Please Help! I'm new!

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StephMagee

StephMagee

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jun 9, 2014
76
5
43
Bradford,Pa
Hey all! My name is Steph and I live in a small town in Bradford, PA. I have 3 dogs, 2 cats and 2 ducks. This is my first time ever having ducks. I'm not sure what kind they are. I think there Peking ducks. They were yellow as babies and then as they got older they turned white with orange beaks and feet. I have a male and a female. They are about 3 1/2 months old. We got them at the same time from Tractor Supply. They have lived in my closet since we got them. We took the door off and laid down some plastic and towels and put up a baby gate. I've tried to work with them to make them friendly with my husband and I, but they seem kind of skidish with us and really don't like us to pet them and they hate being held. They both seem to do better with my husband then they do with me. We have a kennel outside that we carry them outside to and a swimming pool. We are currently working on building them a pond and fencing that all in. I'm hoping as they get older they will get more used to us. Ok, I think that's enough background haha! I've started to notice with my male, that whenever I go into the closet to give them clean towels, food or water, or even when he's in the kennel(the female is always around him. They hate it when they can't see each other) but anytime I turn my back to walk away my male will come charging at me until he can bite either my ankle or my toes. Once he gets a bite or 2 he will walk back to the kennel or the closet depending on where we are at at the time. He doesn't charge my husband at all, just me. Does he hate me? Or is this normal behavior?? It doesn't hurt when he bites me and it's funny when he's chasing me. But wondering why he's doing this? Pleas help!!!!!
 
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Glad you joined us! I've never had ducks, so I can't tell you for sure why your duck is attacking you. But I can tell you that it probably isn't because he hates you. If male ducks are anything like male chickens (which I have plenty of experience with), I would think that they are somewhat territorial and will be aggressive to something they think is a threat. Threats can be all sorts of things--flying birds, household pets, leaves falling from the sky, and of course, their human caretakers. I have a young cockerel right now who acts just like your duck. He charges me when I enter his pen, attacks my legs briefly, and then retreats. His father did the same thing when he was young. At least with chickens, males seem to mellow out once they mature.
 
Thanks! I was thinking it was territorial thing with him, but wasn't sure since he doesn't charge my husband. Ducks are a lot of fun. They've been fun to raise. We got them in March and where I'm at the winters are horrible, that's why when they outgrew the cage we put them in the closet. But now that it's nice out we put them in the kennel and we got them a small pool. Before the pool I would put them in the tub so they could swim. But now were in the process of digging a pond. I think there going to love it! We bring them in at night. I have a fear of predators getting them.
 
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Pecker(make) Daisy(female) we just got everything all set up for them outside! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep predators away. I have everything all fenced in and then a dog kennel inside the fenced in area and have tin on top and then wired on all sides but the front for night time and when were not home to keep an eye on them. I'll post a pic so you can see what the set up is. It's still a work in progress
 

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