Muscovy's

[coolweb1]

Hello All! We have had two Muscovy's for about a year - a drake and a hen. About six months ago the drake started viscously biting her back. Seems it might be part of the mating ritual, but it never goes further than that. It's to the point of injuring her. Why is this happening, and are there any ways to prevent this?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Get a better drake. The drake does some nibbling before mating, but it shouldn't be extreme. The back of the neck on a hen can get bare from too much mating, that's where a drake grabs on. I have never seen the back.

 

[Daisy Minotaur]

Yes, the biting is probably part of a mating ritual.
How old are your ducks?
In my experience young drakes (about 6mo to two years) are bad at breeding.
Keep an eye on the behavior. If the drake hurts her bad enough that you think she is in danger, separate them. Drakes can over breed ducks to death.
I’m not sure what your pen set up is, but if you’re able, you might consider separating a part of your pen off with a small door (small enough the larger drake can’t fit through but large enough the smaller hen can). This will allow her to get away from him if she wants to.
Another solution is to get more hens (again if you have space available and want more hens) in my experience a drake with several hens won’t hurt them because his attention is split between them.
And as oldhenlikesdogs said the easiest solution might be to get a different drake.
As long as you’re not too attached to your current drake.
Good luck!

 

[coolweb1]

Thanks, the drake is 2 years and the hen is one year. You said young drakes are bad at breeding, will he get better as he gets older?

 

[Daisy Minotaur]

Yes in my experience older and more experienced drakes are better. Given that the hen is younger than the drake, take extra care. The drake if overly enthusiastic can be dangerous given his older age and therefore larger size. If he is inexperienced with mating it may take some time till he gets good at it.

My oldest males are the best behaved. They have a respect for the hens that my young ones have not developed. They don’t seem to be as desperate during mating season as well.

 

[BlueEggs4Life]

Adding height is another option to give your gal a chance to get away. I have a small fallen tree I rigged up - the ducks can easily fly up on it (they love preening up there) and the drake is too heavy to get up, I have never even seen him try.

 

[Isaac 0]

Adding height is another option to give your gal a chance to get away. I have a small fallen tree I rigged up - the ducks can easily fly up on it (they love preening up there) and the drake is too heavy to get up, I have never even seen him try.

Gorgeous Ducks!