Muscovy Ducks & Cannibalistic Behavior

[AeonsMusings]

Hello wonderful people! Newbie here, first time owning ducks and we wanted to have a breed that served the purpose of providing eggs and meat so we went with muscovies. We have twenty ducks and they will be roughly 8 weeks old (give or take a few days, some hatched from a separate nest a little earlier than the others) this week. We’ve had a problem with cannibalistic behavior, and most of the abuse is targeted at the largest duck in the flock (occasionally they will snap at some of the smaller what I assume are hens at this point but it mostly directed at one poor Drake). The instant he (we believe it’s a Drake based on size but temperament is SO DOCILE) started getting his wing feathers in (the first in the group to feather), everyone started to try to pluck them out to the point he bled. We separated, tried no more peck, gentian violet dye, lots of cover creams that supposedly deter pecking but nothing seems to be lasting longer than a few hours. We managed to get him in a sock cover and that has done wonders but he’s outgrown the sock and we’re at a loss here.

The guy just….stands there. And lets the others pick on him without even trying to get away until he decides he’s thirsty or hungry and then he gets away to eat. Right now they’re in a run that’s roughly 70ft long and about 25ft wide, and once they’ve acclimated to being in this area we were set on letting them free range and be cooped at night but we cannot for the life of us seem to get this behavior under control. His feathers obviously can’t come in if they’re constantly getting pulled out and it’s not just one duck that bullies him or we’d remove the bully. He is very active and doesn’t act or behave like he is ill—eats well and drinks without issue. We’ve added in toys for them to chase and play with and none of them seem interested in a pool so if this is boredom related…How can we fix it? We assumed they had plenty of space while they adjusted to the yard but now I’m beginning to wonder they may just need way more. x.x

Any suggestions are appreciated for this worried duck momma.

 

[Quatie]

How big is your space and what are you feeding them?

 

[AeonsMusings]

How big is your space and what are you feeding them?

70ft long 25ft wide. Flock raiser crumbles 20% with added niacin. Plus they get kitchen scraps and a daily fresh veggie, today was grated zucchini. Free access to grit as well.

 

[Quatie]

70ft long 25ft wide. Flock raiser crumbles 20%. Plus they get kitchen scraps and a daily fresh veggie, today was grated zucchini. Free access to grit as well.

The spacing is definitely plenty. The only thing I would be worried about is the scraps and veggies. When ducks are growing they need a lot of protein and too many treats can lower that protein. Any thing that is not their feed is considered a treat. They are more likely to eat feathers if they don't get enough protein.

It is also possible that this one drake is just low on the pecking order. You may need to separate him out from the flock so his feathers can grow in fully. Once they fully grow in, they shouldn't do this anymore. If there is one in the flock that doesn't pick on him, you could separate them together.

 

[ruthhope]

The space you are offeeing is fine for 20 ducks. Can you keep the one that is being picked on and the least aggressive of the others separately in a fenced off area in the run for a week or two?

All ducks have a pecking order like chickens. Some ducks have a more rigorous enforcement of the order than the other. As ducklings, temperament is more important than sex and size. When your flock is 12 werks old, there will be a clear differential in size between the males and females. You are likely to have too many males that you will have to remove about 16 weeks old. By 12 weeks old sex and size will be making a difference in pecking order behavior. If the bullied duck is a big male muscovy, he will have no difficulty defending himself by 12-16 weeks.

I have a huge muscovy drake. He is temperatentally loving and kind .(Mine are pets not for the cooking pot). When the pekins get too aggressive with him, he will occasionally demonstrate his superior place on the pecking order by turning a pekin in its back and standing on him. But for weeks he just ignores the aggressive pekins -- even the one pekin that thinks he has a right to pull out the muscovy drake's chest feathers. Your bullied duckling might be of a similar temperament

 

[AeonsMusings]

The spacing is definitely plenty. The only thing I would be worried about is the scraps and veggies. When ducks are growing they need a lot of protein and too many treats can lower that protein. Any thing that is not their feed is considered a treat. They are more likely to eat feathers if they don't get enough protein.

It is also possible that this one drake is just low on the pecking order. You may need to separate him out from the flock so his feathers can grow in fully. Once they fully grow in, they shouldn't do this anymore. If there is one in the flock that doesn't pick on him, you could separate them together.

Does it make any difference if it’s only a cup of “treats” that they’re receiving? We feed twice a day currently, about seven cups in the morning and a similar amount in the evening, half a cup of the “treats” in the morning to get everyone out of panic omg people mode and the other half just before lights out cooped time. It’s a no spill feeder so we know it’s all being eaten and nothing’s getting dumped out (or eaten by other critters, we’ve a camera on the feed area). Unfortunately it seems to be a round Robin with the abuse—no one really leaves him alone. It’s just so hard to imagine such a big bird being the low spot because this guy is a full head and half taller than everyone else.

 

[ruthhope]

The rule of thumb is that 90% of the nutrition should be from duck crumbles or pellets and treats limited to 10%. That is less important with adult ducks but be careful with the nutrition of ducklings as they are growing so quickly

 

[AeonsMusings]

The rule of thumb is that 90% of the nutrition should be from duck crumbles or pellets and treats limited to 10%. That is less important with adult ducks but be careful with the nutrition of ducklings as they are growing so quickly

That makes sense. Right now they’re downing about 10-12 cups of feed a day so we are ROLLING right through that feed bill despite them having time out in a grass filled run. Perhaps fermenting the feed would help? Or is that only possible with adult ducks?

 

[ruthhope]

Sorry, you just have to roll through the feed bill for ducklings. Yours is so much higher than mine as I have only 5 ducks.

My son's laying pekins eat 2 cups of food each per day.

Mine are adults and are out foraging.

Although three of mine are pekins -- commonly referred to as pigs in feathers. In my experience, adult muscovy do not eat as much as pekins.

But duckling growth is important so don't skimp on their rations

 

[Quatie]

Unfortunately it seems to be a round Robin with the abuse—no one really leaves him alone. It’s just so hard to imagine such a big bird being the low spot because this guy is a full head and half taller than everyone else.

Sometimes the biggest one isn't the top of the pecking order. I have several smaller ducks that are super feisty and will dominate bigger ducks. Often size is less as important than attitude.

Ruthhope is correct about the treats.