Pattern of irritated, incessant quacking

[Amiga]

Amiga, that's similar to her behavior with the shrill sounding quack but I don't think it's tied to broodiness. I have definitely seen that from her before the last time she went broody and was sitting on the nest. Ducks are more complex than I ever thought they'd be.

I have been amazed at the complexity of their behaviors, too.

Sometimes a duck will just get all anxious about something. I don't doubt that there is really a concern, but I have no idea what it might be.

 

[duckitup]

Did you ever figure out why she was acting that way? Is she still doing it? I have one that just started up a few days ago. She acts cranky like a broody but isn't sitting. Quacking loudly and persistently, ruffles her feathers and hunches her neck occasionally when I am around. But seems normal when I am not close. She still forages, swims and eats with the others and acts normally with them.

 

[Mudbillkisses]

Duckitup- No I haven't figured it out! She is still doing this and it's becoming disruptive. You're describing what she does. Last year when she was a year old this time she would do constant gathering call when she heard me in the house and would stop when I came outside, now she does it when we are out there with her and stops when we leave. Like yours, she acts fine with her routine otherwise. She is so loud and does the mouth open gesture and will stop most of the time when I pick her up but starts right back up when I put her down as long as I'm still around. At first I thought it was related to feeding schedule as I've tried to retrain to feeding a few times per day only vs having food available more often. But it's been going on for so long now that it doesn't seem to be related to anything in particular. I just wondered if this was normal and if it'll stop at some point....my husband has talked of finding her a new home because of it. I don't think I could ever do that but it has become that disruptive.

 

[Mudbillkisses]

How old is yours and when did this start?

 

[duckitup]

Mine just turned a year old recently. She has always been the bold one, kind of going on her own adventures a little away from the flock once in a while, but this is strange. I haven't noticed her keeping her mouth open but she does quack constantly when I let them out in the a.m. and when I go to the pond to give them treats. Fluffs up and hunches (just like my two broodys right now. They are separated from her so it's not like she is picking up on their behaviors). Any time I'm around she does it. She is a Runner duck as are the rest of them so they aren't very friendly towards me like wanting to be picked up or anything but usually they tolerate me being around just fine.

We honestly don't know if she has been laying since their are 3 other females with her. We were getting all 3 eggs a day until about 6 days ago. We don't know who lays which egg but I can tell them apart and I know that one of them has been missing and I wonder if it is hers. I've never dealt with egg bound or anything so I'm trying to look up what goes on with that and if that could be it. We did get a soft shelled egg a couple days before we stopped getting all three.

I also wonder if it could just be hormones. Like maybe she went broody but doesn't have any eggs to sit on and still just is hormonal. idk.

Sorry you are having to think about rehoming. Luckily we live in the middle of farm land and it doesn't bother anyone. I hope you can figure it out soon. Good luck and keep me posted with any progress please. Thanks

 

[duckitup]

Duckitup- No I haven't figured it out! She is still doing this and it's becoming disruptive. You're describing what she does. Last year when she was a year old this time she would do constant gathering call when she heard me in the house and would stop when I came outside, now she does it when we are out there with her and stops when we leave. Like yours, she acts fine with her routine otherwise. She is so loud and does the mouth open gesture and will stop most of the time when I pick her up but starts right back up when I put her down as long as I'm still around. At first I thought it was related to feeding schedule as I've tried to retrain to feeding a few times per day only vs having food available more often. But it's been going on for so long now that it doesn't seem to be related to anything in particular. I just wondered if this was normal and if it'll stop at some point....my husband has talked of finding her a new home because of it. I don't think I could ever do that but it has become that disruptive.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if it could be food. We just recently switched from their normal pellets to a hand mixed feed. They all seemed to love it but maybe she doesn't?? We free feed so I can't speak to switching that up but, I do think my ducks would protest to not having it available. Have you tried just leaving it out all the time again to see if that makes a difference?

 

[Mudbillkisses]

My sassy girl is an ancona- part runner and you can tell. Mine is also imprinted (we hatched her and her sister in an incubator) and I wonder if that has something to do with it since she seems needy but agitated cause she still seems to stay near us (just seems uptight/anxious/demanding).

As far as food routine changes: My farmer friend says that when she switches her feed she does it very incrementally over the course of several days gradually shifting the ratio until it's completely new feed. To answer your question, I was doing the twice a day and now I'm checking the food 3/per day when feasible and leaving out portions according to how much they eat at a time- trying to avoid a lot of waste or yucky food that sits around and attracts pests between their eating. I believe she's getting enough food with pellets and especially since she has the run of the yard from a.m. when I let them out of coop until dusk. Perhaps I can make sure she has constant access to pellets at all times.

I'm sure others would be able to give their experience or advise on feeding schedules and factors to consider when making change and/or observations in behavior. I think regardless of if this is the issue, it would be helpful for me! It's never been an issue for me with my other ducks but her constant loud quacking has me questioning.

Unfortunately, I've dealt with egg binding and it was while I was away for a weekend so I wasn't able to intervene. It developed in my 9 month ancona and was fatal because our duck sitters didn't notice anything was wrong. I'm by no means an expert on this subject but I would just recommend making sure your girls have oyster shell available to them always, and if you're concerned- check for signs of prolapse or strain to her rear and watch to see if any nesting habits change or see her behavior in general. Sometimes an egg bound duck will begin to walk funny, stop eating/drinking and will try to lay the egg often with no result. You can also feel for an egg in her abdomen. From what you're saying though- she's been having this behavior for longer than a duck would be egg bound without it becoming obvious- it develops quickly and declines quickly. It doesn't sound to me like this is the issue.

 

[Mudbillkisses]

I am also wondering if its hormonal. I collect daily and that's how often she lays consistently (I only have 2 ducks so I can tell). I'm not sure though because none of my other daily layers have had this response...I wonder how much is breed, hormones, imprinted/not imprinted, flock size, routine etc. Ducks can be surprisingly complex!