new aggression with ducks

[LittleRooster]

Hello all,

I am new to ducks. I inherited 6 ducks that were a few months old, born in April so 3 1/2 or 4 months old. I have a boy and girl Rouen, 2 Cayugas and 2 Pekins (haven't figured out sexes yet). They have a kiddie pool and they live with some geese. The geese and ducks pretty much ignore eachother.

I have had the ducks for about a month now. When I refill their pool they have a great time jumping in and out, splashing around, etc. Yesterday when I was filling their pool I noticed something new...one of the pekins started it and then several of them took turns being the "aggressor". The pekin first started biting and jumped on top of the female Rouen...then proceeded to bite the back of her neck and keep her face in the water...until I sprayed them with the hose. Then others started doing it...not all on the Rouen...occasionally on some of the others. The Rouen was not the only victim but seemed to get it more than others. The Pekin was one of the worst aggressors but not the only one.

Anyone have any ideas for me? Could they actually drown her or is this just normal aggressive (pecking order) kind of thing? I do have chickens and am used to pecking order but generally drowing is not involved.

Thanks!

Kitty

 

[sourland]

They are maturing and exhibiting mating behavior. Ducks prefer to mate in water. If you have too many drakes, conceivably multiple drakes breeding the same hen could drown her. It might be best to reduce the number of drakes that you keep.

 

[LittleRooster]

So, does that mean I have a bunch of drakes? Will only drakes do that? I do not need that many drakes... and I promised not to put these in the freezer. *sigh*