Make duck is harassing female goose

[moodybubbles]

I got 3 female ducks, one male duck and one mother goose from a friend a couple of months ago. I keep them all in a 16x16 run during the day and they all hang out in a 4x6 safe space at night with chickens roosting above them.

I noticed the goose wasn't herself a few days ago. She would hunker down in a corner even when I approached. Turns out the male duck was bothering her. She had a tiny amount of blood on her foot. I shooed the male duck away from her when I saw him picking on her. Then the goose seemed to run toward me if I entered the run like she knew male duck wouldn't bother her if she was next to me and she acted interested in leaving the run. Next day she had two small bloody spots on her beak. So I let her out of the run to free range with chickens. I get her back in at night fairly easily but she has to go back in the crowded coop with male duck.

I have poultry housing difficulties right now. No $ to build a new coop for whacko free ranging chickens. No $ to make larger run for newly acquired ducks and goose having issues with boy duck. She refuses to go out into the run now with the ducks. Smart thing already knows I will close the run door and open the large door out into the free range area. I have only been letting her out free range for a few days.

Why is male duck bothering her now after living with her peacefully for 2 months? I asked her previous owner if I was feeding her properly because I worried she had gotten weak and he was picking on her due to her weakness.

My run has no grass, just dirt and of course mud when I change pool water daily. Ducks are excavating for a built in pond but it will be awhile before they achieve that themselves. Is my run too small And causing problems?

Anything I can do to make male duck leave her alone? Previous owner said a different male duck was mating with her in the past but this doesnt look like mating to me....with bloody beak.

 

[revans2003]

Is there anyway to fashion a divider of chicken wire to keep her protected? That's pretty inexpensive.

 

[moodybubbles]

Yeah I suppose I could try that. I was hoping to put $ towards new setup for chickens since the current setup is too crowded for them to remain there. I can't find their eggs and an Easter egg hunt daily isn't in my plans.

I was hoping there was some behavioral modification that would make him uninterested in her. Some sort of trick...because new hen house is my main concern and I don't want to put any $$ into temporary fixes if that makes any sense.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yeah I suppose I could try that. I was hoping to put $ towards new setup for chickens since the current setup is too crowded for them to remain there. I can't find their eggs and an Easter egg hunt daily isn't in my plans.

I was hoping there was some behavioral modification that would make him uninterested in her. Some sort of trick...because new hen house is my main concern and I don't want to put any $$ into temporary fixes if that makes any sense.

@moodybubbles do you have a large dog crate the drake would fit into? when you let her out to free range then he can come out but at night he has to sleep in it. and any bloody area will be fair game for your chickens they are drawn to things like that and can make it much worse. So you need to get this straightened out asap. for the sake of the goose. I don't know why some drakes and even females are prone to stuff like this maybe a dominance thing. I had a gander one time kill a Muscovy duck because I mistook him as a female and locked him up in the coop along with some other females. I was just learning about this type of behavior. This type of harassment can really stress out a goose or any poultry for that matter. So getting the drake separated or seeing if you can borrow a Xlarge dog crate or xpen and make a comfortable place for the goose inside the coop. Everyone is just sleeping in there so if it take up some space it's not a big deal but may mean life or death for the goose.

 

[moodybubbles]

I have a door with just chicken wire inside side the coop to separate feed from the rest of the area. I tried getting her to go into the main door so she could be alone in that 2'x4' space where the feed is kept but she refuses.

i may be able to get her to enter that space after roundup. She would only be with the drake a few minutes. It would involve cutting a small door into the inner door and allowing just her to pass through. I will try that.

I had hoped to keep her with her buddies though since I'm sure she needs like footed friends. She can see them through the fence.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a door with just chicken wire inside side the coop to separate feed from the rest of the area. I tried getting her to go into the main door so she could be alone in that 2'x4' space where the feed is kept but she refuses.

i may be able to get her to enter that space after roundup. She would only be with the drake a few minutes. It would involve cutting a small door into the inner door and allowing just her to pass through. I will try that.

I had hoped to keep her with her buddies though since I'm sure she needs like footed friends. She can see them through the fence.

You could always try giving her a few of the ducks for company but I would keep her and the drake separated and make sure her wounds don't get any worse.