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Muscovy Drakes and agression at mating time:-/

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by MuscovyLover, Mar 10, 2014.

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  1. Mar 10, 2014 #1
    MuscovyLover

    MuscovyLover Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Hi all:)
    I'm a relative newbie to the world of raising Muscovies and I'm having my first big hiccup!
    I need some advice:-/
    I have three girls and one drake that are all siblings.
    I raised them from two weeks old and they're pets. Quite friendly. I hand fed them grubs and worms when they were little so they are all quite large too.
    They will be six months old in a few weeks and we still haven't had any eggs or mating so i decided it might be worth a try getting a se ond drake as mine free range around the front yard all day and there are a few girls.
    He came from a pen of 8 drakes so is quite battered and much smaller tthan mine, though he is about 1 year old.
    The moment I opened the box he was in, my drake attacked him. The girls even got in on it too. It was horrible! I pulled my drake off the new boy and locked him in his pen. He went crazy!
    I gave him some time to cool off then let him out again and he ran around the yard mating all of the girls and attacking the new drake again.
    My thinking is that he isn't attempting to defend himself as he is used to this and realises he is smaller and weaker than my boy. I have been leaving him in the pen during the day with tonnes of food and putting him in the shed at night on his own so he can grow stronger and his wings can repair themselves. Is this the right thing to do?
    Also, my drake is now following me around the yard and quite aggressively biting me, which he started doing about a week prior to the new drake arriving, around the same time he started trying to mate one of the girls. He's quite big and akward (his wings never formed correctly. I'm told this is called angel wings?) and his bites are leaving big bruises on me:-( It really hurts and I adore this fellow but I'm about ready to kick him up the backside!!
    What can i do to stop this agression towards me and how can i manage the two drakes?
    ANY help at all here would be greatly appreciated:)
     
  3. Mar 10, 2014 #2
    drumstick diva

    drumstick diva Still crazy after all these years. Premium Member

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    I really don't know anything about ducks but I think the aggression stems from him wanting to protect his girls and you are a threat. It may be like roosters, if you treat them as buddies /pets they have no respect for you.

    If you go to the "Other Backyard Poultry," forum you will find threads concerning ducks. The people on there would be the ones to answer questions you have. Good luck. I'm afraid of your drake and I'm not even near him [​IMG]
     
  5. Mar 10, 2014 #3
    MuscovyLover

    MuscovyLover Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Thanks Drumstick Diva,

    I think you might be right about him protecting his girls but I don't understand why he bothers when he's not mating with them, nor are they laying?
    I have babied him a lot and he seems to think he is the boss.
    Is there any way i can transfer this thread to the duck section?
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2014
  7. Mar 11, 2014 #4
    TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Show me the way old friend... Staff Member

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  9. Mar 11, 2014 #5
    sourland

    sourland Broody Magician Premium Member

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    Welcome to BYC - ducks have a social/pecking order just as chickens do. He is defending his territory and HIS hens. Muscovy drakes can become aggressive if they think that they are the boss. It is very unlikely that he will accept the other drake, but you need to convince him that you are dominant to him or his behavior will escalate towards you. Do a forum search on 'Rooster Aggression.' Many threads will come up and the same techniques can be used on your drake.
     
    1 person likes this.
  11. Mar 11, 2014 #6
    MuscovyLover

    MuscovyLover Chillin' With My Peeps

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    Thanks a bunch TwoCrows and sourland!
    Very helpful :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2014
  13. Mar 11, 2014 #7
    Ren2014

    Ren2014 Blessed Beyond Hope Premium Member

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    [​IMG] Hello and [​IMG] good luck with both drakes. See you in the other poultry section[​IMG]
     
    1 person likes this.
  15. Mar 11, 2014 #8
    Kelsie2290

    Kelsie2290 True BYC Addict Premium Member

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    Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your ducks!
     
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  17. Mar 14, 2014 #9
    gander007

    gander007 Chicken Obsessed

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    [​IMG]
     
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  19. Jun 1, 2014 #10
    Mashallaharabia

    Mashallaharabia Chillin' With My Peeps

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    I have two drakes, father and son, and 11 hens. I have never seen ANY aggression at all among my ducks. Both drakes actively breed, the hens lay like crazy, the few times they do bite each other it's just a little feather pulling, no visible damage afterward, just sort of "moveover, you're in my way". Nor have my drakes EVER shown the least aggression to me; they aren't "tame" as I don't need or want them to be, but I do pick them up a few times a year to clip the wings. My current avatar is the senior drake, who is a gentle fellow, protective of newborn ducklings and never rough with the hens. I did introduce a pair of Pekins to the flock of Muscovies; sold the Pekin drake the next year as I don't want crossbred ducks, but I just brought the Pekins home and threw them in with the Muscovies, no trouble at all. Mine all live in one flock, I have never separated them for any reason. Maybe it's just my flock, but really I've never seen any of the aggression other people keep talking about.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
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