PLEASE help me

[outsageous]

Okay, so I have absolutely no idea what to do right now. I’ve had a little orphaned duckling for almost a month now. He hadn’t been with any other ducklings, & I knew ducklings weren’t supposed to be alone like that so I finally went and got a Muscovy duckling as a companion. At first, they were completely fine, & my original acted like he was so happy with the other one. Well, that all changed this morning, after they spent the night together. All of a sudden he is pecking at the other one & being so aggressive. The other one can’t even get near me anymore. He’s pecking the eyes & despite my best efforts to stop him, it looks like one might even be bleeding a little. He’s also tearing it’s beak up. It won’t even fight back. At this point he’s purposefully going after it no matter what it’s doing. The original does think that I’m his mama, so could it be that he’s jealous? I just have no idea what happened this morning, & I don’t know what to do. Someone please give me some advice on this. I just want what’s best for them.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Separate them so they can see but not touch each other.

 

[PirateGirl]

I got a little confused, is the original duckling pecking the new duckling, or is the new one beating up the original one?

Usually ducks/chickens need to go through some sort of gradual integration period. If you put them together immediately, it is common for there to be friction. Just because they don't get along well right this minute, does not mean it's hopeless. It just takes time. If a stranger moved into your house and shared your bedroom with you and you had no say in the arrangement, you might have some issues with your new roommate too, but you could still be friends once you get to know each other.

I would try setting them up, somewhere different/new than where the original duck is used to eating/sleeping/etc. in a way that they can see and talk to each other, but not peck at each other. Let them get to know each other a bit first without being dangerous to each other.

 

[outsageous]

Separate them so they can see but not touch each other.

I’m trying but I don’t really have anything else to put the second one in.

 

[outsageous]

I got a little confused, is the original duckling pecking the new duckling, or is the new one beating up the original one?

Usually ducks/chickens need to go through some sort of gradual integration period. If you put them together immediately, it is common for there to be friction. Just because they don't get along well right this minute, does not mean it's hopeless. It just takes time. If a stranger moved into your house and shared your bedroom with you and you had no say in the arrangement, you might have some issues with your new roommate too, but you could still be friends once you get to know each other.

I would try setting them up, somewhere different/new than where the original duck is used to eating/sleeping/etc. in a way that they can see and talk to each other, but not peck at each other. Let them get to know each other a bit first without being dangerous to each other.

Sorry for the confusion, it’s the original that’s being aggressive to the new duckling. It was just weird to me because they seemed like they really liked each other yesterday when I first got him & all through last night, but now it’s all of a sudden switched. They even slept together & were all cuddled up with each other. The new one is just so sweet, I feel bad about it getting hurt. My issue with separating them is because the original is really clingy to me & always stays huddled up on me somewhere, so putting the other one off to the side when he’s already scared of this new place seems kinda mean. Plus I don’t really have anything else to keep the other one in. What’s crazy is how easy to deal with this new one is, where with my original it took weeks to get him to be comfortable with everything. He is wild though, so that's probably why he’s so difficult.

 

[DuckyDonna]

How old are each of the ducks? You should be able to fashion some kind of a barrier to separate them without having to have a "thing" like a cage. Where are they living? In your house?

 

[PirateGirl]

Are these always going to be inside ducks? Is there a room or a bathtub or a tote of some sort where they can hang out together with a bit of fencing as a divider between them? Maybe a baby gate in a doorway or hallway where they can be on opposite sides so they can see and hear each other but not attack each other at all?

Do you live a lifestyle where you will always be able to have the duck be so close to you? It wouldn't hurt the duck to learn to be without you and learn to hang out with its new duck friend.

I find they also do better when they can be together in more neutral territory with more space to run and get away and/or hide if wanted. Perhaps a field trip into the yard where they can run around together would help.

 

[PirateGirl]

Also are they close to the same size/age?

 

[outsageous]

How old are each of the ducks? You should be able to fashion some kind of a barrier to separate them without having to have a "thing" like a cage. Where are they living? In your house?

They are in my house. At first I had the original duckling in a terrarium, but I put him into a big dog carrier so that there would be more room for the other one. The original is around 7 weeks I think, the new one is around 5 but is actually a little bigger. I’m planning on putting them outside once they both have their feathers. I don’t even have a coop or anything right now because I’ve never had ducks or chickens, but I’ve got the materials & I’m going to start building this week.

 

[PirateGirl]

You could put one in the dog crate and one in the terrarium and put them side by side (at least for part of the day (or overnight) so they can see and talk to each other and get used to each other.