Male khaki Campbell's fighting

[Cprge]

Hi all, apologies if this has been posted to oblivion. I have found similar threads on the matter but wanted to add a few questions.

I have three male khaki Campbells, around 16 weeks old now. Today one has its sights set on another and is attacking it without stopping. The third follows the more dominant drake without getting involved. It appears it's a bit of a power struggle between the attacker and victim for dominance.

I have recently started feeding them by hand every now and again which I am unsure if it is related. I have read that they often get more aggressive as they reach maturity.

My question is will this stop out of season, and should I separate them until them? If so, which would be the best to separate the attacker or the victim?
They currently all bed in the same hut in their pen, and free roam during the day so separating them would be a bit of a problem.
I do have a tiny spare separate hut which I used when they were on their early days but may be too small for them.
Would it be advisable to re-home one of them?

Any advise would be appreciated, thanks for your time chaps.

 

[waytomanychickens]

Hi all, apologies if this has been posted to oblivion. I have found similar threads on the matter but wanted to add a few questions.

I have three male khaki Campbells, around 16 weeks old now. Today one has its sights set on another and is attacking it without stopping. The third follows the more dominant drake without getting involved. It appears it's a bit of a power struggle between the attacker and victim for dominance.

I have recently started feeding them by hand every now and again which I am unsure if it is related. I have read that they often get more aggressive as they reach maturity.

My question is will this stop out of season, and should I separate them until them? If so, which would be the best to separate the attacker or the victim?
They currently all bed in the same hut in their pen, and free roam during the day so separating them would be a bit of a problem.
I do have a tiny spare separate hut which I used when they were on their early days but may be too small for them.
Would it be advisable to re-home one of them?

Any advise would be appreciated, thanks for your time chaps.

male ducks are usually quite aggressive. are you 100% sure they are all drakes? if they are all male they will fight until they have a pecking order established. if they aren't doing obvious damage to each other let them work it out

 

[Miss Lydia]

@thumper650 has drakes and can advise. You may have 2choices separate, rehome. Things usually begin to settle down mid Sept. I wouldn’t advise letting one get injured because drake will even mate drakes.

 

[Cprge]

I'm pretty certain. The attacker and victim both have their tail curls, the third (Izzle) hasn't gotten his curls yet but his head is greening and has bright blue wing feathers like the other two so it's only time.
So you think it's okay to not separate them for the mean time unless it becomes too violent?

Thanks for the advice Waytomanychickens (excellent name!)

 

[AgnesGray]

I had three drakes this spring. I now have two. It got to the point where they were at it 24/7 and the bully was not only ripping feathers out of the smaller one, but I worried he'd eventually drown him as he would go after the smaller one while they were in the water. Bully is gone.

The pen is now a much happier place with the two boys who don't take issue with each other.

 

[Cprge]

@thumper650 has drakes and can advise. You may have 2choices separate, rehome. Things usually begin to settle down mid Sept. I wouldn’t advise letting one get injured because drake will even mate drakes.

Thanks Miss Lydia, I've seen thumper advise on many other threads I'm sure he'll be able to shed some light.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on them to ensure they don't get injured

 

[Cprge]

I had three drakes this spring. I now have two. It got to the point where they were at it 24/7 and the bully was not only ripping feathers out of the smaller one, but I worried he'd eventually drown him as he would go after the smaller one while they were in the water. Bully is gone.

The pen is now a much happier place with the two boys who don't take issue with each other.

This is the first day they've been at it and I am concerned it might come to the same point. Drowning isn't likely a problem as they only have a kiddie pool but I don't want the fighting to escalate.

The bully would be a sensible option which is a shame, I shouldn't take favourites but the attacker and the victim have so much character

 

[thumper650]

Hello! Responding live, from my back yard, surrounded by mostly drakes!

All you can do is separate, or rehome some. It’s all dependent on the individual ducks. The key is finding what works for you. I seperate my run with a small fence in summer and this dog playpen when they’re outside. I like the playpens, as they’re easily moved and effective. We only do this in the summer months, here everyone plays nice at the end of August, until about March. If you do separate them, it’s best if they can see each other so they’re not lonely. Mine fight through the fence, then sleep against the fence right next to each other.

 

[Cprge]

Hello! Responding live, from my back yard, surrounded by mostly drakes!
View attachment 2201399 All you can do is separate, or rehome some. It’s all dependent on the individual ducks. The key is finding what works for you. I seperate my run with a small fence in summer and this dog playpen when they’re outside. I like the playpens, as they’re easily moved and effective. We only do this in the summer months, here everyone plays nice at the end of August, until about March. If you do separate them, it’s best if they can see each other so they’re not lonely. Mine fight through the fence, then sleep against the fence right next to each other.

Absolute stunners they are! Thanks for the input Thumper. I think that might the best solution here. I had one separated in its own and they continued to pester through the fence.

I'll get something ordered from and it'll hopefully be with me quickly and keep everyone happy.

Thanks everyone for the advice. First time duck owner and I'm a bit over protective of my little dudes

 

[thumper650]

Absolute stunners they are! First time duck owner and I'm a bit over protective of my little dudes

Thanks! I love all my boys, and my 2 girls!

It's good to be overprotective of your ducks. I think mine need seatbelts! My neighbor sent me this picture, we visit every week or so, so they can see the ducklings.