Pekin drake

[Sricher91]

So I ordered 2 FEMALE (paid extra from a hatchery) pekin ducklings on a whim when I was ordering chicks. Got them raised them, held them a lot, my kids handled them often.... I found out when they were about 3 months old that one was actually a Drake (by the sounds of the quacks).

Well both ducks have been super friendly/would come right up and eat out of our hands. Right around when our female started laying our male turned into a jerk. He chases me and my kids and tries to bite us (and when he catches me good it really hurts!). When he starts attacking me I pick him up and put him under my arm for a second and when I put him down he stops and walks away and is fine.

Why is he being a jerk all the sudden?

 

[CrystaBub]

My Pekin Drake got snippy for a while too. Very common. Just search this forum and you’ll see how common (and get some good tips and experiences from others) Lol. you’re doing the right thing. Just keep showing him who’s boss and eventually he should chill out. I held my pekin down several times a day until he stopped wiggling - now hes a really sweet boy. Good luck!!!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Why is he being a jerk all the sudden?

Hormones. He most likely could use a few more females. If that is not feasible, find him a new home for the sake of your girl. Then, get her another female to keep her company.
You can hold him down as suggested, but in your situation it is not going to help relieve him of any pent up frustrations. As well, some drakes can just continue to be aggressive regardless of the hen to drake ratio.
I would also contact the hatchery especially if you paid more to get something you didn't really want.

 

[chickens really]

Definitely he is in his first hormone urge and getting out of hand. Chase him off and stop hand feeding them. No livestock should be hand fed... Definitely like them, but from a distance.

 

[Miss Lydia]

All my ducks eat from my hand including my drake you can teach him to be respectful and still have interaction with them. Unless they are going to be in the freezer eventually. I see my birds as pets not livestock so I love to hand feed them the same as I give treats to my dogs. @CrystaBub gave good info on what to do just be consistent that is the key.

 

[Sricher91]

Definitely he is in his first hormone urge and getting out of hand. Chase him off and stop hand feeding them. No livestock should be hand fed... Definitely like them, but from a distance.

We definitely don’t consider them livestock! They are 100% our pets, we got them for the purpose of pets. We actually don’t even eat the eggs from either the the chicken or ducks, we give them away for free to friends and family. Our two bantams come in at night and jump right on the couch to snuggle

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sweet !!

 

[PirateGirl]

I would probably stop the hand feeding. On some level it makes him higher up than you because you allow him to take your food. This type of behavior is not acceptable drake behavior and not all drakes are aggressive or act like this.

Even though many folks on BYC treat their chickens and ducks as "pets" they have been bred for years and years and generation after generation as livestock. They have not been bred for "personality" or other "pet" characteristics so it is somewhat unreasonable for them to act as such and be trained as such. That being said, there are some good reads on BYC on how to handle an aggressive drake and various "training" techniques that may work. As with training any "pet" consistency is important, and in your case it means having the entire family be part of the training process and all of you being consistent and handling your drake in the same way. It is possibly to live peacefully with a drake. I hope that your problems are short lived as hormones work themselves out. Puberty is difficult with any species

This might be worth a read.
http://www.raising-ducks.com/aggressive-drakes/

 

[Mcummings2]

I have the exact same problem. My male pekin went from being a big sweetheart to a total asshole. He's even attacking all the neighbors now. This has been going on for months. I've tried holding him down, chasing him away, picking him up, but he doesn't care. He's out for blood. The only thing that temporarily works is tying a plastic bag around a stick, they hate the noise.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Chasing the neighbors. Have you kept him inside a fence? What ever it takes to get his attention use it the plastic bag on a stick sounds good to me.just be consistent in what ever works