I do that as well! If Honk had his way, nobody but him would get the treats. So I usually have to feed him a little, sneak my hand over to the others.. when Honk tries to steal it from them I quickly say Honk, that’s bad but I love you LOL I can’t scold with a darn
You are so right, Oscar my 15 pound Muscovy Drake always struts up first and the others respect that. I figure he should eat first because even though he can be bad with the ladies at times, I feel he protects the flock. They know he is boss and when its time to go back in their large pen he always makes sure everyone is in before he leaves by the gate. Such a Gentleman when he wants to be, lol.
Ok, first of all, that was the greatest. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. Your babies are just adorable and I suppose they really are like little kids learning routines. That’s what somebody told me anyways, that ducks are toddlers testing limits. So every single night they will go to bed like that? I’m really impressed.
Hope you don’t mind my asking, but that’s another issue I’m trying to overcome.. my boy Honk is verrrrrry much aware that he’s the biggest boy around. He is mean, chasing after everybody else. He nips at them, grabs onto their necks.. but I too know that he protects them. He alerts anytime a stranger bird flies overhead, he is the first to listen and go to bed at night. I don’t know, I’ve been trying to find posts and stories from other people.. what do you do if you have one upset boy?
Yes, e-ver-y single night. Ducks love routine and that was one routine that I was determined to follow through with because I knew I may have to put them up during the day if I need to run errands, or if a really bad storm is on its way and I don't want them to get caught in it, or if we are away on vacation and we have someone here taking care of the babies while we're gone, then it is extremely handy to be able to put them away easily. Plus, I don't have to use herding methods which I feel gives off a reason for my ducks to run from me and I don't ever want that.
Smart. Very smart. I am not a herder, never have been a herder.. so that one is not coming naturally for me. I feel like a weirdo with my arms outstretched talking baby talk to the air and motioning awkward directions.. I am definitely going to try your method, truly I am.
Good luck
and I got this idea by combining the "all ducks go to bed" yell from Gold Shaw Farms on YouTube and the treat dish idea from The Good Life Here on YouTube.
I know my Oscar can be rough on my Rouens but the Rouens and his Sister right now are the only ones he tries to mate. He leaves my small Mallards and Khaki Campbell alone and he has no access to the huge young ducks that are just over 2 months old. They are big but he could still hurt them. I was thinking of isolating him at one point when he was so hard on the Rouens but he has since then settled down some. I think I would separate him in a separate pen where my young ducks are right now and let them out with the others if it got too bad. It's hard when we have such a size difference and I am lucky that he leaves my smaller ones alone. Being a Muscovy and not the Mallard breed made no difference when he mated with my Rouens. That is how I got the mixed Rouen and Mallard ducklings. They are beautiful though. Sorry I can't help anymore than this.
