Muscovys gone sour!

[Brilynn]

My favorite boy has gone mean! He's about 17 weeks old so I don't know if he's going through an awkward teenage rage thing or if he's becoming sexually mature since it's mating season. But this duck was my buddy and he's become more and more aggressive towards me until it peeked yesterday when he attacked me.

I gave his brother away to some farm friends who also have Muscovys and they said he has been ruthlessly attacking them and their kids.

What's going on with my sweet ducks?!

 

[ruthhope]

My favorite boy has gone mean! He's about 17 weeks old so I don't know if he's going through an awkward teenage rage thing or if he's becoming sexually mature since it's mating season. But this duck was my buddy and he's become more and more aggressive towards me until it peeked yesterday when he attacked me.

I gave his brother away to some farm friends who also have Muscovys and they said he has been ruthlessly attacking them and their kids.

What's going on with my sweet ducks?!

I have an all drake flock including 3 muscovy boys. I believe your drakes are hormonal. I have one that I thought was psychotic 3 years ago when he first started attacking me from behind feet and talons to the fore. He has been progresdively less hostile to me each year, and only went to attack me once this year. But he is picking on all the other drakes with pecking order behaviors.

There is plenty written in threads on this forum about how to dominate your drake and stop the behavior. I suggest you dont go down the domination route. I tried it. The experience of trying to dominate a duck (admittedly a 12lb mass of furious muscle with claws and feathers,) was awful and it didnt work. I found that treating him like a toddler having an uncontrolled tantrum was best. So I took to picking him up and holding him against me while talking to him had the best result. I have a round concrete table on my back patio, and I would stand him there, holding him and talking to him softly. He rapidly came out of it and stood still. He is not a cuddly boy. Never was, and hates being picked up, so it was aversion therapy. The second spring when he started, I just picked him up and dropped him in the wading pool, which he hated as he never voluntsrily goes into water. The same the third spring initially. But I found that turning round to face him, standing my ground and pointing at him, while telling him off in no uncertain terms also worked. He was then unceremoniously picked up and dumped in the kiddie pool. This year he has only tried to attack me from behind once and stopped as soon as I turned round and confronted him.

Your boy will stop the aggression by late summer. Its definitely his hormones poor boy!