ruthhope
Free Ranging
I think this is a case of drake hormones coming flooding in rather than "genetic aggression".
I have a backyard full of drakes: all rescues and rehomes. Two Muscovy and, currently, 4 pekins.
One of the muscovy became very violent in January when he was perhaps 7 months old [he was rehomed to me from a wildlife rehabber in September when I think he was about 12-16 weeks old]. In January, out of the blue, he flew at me and attacked me with his feet and bill. After nearly 2 weeks of ducky behavior therapy, he stopped all his aggression towards me. Then a month ago he started attacking my feet. He would come out of the coop in the morning looking for my feet and then bite them. He would occasionally attack my feet during the day. Each time he starts biting, I pick him up and put him in a dog crate for just a few minutes. That is enough to remind him he isn't to bite me. He comes out contrite and no further aggression. This drake is definitely disturbed -- he survived a near drowning when he was a day or so old, being pulled out of a retention pond and being resucitated by a passerby. His ducky mama and sibs abandoned him. Now, he will not go in a wading pool; he will not even go in a small shallow tub, and when he had the beginnings of bumblefoot, it was a huge fight getting him into a bucket and keeping him there for epsom salt soaks. The only way to get him bathed is to shower him with a hose -- which he accepts. If this boy can be quelled by a few minutes time out in a dog crate, I think you, @Juno, might have success with your errant drakes giving them time out in a dog crate.
Two of my pekin dakes are rececent rescues. I think they were 16-26 weeks when I rescued them; they were in very bad shape and had clearly been abused before they were dumped. These two are very tightly bonded and go straight to each other when they feel threatened or nervous, but they are also at the age of needing to exert dominance. I had to separate them when they were in quarantine in my house, with a divider in the dog crate. I hoped they would stop the behavior when they were moved to a pen on my patio with a wading pool, where could seeand be seen by my drakes, but were separate. They continued fighting with really bad loss of feathers down the side of their necks. So they are now sleeping in separate dog crates in my duck house and one is taken to the pen each morning and the other allowed out with my ducks [I swap over which is in the pen each day.] They mainly stick together but the one that is out has to establish his place in the pecking order with my drakes. I think that you, @Juno, seem to be doing the same, having one penned and one not. May be you will need to rehome one, but maybe with patience, your two will settle down and live amicably.
I hope so -- live amicably -- but I am looking to rehome one of my recent rescues to someone with a female flock. If I found 2 new homes, I could rehome both of them each to their own forever home.
I have a backyard full of drakes: all rescues and rehomes. Two Muscovy and, currently, 4 pekins.
One of the muscovy became very violent in January when he was perhaps 7 months old [he was rehomed to me from a wildlife rehabber in September when I think he was about 12-16 weeks old]. In January, out of the blue, he flew at me and attacked me with his feet and bill. After nearly 2 weeks of ducky behavior therapy, he stopped all his aggression towards me. Then a month ago he started attacking my feet. He would come out of the coop in the morning looking for my feet and then bite them. He would occasionally attack my feet during the day. Each time he starts biting, I pick him up and put him in a dog crate for just a few minutes. That is enough to remind him he isn't to bite me. He comes out contrite and no further aggression. This drake is definitely disturbed -- he survived a near drowning when he was a day or so old, being pulled out of a retention pond and being resucitated by a passerby. His ducky mama and sibs abandoned him. Now, he will not go in a wading pool; he will not even go in a small shallow tub, and when he had the beginnings of bumblefoot, it was a huge fight getting him into a bucket and keeping him there for epsom salt soaks. The only way to get him bathed is to shower him with a hose -- which he accepts. If this boy can be quelled by a few minutes time out in a dog crate, I think you, @Juno, might have success with your errant drakes giving them time out in a dog crate.
Two of my pekin dakes are rececent rescues. I think they were 16-26 weeks when I rescued them; they were in very bad shape and had clearly been abused before they were dumped. These two are very tightly bonded and go straight to each other when they feel threatened or nervous, but they are also at the age of needing to exert dominance. I had to separate them when they were in quarantine in my house, with a divider in the dog crate. I hoped they would stop the behavior when they were moved to a pen on my patio with a wading pool, where could seeand be seen by my drakes, but were separate. They continued fighting with really bad loss of feathers down the side of their necks. So they are now sleeping in separate dog crates in my duck house and one is taken to the pen each morning and the other allowed out with my ducks [I swap over which is in the pen each day.] They mainly stick together but the one that is out has to establish his place in the pecking order with my drakes. I think that you, @Juno, seem to be doing the same, having one penned and one not. May be you will need to rehome one, but maybe with patience, your two will settle down and live amicably.
I hope so -- live amicably -- but I am looking to rehome one of my recent rescues to someone with a female flock. If I found 2 new homes, I could rehome both of them each to their own forever home.
