. Jenny would run and then stop. looking over her shoulder to see how close Douglas was getting. Just as Douglas got close enough to make an optimistic dive at Jenny, she would set off again, Douglas clumsily trying to catch up. This went on until it became apparent that Douglas was getting tired. Jenny would stop then and they would mate. I've even seen Jenny go back to Douglas when he wouldn't chase her any further.
Douglas like most of the males here wasn't overly attentive to washing. We have a large old style hand washing basin set in the ground that acts as their swimming pool.
Jenny would get in the pool while Douglas hovered on the edge. Jenny would deliberately splash Douglas by flapping her wings in the water and I saw her push Douglas in a couple of times.
Jenny could fly and did frequently and has in the past covered a few kilometers. The males here have difficulty getting off the ground mostly.
The land here is on a slope, terraced in some places (It's the side of a mountain).
Jenny liked to run down the slope to the end of a section of terrace and take off as Douglas watched. She would do a small circuit around the sheep field and return to where Douglas was standing watching. Douglas would have a go and once airborne his flight path just went downhill and ended up in an ungainly landing not much more than ten meters from take off point. Jenny would have another go. Then Douglas would try again while jenny stood by the side of the runway. Poor old Douglas would half crash yet again having made zero altitude gain. I used to imagine Jenny standing on the side of the runway shouting at Douglas as he trundled by "It's flap and run you old fool, flap AND run!."
I used to sit with them some evenings watching the sunset over the ridge. They would sit very close together. Douglas would sometimes rub the underside of his beak down the back of Jenny's neck and Jenny would nibble Douglas's feet which made him hope from one foot to another.
Douglas got taken by a predator early one morning and Jenny was never quite the same. There have been other males since but those demonstrations of affection I never seen since.
My view is Muscovies make permanent relationships much like swans. I have a few examples that have lead me to believe this.
I find them interesting creatures and my impression in general is if they have company of their own kind they are not remotely interested in making bonds with humans.

Thank you for sharing, those were interesting stories! I'm going to watch my two more closely

 

[DiYMama540]

At the risk of inuring some ridicule, I'll add some observations on the Muscovies behavior here.
I've seen lots of demonstrations of what I can only describe as affectionate behavior among chickens. As you mention in your post, this type of behavior is also evident in Muscovies. What I beleive I've seen in Muscovies that I have not seen in the chickens is what I can only describe as a sense of fun, maybe even a sense of humour.
The original pair here came from a large flock. We were told they were a pair. I named them Douglas and Jenny. If you watched them, which I did often, the only fitting description for them was they were in love. Douglas, being considerably heavier and slower than Jenny could not keep up if Jenny ran. Some mornings when I let the pair out, Douglas obviously had mating on his mind and Jenny would it seemed by aware of this. Jenny would run in front of Douglas who even under full steam couldn't catch her. Jenny would run and then stop. looking over her shoulder to see how close Douglas was getting. Just as Douglas got close enough to make an optimistic dive at Jenny, she would set off again, Douglas clumsily trying to catch up. This went on until it became apparent that Douglas was getting tired. Jenny would stop then and they would mate. I've even seen Jenny go back to Douglas when he wouldn't chase her any further.
Douglas like most of the males here wasn't overly attentive to washing. We have a large old style hand washing basin set in the ground that acts as their swimming pool.
Jenny would get in the pool while Douglas hovered on the edge. Jenny would deliberately splash Douglas by flapping her wings in the water and I saw her push Douglas in a couple of times.
Jenny could fly and did frequently and has in the past covered a few kilometers. The males here have difficulty getting off the ground mostly.
The land here is on a slope, terraced in some places (It's the side of a mountain).
Jenny liked to run down the slope to the end of a section of terrace and take off as Douglas watched. She would do a small circuit around the sheep field and return to where Douglas was standing watching. Douglas would have a go and once airborne his flight path just went downhill and ended up in an ungainly landing not much more than ten meters from take off point. Jenny would have another go. Then Douglas would try again while jenny stood by the side of the runway. Poor old Douglas would half crash yet again having made zero altitude gain. I used to imagine Jenny standing on the side of the runway shouting at Douglas as he trundled by "It's flap and run you old fool, flap AND run!."
I used to sit with them some evenings watching the sunset over the ridge. They would sit very close together. Douglas would sometimes rub the underside of his beak down the back of Jenny's neck and Jenny would nibble Douglas's feet which made him hope from one foot to another.
Douglas got taken by a predator early one morning and Jenny was never quite the same. There have been other males since but those demonstrations of affection I never seen since.
My view is Muscovies make permanent relationships much like swans. I have a few examples that have lead me to believe this.
I find them interesting creatures and my impression in general is if they have company of their own kind they are not remotely interested in making bonds with humans.

No ridicule here...I absolutely agree from watching my own (runner hen and khaki drake) that duck love is like no other! Funny you mention the mornings, mine are similar with Fraggles (female runner) moving quite a bit faster than her mate Tom. She's quickly searching the yard and flower beds for bugs and fussing at him to keep up...even goes back to him to walk along side him for a while. Very fascinating to watch! Thank you for sharing your love story! Hate that the pair is no longer together!