Need Advice-Please Help!

[BickeringToast]

I have 4 males who are around 6 months- Mose, Niles, Doc, Daphne. They have been together since day 1. Their outdoor area is decent size. There is a very secure pen which is 20x20 and has their 4x4 house in it. They love that house and run into it at any chance. During the day (about 8am-8pm) they can access the attached pen which is 30x20 and has an additional section with an 8x8 pond.

Here's the issue: Niles has always picked on Daphne. It has always been just a little peck here and there. Daphne had no physical signs of 'abuse' and still stayed with the group. In the pond things would get a little more intense BUT all of them are trying to sex each other up in the pond. This morning things seem to have escalated. While in the yard Niles is full on putting his neck over Daphne, has pulled some feathers out and just gotten meaner with him. Daphne even went into the secured pen and hid out in the house!

Is Niles just going to get worse? Do I need to send him packing?!?!? He is definitely the boss of the group but Daphne is the only one he gets mean with.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 4 males who are around 6 months- Mose, Niles, Doc, Daphne. They have been together since day 1. Their outdoor area is decent size. There is a very secure pen which is 20x20 and has their 4x4 house in it. They love that house and run into it at any chance. During the day (about 8am-8pm) they can access the attached pen which is 30x20 and has an additional section with an 8x8 pond.

Here's the issue: Niles has always picked on Daphne. It has always been just a little peck here and there. Daphne had no physical signs of 'abuse' and still stayed with the group. In the pond things would get a little more intense BUT all of them are trying to sex each other up in the pond. This morning things seem to have escalated. While in the yard Niles is full on putting his neck over Daphne, has pulled some feathers out and just gotten meaner with him. Daphne even went into the secured pen and hid out in the house!

Is Niles just going to get worse? Do I need to send him packing?!?!? He is definitely the boss of the group but Daphne is the only one he gets mean with.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Tough guy picking on the lowest in the pecking order, it always seems this is the way it is. It should actually be getting better since hormones should start to wane now that we're moving towards fall. But since I don't have an all drake flock I'm not sure what to tell you other than removing Niles from the pack for about a week, he can't even see them. then try introducing him back into the mix that may shake up the pecking order enough to set it straight. Or at least give you an idea as to which way to go with Niles. best of luck with this, also if you can change out their pen and house somehow moving things around so when he does come back it doesn't look familiar to him.

 

[BickeringToast]

Thanks Miss Lydia, I think the great bully Niles is in need of enjoying his own company for a little while! He is such a little ****, but so dang cute! I tell everyone that Niles has 'short man syndrome' abd that is why he is a bully, Even though he is not the thinnest (that is Doc our Runner), he is the shortest and has something to prove

Back when they were little ducklings swimming around in the tub, Niles was the most timid!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks Miss Lydia, I think the great bully Niles is in need of enjoying his own company for a little while! He is such a little ****, but so dang cute! I tell everyone that Niles has 'short man syndrome' abd that is why he is a bully, Even though he is not the thinnest (that is Doc our Runner), he is the shortest and has something to prove

Back when they were little ducklings swimming around in the tub, Niles was the most timid!

Maybe a bit of solitary confinement will do him some good. and I know being short can make one feel inferior since I'm short. lol

 

[furbabymum]

My personal philosophy is that life is too short to have mean animals. That's me though.

 

[BickeringToast]

I don't completely disagree but Niles is not what I would call just mean. He is just fine with people, no aggression, and he doesn't always go after Daphne. I don't know, maybe I'm making excuses for him

We have several dogs and one of them is bad bad bad- but he is my special guy. Maybe I am just a sucker for the bad-boys!

My tune would change quickly though if Daphne is in real danger or things escalate.

 

[BickeringToast]

Maybe a bit of solitary confinement will do him some good. and I know being short can make one feel inferior since I'm short. lol

I was just out there doing a water change and sprayed that little demon with a water bottle when he started going after Daphne. He figured out what was happening and decided to give Mose a nip instead (Mose is a quite large Cayuaga).

Mose nipped him back

This tit-for-tat seems to have led to a temporary moratorium on nipping and all 4 are napping under the sink together.

 

[furbabymum]

I don't completely disagree but Niles is not what I would call just mean. He is just fine with people, no aggression, and he doesn't always go after Daphne. I don't know, maybe I'm making excuses for him

We have several dogs and one of them is bad bad bad- but he is my special guy. Maybe I am just a sucker for the bad-boys!

My tune would change quickly though if Daphne is in real danger or things escalate.

I watched some chickens in which there were far too many roosters. The state of that flock was deplorable. You may think you are being nice but I'd say when feathers are being torn off to the point that no one has any and such...it's bad. I'm a bit of a ferocious female so I don't even like seeing my males treat the females bad. In fact, I got rid of both my drakes because of the amount of damage they were doing to the girls. Since I didn't want baby ducks the guys were unnecessary to me. I understand this is a personal decision but at some point people think they are being all animal loving and humane when they are inflicting incredible damage to the animals they are purporting to care for.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sometimes behavior can be changed with a bit of an attitude adjustment, I always say worth a try.