nasty male duck....

[Elly]

I was given two females and one male duck two years ago as ducklings. The male duck has gotten very nasty. Striking out and hissing while coming at me. I thought perhaps it was due to the fact that the females were sitting on their eggs and he was just protecting them this spring/summer, so I let it go.But it is Nov. and the females aren't laying eggs, haven't for a while and he is still nasty. I have never been mean to him...in fact I avoid him when ever possible. But when he hears me coming and he's anywhere near the barn I can hear him coming towards me hissing and bobbing his head up and down and as soon as he gets the chance and is close enough he bites me.....ouch !!!!!

. Is there something I can do to stop this. I have resorted to walking with a broom in between my legs and him when ever I go into the barn or he comes near. I have NEVER struck him or kicked out at him to make him hate me so !!! The females are fine, no problem at all. They don't stress when I'm around them to set him off. I can walk right up to them and they eat out of my hand.

Any idea's or am I just stuck with a bad attitude duck??

PS they are muscovy, not sure if that makes a difference

 

[Goat_Walker]

Muscovies can be REALLy sweet or REALLY mean. Ive heard that some drakes will be sweet while they are young ut once they get to breeding age and those hormones kick in they can become quite nasty. There are alot of Muscovy people on here so im sure someone else can give you better advice than that.

 

[GrannySue]

My neighbour had a lovely image of ducks on his pond, adding to the tranquil look of his carefully tended (fenced) garden. He got 3 cute little ducklings, day olds so that they would imprint on him. He chose Muscovies because he'd heard that they were the quietest.
Hah!
He ended up with 2 males and a female.
The males turned nasty on him.
He got rid of them because they didn't live up to his expectations.

He's going to try again next year when I hatch out (I hope) some Khaki Campbell/Runner crosses.

 

[Wifezilla]

This pretty much solves any ducky attitude problems...

 

[nettie]

if you ever get a chance to read "Fowl Weather" by bob tarte, he goes into detail about his fights with muscovies and how his only defense was pushing them around with a push broom. apparently they would sneak attack him to pinch his calves. lol.

 

[keeperofthehearth]

I have never been mean to him...in fact I avoid him when ever possible. But when he hears me coming and he's anywhere near the barn I can hear him coming towards me hissing and bobbing his head up and down and as soon as he gets the chance and is close enough he bites me.....ouch !!!!!

Sorry, but that is the problem. He may see you as competiton for his girls and he is telling you HE is #1. I have a number of drakes yet but they know I'm #1. If they are bothering one of the hens & she wants to eat etc., I will go over and give him a good whack w/ a bamboo stick or grab him by his wings and pull him off her and chase him around till he backs off. I will break up fights amongst the boys if it gets too rough. I will break up fights amongst the girls if they get to rough. I'm #1 top drake, top hen. Whack him with the broom. If you can't get him to straighten up and see you as #1 you need to get rid of him. Does he ever go after anyone else?​

 

[Duck Keeper]

Quote:
That pretty much sums up what you should do to ANY mean livestock.

 

[froggie71]

Quote:
I love the campbell/runner crosses we hatched out. They are just beautiful.

I don't have muscovies, but none of our drakes are mean. Our oldest drake (just over a year) did hiss and snap at us when he was recovering after being attack by our guinea, but he is fine now. I agree with wifezilla. Sounds like someone needs to be invited to dinner.

 

[Feathered Wings]

Quote:
That pretty much sums up what you should do to ANY mean livestock.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Quote:
That pretty much sums up what you should do to ANY mean livestock.

Meanness isn't a trait you want to pass on to any future generations of your animals.
Breed for production and temperament. If they don't have that, what do they have going for them?

Of course, pretty colors are nice too, but they shouldn't be the main goal.