More tween duck behavior q's

[KaleIAm]

I dont know if it is necessarily only a dominance thing I see a mother duck at my local park do it every time she has had ducklings. She kind of does the vibratey neck thing and then just jently preens or nudges them. I don't really think there is anything you should do as long as she stays gentle

I'm not convinced it is dominance, either. I actually wanted it to be an expression of affection, but others convinced me it was dominance related. Do you think the mother duck could be establishing that she is the boss over her ducklings? Just an idea, I'm open to other ideas.

Usually I'm pretty clear on my duck communication, not so much on this one. It hasn't happened often enough, I think.

 

[SolarDuck]

I'm not convinced it is dominance, either. I actually wanted it to be an expression of affection, but others convinced me it was dominance related. Do you think the mother duck could be establishing that she is the boss over her ducklings? Just an idea, I'm open to other ideas.

Usually I'm pretty clear on my duck communication, not so much on this one. It hasn't happened often enough, I think.

I think they probably use it for dominance but maybe not strictly for dominance? That mother duck has actually sitting on a pile of eggs for a few weeks so maybe once she hatches them I can get a video of it, I often see her do it to nudge the chicks under her or just bring them closer to her. Pigeon does it to Penguin pretty often too, but Penguin does not care and just sits there and lets Pigeon get closer to her and then Pigeon starts preening her, but Pigeon also likes to chase around the other 2 ducks with the vibratey neck thing and it definitely seems like a dominance thing when she is doing that.

 

[KaleIAm]

I think they probably use it for dominance but maybe not strictly for dominance? That mother duck has actually sitting on a pile of eggs for a few weeks so maybe once she hatches them I can get a video of it, I often see her do it to nudge the chicks under her or just bring them closer to her. Pigeon does it to Penguin pretty often too, but Penguin does not care and just sits there and lets Pigeon get closer to her and then Pigeon starts preening her, but Pigeon also likes to chase around the other 2 ducks with the vibratey neck thing and it definitely seems like a dominance thing when she is doing that.

Thank you so much for that detailed description! I've never seen my ducks do it to each other, but there is obviously a very strict social hierarchy.

 

[Andrea PNW]

I didn't do anything about the vibrating neck thing, except I stopped doing what made my ducks do it.

I'm not sure that it is about dominance, but I have seen members more experienced with duck communication than I am insist that it is. So I assumed that my ducks didn't appreciate whatever I was doing. My ducks only did it when I was trying to be physically affectionate with them.

My ducks also preened me a lot when they were young. I pretty much cherished the mouthiness.

Here is Pigweed, the first one 6 years ago as a kissy baby. The second one 5.5 years ago preening me.

Yes!!! That's exactly what they do to me!!!!

 

[KaleIAm]

Yes!!! That's exactly what they do to me!!!!

Despite my allowing Pigweed to kiss me and preen my hair, and even cherishing it, she isn't an out of control monster as an adult. If I squat down and make kissy lips she will still peck my mouth sometimes, and it does start to feel a little tender if we make out for very long!

She's a pretty normal not imprinted pet duck, friendly, comes when called, excitedly eats from my hands, but doesn't enjoy being picked up. Individuals vary, of course.

Also, I've never gotten any zoonotic diseases from kissing my ducks, but obviously that's a risk.

 

[SolarDuck]

Also, I've never gotten any zoonotic diseases from kissing my ducks, but obviously that's a risk.

Haha I've never thought about that my ducks are giving me kisses all the time. They love coming up on my lap and Pigeon gets a little carried away and sometimes tries to manually open my mouth I just kind of have to keep my lips tightly shut to keep her out of my mouth

 

[Dux]

I think they probably use it for dominance but maybe not strictly for dominance? That mother duck has actually sitting on a pile of eggs for a few weeks so maybe once she hatches them I can get a video of it, I often see her do it to nudge the chicks under her or just bring them closer to her. Pigeon does it to Penguin pretty often too, but Penguin does not care and just sits there and lets Pigeon get closer to her and then Pigeon starts preening her, but Pigeon also likes to chase around the other 2 ducks with the vibratey neck thing and it definitely seems like a dominance thing when she is doing that.

That's so interesting to hear that Penguin doesn't mind when Pigeon does it to her. I haven't observed that sort of non-retreat response between any of my ducks. (If someone's neck starts vibrating, the other duck retreats, or retreats after getting charged/chest-bumped.)
I find the vibrating soooo puzzling. Sometimes it definitely seems like a dominance/jealousy thing. Like if one of my higher-ranking ducks thinks one of the lower-ranking ducks is getting too much of my attention and might be about to get a treat from me, the higher-ranking duck will vibrate at and then charge the lower-ranking duck but if I stop paying attention to the lower-ranking duck when the vibrating starts and direct attention to the higher-ranking duck, she'll stop vibrating and calm down.
I agree that the vibrating plus charge/chest-bump doesn't always seem *totally* dominance-related. One of my ducks in particular (Clementine) will come over and vibrate her neck, then "frisk" me with her bill. Sometimes it's more gentle, sometimes less so, seemingly related to her level of frustration (not sure what I'm doing that frustrates her, unless she just really wants treats in those very-frustrated moments?). Maybe when it's not dominance-related it's just a way of being playful?

 

[SolarDuck]

That's so interesting to hear that Penguin doesn't mind when Pigeon does it to her. I haven't observed that sort of non-retreat response between any of my ducks. (If someone's neck starts vibrating, the other duck retreats, or retreats after getting charged/chest-bumped.)

Penguin was raised without any other ducks around, and I found Pigeon dumped at a local park and she was a similar age as penguin around 2-3 months at the time. I think Pigeon was likely also raised without any other ducks around and then dumped off at the park. They've been best friends ever since, but their dynamic might just be different because they weren't raised with any other ducks and imprinted on humans. They both absolutely love being held and pet, and they are always petting eachother.

 

[Spiase20]

I think it depends on the situation really. I have seen my male duck do it as dominance or to seem intimidating, but he also does it when cuddling. He likes to sit on my lap and fluffs his neck up and kinda wrap his neck around mine (while nibbling gently) and then ends up sticking his head into my sweater and a just snuggles like that.

I scratch his neck and head and give him kisses and he is content and sometime vibrates. Like a cat's purr and starts dozing off. It's pretty adorable. But I never seen my female ducks do it. So who knows?

Maybe one action can mean many different things depending on the situation.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I think it depends on the situation really. I have seen my male duck do it as dominance or to seem intimidating, but he also does it when cuddling. He likes to sit on my lap and fluffs his neck up and kinda wrap his neck around mine (while nibbling gently) and then ends up sticking his head into my sweater and a just snuggles like that.

I scratch his neck and head and give him kisses and he is content and sometime vibrates. Like a cat's purr and starts dozing off. It's pretty adorable. But I never seen my female ducks do it. So who knows?

Maybe one action can mean many different things depending on the situation.

I also think that this is the case.
My first little call Drake used to do this to me whenever I got in the pen. They were not used to being handled or messed with at all, so to me it was kind of a nervousness and a "hey! get out of here" type thing.
But I also saw him do it to his mate but when he done it to her it seemed more of an affectionate type thing.
I think it is just an excited thing..
Excitement/nervousness can be positive or negative if you think about it.