Muscovy duck vervus Peacock

[Kev]

I agree it's a dominance/pecking order thing. "fighting" or muscovies with grudges/long standing quarrels with other birds are relatively common. These usually are extremely persistent if the fight doesn't ever resolve, which usually is the case with interspecies fighting. It's because their instinctual fighting styles are different so it is hard for them to really instinctually understand they lost or won.

For example, muscovy to muscovy are very physical when fighting, including holding onto each other at the same time and trying to claw and beat with wings until one is utter exhausted/hurt enough to quit and run. A little like sumo wrestlers.

Peafowl are not so physical, they do a lot of circling, parallel walking for a good while with bouts of bluffing. Occasionally both will actually go at each other but it is more like ninjas, the combatants stay fairly apart, using mainly leg kicks as offenses against each other. Sometimes they go at each other at the same time- almost looks like they are climbing straight up in the air with both of them furiously kicking each other.

To a muscovy the peacock is confusing because he just wont do it chest to chest and pummel each other, to the peacock the muscovy is doing it all wrong, that is why he keeps running when the duck grabs onto him.. the duck probably reads that as 'him conceding defeat' because to them, the loser runs. Duck doesn't get why peacock keeps coming and "running"...


Peafowl are both extremely curious about anything out of the ordinary and also easily 'offended'. A setting hen on a break or a mother chick with new babies look and sound out of the ordinary, so the peacocks want to inspect them. If the mother hen tries to shoo the peacocks away, they do not understand that and instead get offended and try to 'teach her a lesson/remind her of pecking order' by endlessly bothering her until she manages to get away. I used a dog pen to isolate new mothers so the peafowl could inspect her to their satisfaction without any actual fighting/pestering.

 

[PeepsCA]

LOL Kev, the play by play description of the Ninja style Peafight made me chuckle, out loud

So far I have only witnessed 1 or 2 little kick boxing matches between a couple of my Hens, but with your description I can almost picture an all out Peacock on Peacock air brawl

It's not something I hope to ever see tho, lol.

 

[bemba]

Oh yeah, I know all about the dominant bird battles...... my White peacock and my blue gobbler HATE each other, the gobbler starts his "battle noises" then the peacock will start the jumps to the face, then wing slappiung by the gobbler, then one of my guinea males runs up and does a body slam, then runs off with the gobbler in hot persuite...... never gets really serious though.

 

[deerman]

peacock to peacock fights lot like two rooster fights....they use those spur and toe nails.....had one put another peacock's eye out.


plus i saw first hand being the other peacock, from my hand raised human imprinted peacock......i walked away with blood dripping, after i kicked him about 6 foot....his first hit was up side my head, big surprise, gathering eggs from his pen.

birds with spur all fight with the face to face....not like waterfowl.

 

[MinxFox]

My fingers are crossed that Peep will never come at me like your hand raised peacock did Deerman. For now all Peep does is display at my feet, and he gently pecks at my fingers then lowers his head so I will scratch his neck and chin. Every day when I walk into his pen to feed him he insists that I pet him. I never thought I could love a bird so much...

 

[deerman]

My fingers are crossed that Peep will never come at me like your hand raised peacock did Deerman. For now all Peep does is display at my feet, and he gently pecks at my fingers then lowers his head so I will scratch his neck and chin. Every day when I walk into his pen to feed him he insists that I pet him. I never thought I could love a bird so much...

I hope he doesn't also......even mine was still super tame out of the breeding season...more tame than any other birds.

His attack was cause i was around his peahens.....really think he saw me as another peacock.

If he does just watch him during the breeding season...my grandson when he was 4 call him "my buddy" got pics will post soon....he was still great with him ,just not during breeding season.


The peacock hated the landing net....so i just had it when i went in his pen to get eggs. he would run from the net.

 

[Resolution]

I've kept muscovies and peafowl for as long as I've had birds. Just let them work it out. They aren't hot house flowers. That muscovy isn't going to kill the peacock! You may come out one day to find the muscovy missing an eye- but really- don't worry they actually enjoy fighting or they wouldn't do it.

 

[CORNISH_MAN]

sourland,
I don't think muscovy drake will kill a peacock as peacock is too big and too clever.

Also peacock will attack the duck if duck kept bite the peacock.

If were me, I'd kill a muscovy drake for food.

Also spurs and claws can cut the duck's eyes and cause bloody cuts to muscovy drake's soft red facial skin, making the duck to look very ugly. Older muscovy drakes have very ugly faces after years of fighting.
Muscovy drakes have lifespan of 7-8 years while peacocks have lifespan of 20-25 years.

Let me tell you first hand that a muscovy can kill a peacock. A muscovy is a fierce fighter, and its the very strong wings of the muscovy that is the threat to just about anything the muscovy is ****** at. The muscovy will grab on with its beak and beat its victim with its wings. Allthough it doesnt happen very often, a muscovy can easily break another birds neck with a well placed blow to the neck.

 

[Resolution]

Let me tell you first hand that a muscovy can kill a peacock. A muscovy is a fierce fighter, and its the very strong wings of the muscovy that is the threat to just about anything the muscovy is ****** at. The muscovy will grab on with its beak and beat its victim with its wings. Allthough it doesnt happen very often, a muscovy can easily break another birds neck with a well placed blow to the neck.

I suppose anything is possible but given the fact that the only serious predators of adult peafowl in nature are leopards and tigers and the frequency with which adult male peafowl have been observed and documented injuring lesser predators like monitor lizards, jackals, jungle cats and the like, it seems rather unlikely. I've got peafowl and muscovies. Fights do occur from time to time. The objective of these fights is to win not kill. A peacock's train is his matador's cape. Don't fret. He's more than capable of running an ostrich or a swan to madness he can handle a muscovy. The only bird I've known to kill a peacock has been a monal. Never saw that coming. A monal male will chase a male peacock ragged, corner him and kill him- all with his chisel, ice axe bill.

 

[CORNISH_MAN]

I suppose anything is possible but given the fact that the only serious predators of adult peafowl in nature are leopards and tigers and the frequency with which adult male peafowl have been observed and documented injuring lesser predators like monitor lizards, jackals, jungle cats and the like, it seems rather unlikely. I've got peafowl and muscovies. Fights do occur from time to time. The objective of these fights is to win not kill. A peacock's train is his matador's cape. Don't fret. He's more than capable of running an ostrich or a swan to madness he can handle a muscovy. The only bird I've known to kill a peacock has been a monal. Never saw that coming. A monal male will chase a male peacock ragged, corner him and kill him- all with his chisel, ice axe bill.

I dont know anything about the peafowl where you live but If they are anything like the ones we have here than I find your statement about them injuring monitor lizards, jackals and jungle cats hard to swallow. We have "similar" predators to the jackal and jungle cat here (coyotes and bobcats) and I dont think our peafowl stand a chance trying to go against either of them. Then again maybe your peafowl have mastered the Ninja type fighting style that Kev speaks of.

Sorry Kev I couldnt help myself.


OOOPS...I didnt realize you were in colorado. From your post I just figured you were i another country.