My girls are fighting :-( I need advice bad!!

[Iheart'scovies]

Hello All,
Several months ago we let my female Muscovy hatch out one of her eggs, and, much to our delight, it turned out to be another girl. They have been like peas in pod, and best of friends... until last night. All of the sudden, they are fighting-- it starts by them kind of circling eachother while cackling with their butts and wings pointed upwards, and then they move onto trying to jump on top of eachother and pull eachother's wings

I can pretty much guess that this is a dominance thing, and they are trying to establish who's top duck. The baby is full grown now, and my male has been mating both since the season came in. I just didn't expect the girls to fight like this! And, especially since they have always been so close, it makes me feel so bad

!! I have separated them, and every time I try to put them back together, they start right up again. This has happened three times now between last night and this afternoon and is the same whether they are inside or outside.

Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to stop them (beyond just separating them)? Should I let them fight it out? If so, at what point do I need to intervene to ensure that no one gets hurt? Will they ever get along again?

Thank you sooo much for any advice!! Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this duck thing....

 

[miniwhipkey]

I am so sorry to hear that

. I don't know what to tell you.

I hope some else has some suggestions.

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Normal, Yes. Saddly the "two peas in a pod" is a big part of the problem. Generally, the ducks will fight as you say, for dominance, pecking order, preference. When you have two girls that are close to being the same in power/attitude/character then you get more fighting until one of them wins. You're going to have to let them fight it out to a certain extent. The more often you separate them the longer it's going to take.
I have two sisters who just fought like the dickens. Then they decided to share a nest

and would fight over the eggs. Each time one would go on a break the one staying on the nest wouldn't want to let the other come back. They fought & bit and fussed until finally they'd settle back down. I was sure not a single egg was going to hatch. They fussed at each other after the ducklings began hatching. One getting out of the nest and trying to get the kiddos to "follow her" away fm that other Scovie mom. DOUBLE

Once some of the hormones wore off they quit bickering quite so much and they now do well co-parenting the 10 that hatched. They worked it out and I'm sure yours will also.
They are going to fight so I'd let them to an extent. Supervise, if you can and if they start drawing blood ....or it goes on for more than a minute or so..... break it up. Generally, with the girls, it's not that difficult. Just use a stick or get in there and pull them off each other ( which I did) and kind'a threw them apart and stomped my feet and hissed at them. Remember the drakes hiss when they are talking to the girls and telling them off. Hissing works for cats and Scovies.

 

[Iheart'scovies]

We collect their eggs pretty much as soon as they are laid each day (we're just a home, not a farm, so we can't have too many)-- do you think this helps or hurts? It occurred to me that maybe they were 'accusing' each other of egg stealing!

It's ironic, because I was so happy to have another girl because I didn't want Mr. Peeps fighting with another male! Ha! but from what I read, the drake battles are much worse, anyway...

thank you so much for the advice... my girls will get a 'hissy fit' from me tonight if they keep it up!

 

[sourland]

They will get along again, but only if you allow them to settle this dominance issue. Seperating and reintroducing only extends the process. You may have to rehome one of the hens if this behavior is unacceptable to you. Good luck.