Male duck harassing female

[OliviaBirds]

Hi,

My friend has two ducks, a male and a female, and has had them for about a year. Just recently, the male duck started mating with the female. I know that this is normal behavior in ducks and chickens, but the female's head and back feathers are getting ripped out by the male. Whenever my friend or her dog approach the coop, the male duck will start acting very territorial, even chasing the dog away. He defends the eggs, and won't let her anywhere near the female. She read that ducks in the wild can become aggressive and gang up on other ducks, sometimes killing them, so what should she do? Separate the male and female? Will this eventually pass, and he will go back to being more friendly towards her? Please, any advice helps!

Thanks!
Olivia Stewart

 

[SlipperyGoose]

It will pass once mating season is over, but that could mean different times for different ducks. If your friend doesn't like this behavior from him, then yes, separate the drake from the duck. If possible, keep them so they can see each other if their bonded so they don't get upset in thinking they're suddenly alone. I had a similar issue with my 3 drakes. Every spring they get in a "rut" as I call it, and nibble at my legs when I come around their house, and this year I had to separate them all because they started turning on each other. No one got hurt, but it sure looked like it could have. A lot of neck and chest grabbing...