Runner Duck “Burping?”

[TinaandJohnny]

Hey everyone,
So to start, I love getting in here because everyone is very helping and knowledgeable, so thanks for that!
I have 2 Indian Runner Ducks. (Both drakes) They are 3.5 months old, I hatched them out myself, so they are deeply imprinted on me to the point where they follow me around everywhere still, cry when I leave them, get excited and talk when I greet them. I don’t have any other ducks and these are my first ducks. I have experienced unexpected facts about drakes that I didn’t know about before, such as their raspy voices and how they don’t quack like the females. I didn’t know the difference because they were both males. So one of my boys has been doing this thing; and the only way to describe it is as if he’s burping? It sounds like a burp, he scrunches his neck up then slightly stretches it out, sometimes with have a raspy final, exhale. Similar to when he talks. It’s very hard to describe. But maybe someone on here knows what’s going on?
He’s only done it for 2 or 3 days. They are on veterinarian recommend food, veggies, clean water, warm place to sleep and VERY loved.
I read that males do it for mating, to get the girls attention, I just don’t have an girls for them to flirt with, so I wanted to ask the folk on here before I just let it be. Also, I noticed it happens sometimes but not every time, when I get them riled up and start talking to them and it get them excited.
Thanks, any input helps!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Handsome boys
That is totally normal
My drakes do this when I come around as well. I think it’s also an excited thing not just a mate thing
They do it to show off to the ladies but also to me

 

[TinaandJohnny]

Oh sweet, thanks, good to know! I figured it was something probably that I didn’t know before. The one that does it, isn’t sick or showing any signs of sickness. Super healthy. Do you have females and if so, do they do it also?

 

[TinaandJohnny]

Handsome boys
That is totally normal
My drakes do this when I come around as well. I think it’s also an excited thing not just a mate thing
They do it to show off to the ladies but also to me

Oh sweet, thanks, good to know! I figured it was something probably that I didn’t know before. The one that does it, isn’t sick or showing any signs of sickness. Super healthy. Do you have females and if so, do they do it also?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Oh sweet, thanks, good to know! I figured it was something probably that I didn’t know before. The one that does it, isn’t sick or showing any signs of sickness. Super healthy. Do you have females and if so, do they do it also?

I do have females and no my girls never do it
My boys also but the head and neck down and run in a circle making a noise
That’s when they get excited
The girls will get chatty and bob their head to the side with beak hitting the ground up and down
It’s my Swedish who started that and now all my girls do it
It’s funny how they follow or copy one another

 

[Summer_]

I like it when they do that lol. One of mine will either do that (burp) or run in a circle with its neck out, and then the other one will. They for some reason have to wait for the other one to start it before they can do it. They’re funny

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thats hilarious. Since I had just Muscovy until 2016 when my Muscovy females hatched Runners and Buffs I had never seen the burp running in circles with head down thing. It's kind of like wow what is wrong with the drake? lol When my Runner drake does it now I rarely notice. He's such a hambone.

 

[TinaandJohnny]

I do have females and no my girls never do it
My boys also but the head and neck down and run in a circle making a noise
That’s when they get excited
The girls will get chatty and bob their head to the side with beak hitting the ground up and down
It’s my Swedish who started that and now all my girls do it
It’s funny how they follow or copy one another

Haha. Mine do that also. Run around in a circle and yapping away. They are quite the flirts. Thank you for responding to my post, I appreciate it!

 

[picklestheduck]

Yeah, when the drakes do it, they arch up their heads and necks and whistle and ruffle their feathers. They mostly just stand there, but if they are really riled up, especially around the females, they will either swim in circles around them or if on land zoom around them on foot.

 

[TinaandJohnny]

Yeah, when the drakes do it, they arch up their heads and necks and whistle and ruffle their feathers. They mostly just stand there, but if they are really riled up, especially around the females, they will either swim in circles around them or if on land zoom around them on foot.

Yeah, when the drakes do it, they arch up their heads and necks and whistle and ruffle their feathers. They mostly just stand there, but if they are really riled up, especially around the females, they will either swim in circles around them or if on land zoom around them on foot.

They seem to be doing a lot of the behavior that may “impress” the females, I just don’t have any and think they’re trying to impress me. Lol. They call for to me with their necks flat and head held high when I get them all riled up, zoom around, go after each other on occasion. Very interesting. Lol