Male Pekin agressive towards new ducklings?

[colors09]

Hi,

One of my female ducks hatched some ducklings a few days ago. My hubby found one of the males in the yard today picking up the ducklings in his bill. He recovered the babies and shooed the male away, but mama duck then took to hiding under a bush in the corner of the yard. She was still there in the rain when I came home from work. I had to chase her out of the bush to get her to go back into her shelter so the babies would follow her out of the rain. I closed the door so mama and babies are now separated from the other adults. I'm afraid to let the other ducks in, but I don't want them alone in the yard overnight. Any idea what my boy is doing? This is the first brood of ducklings with these ducks, but I've had other ducks hatch ducklings without issue. I'd appreciate any insight.

Thanks!

 

[Amiga]

Use some temporary fence around mama and ducklings, get the rest of them in to protect their lives.

Some ducks just do this kind of thing. You need to keep the mama and littles safe. Actually, everybody needs to be safe - mama and littles need their own space for a while.

 

[colors09]

Thank you. I've temporarily segregated mama and babies while still giving everyone shelter access. Hopefully his aggressiveness is temporary and will wane as the babies grow. I'll just have to watch and see.