Pekin duck affection

[livingwithjane]

Hi!

I'm new to owning ducks. I have 5 pekin ducks that are about 9 or 10 weeks old.

All of my ducks are very sweet, and will let me pet them. But something a couple of them do that I find really charming is what I like to call a hug. I know nearly nothing about duck behavior, so I thought I would ask all of you guys what you think is really going on.

If I haven't been around the ducks for a few hours, I'll come out to say hi, sit down, and stick my arm out toward them in hopes of petting one.

Two of my ducks will come toward my arm, stick their head and neck out, and "snake" it up my arm, while quacking and vibrating.

It seems very pleasant and affectionate to me. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are they drakes?

 

[livingwithjane]

Are they drakes?

I have 1 drake, but the two that give hugs are female.

 

[livingwithjane]

I should also mention that these two get very jealous if I pet the other ducks. They will use their necks to push the other ducks away from me.

 

[RJKnott]

My female pekin does something similar. She will nibble at my calf and will run her head against it. And gets very jealous if I give attention to the other ducks. And she likes to be held and pet much more than my other ducks do

 

[livingwithjane]

My female pekin does something similar. She will nibble at my calf and will run her head against it. And gets very jealous if I give attention to the other ducks. And she likes to be held and pet much more than my other ducks do

So sweet! I'm glad to hear that mine aren't the only ones.

 

[LT71689]

Could be affection/attention seeking. Some ducks do something similar with more force, like a lunge (but not necessarily bill-first, they're not jabbing or pecking, just thrusting their necks out) and thats often viewed as dominance behaviour.

So long as nobodys fighting or getting injured you're fine.

 

[livingwithjane]

Could be affection/attention seeking. Some ducks do something similar with more force, like a lunge (but not necessarily bill-first, they're not jabbing or pecking, just thrusting their necks out) and thats often viewed as dominance behaviour.

So long as nobodys fighting or getting injured you're fine.

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Kat_withducks]

I have one that does this as well and have been trying to figure out what it means. In my case I'm leaning towards a dominance behavior. We only have two ducks, I think they like our company but they won't let us pet them. The one who does that up my arm thing is the subservient one of the two - I just assumed she's making sure she's not the lowest rung in the flock by putting me in my place . She only does it when I try to feed them a treat by hand. If anyone has suggestions on what should be done when she does it I'd appreciate it.