New duck owner help!

[Pannett]

Hi everyone, I’m very new to all this so hoping for some advice. I was given two chickens and a young Muscovy duck about 7 months ago. The Muscovy would have been around 3 months at the time and the lady thought it was a female.

We took them on and soon worked out we had a drake. We love him to bits but needed to seperate him from the chooks and also wanted to get him some girls. He has been housed with two females but unfortunately one got out and we haven’t seen her again

The two ducks were doing well but then I noticed he was getting quite aggressive and plucking out feathers on her wings. I assumed he just needed another female or two. So we have just got another female and she has settled in really well with our drake.

At first the original female was very aggressive towards the new one and chased her all over the pen. I’m not sure if this is just like chickens and establishing a type of pecking order. But I have since found the drake is still very aggressive towards our original duck but is quite gentle with the new one.

I have separated the original duck just so she can heal but whenever they are in the same pen it just stirs him up and he goes for her feathers. I feel for her as she sits near the fence as if she wants to be with them but if they are together she runs scared. Not sure what to do I’m afraid he will start to do this to the new female if she is the only one with him but don’t want to put the other duck back with them yet.

Any advice would be amazing!!!!

 

[ProudRedneck]

Ducks absolutely establish pecking order like chickens. Is the one that's getting "bullied", is she a Muscovy as well or different breed? Can you post pictures of her?

 

[Pannett]

Yes she is the same breed. The first and last are of my poor girl I feel so terrible but this is very fresh and she has healed a lot already after separating them. The middle pic is the drake and new female

 

[ProudRedneck]

Yeah, what he has done to her is beyond establishing pecking order and you were right to separate her. You say that the drake and this one are same age? My immediate thoughts are this is two drakes fighting for dominance, which would also explain why your original started chasing the new female you brought in.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Are the bullied one and the drake the same size?

 

[Pannett]

She is definitely female as she is laying eggs

 

[Pannett]

Are the bullied one and the drake the same size?

No she is smaller than him quite a bit

 

[Canadian Wind]

So yes, definitely a male and female then...

 

[Pannett]

I’m wondering if he just needs more females I have been told they can need up to 8 sometimes. I can’t have that many ducks so am considering finding somewhere for the drake. I know a lady that can rehome him just sad as we have had him since he was little but can’t have him hurting the other animals. Will the females be happy with just the two of them or will they need more?

 

[sourland]

Two females should be fine together.