Strange behavior...kinda worried

[Amiga]

Do they jerk their heads forward in a thrusting motion, or do they just sort of hold their necks out when they do it? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it before Thursday when we have out vet appointment. It'd be nice to save the vet bills if this is just ordinary mating behavior. Although...that means he thinks I'm his mate which is a whole new can o' worms.

Don't be surprised if he's courting you, Amykins. Sometimes I think ducks sing the old song, Love the One You're With.

 

[Amykins]

All I can say is I hope with all my heart this new duckling is a girl...otherwise I'm in for a world of trouble.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Hopefully it's nothing to worry about. My drakes make a weird burp-to-whistle noise while dipping their heads toward the ground and rocking their whole body forward onto their tip toes. Sometimes they follow that by stretching their necks out parallel to the ground then running around real quick. Wish I had it on video to share with you. When in doubt though, it's a good idea to see the vet I bet!

Edit - Oh and I wanted to add that I've seen a person on the forum who keeps only two drakes and they are best buddies and get along great. As long as there aren't any females, they should have no reason to fight (hopefully you don't really count as a female duck

)

 

[Amykins]

That's my worry...that I'll become the Olive Oyl to their Popeye and Brutus.

 

[Amykins]

FINALLY got video! It was shot on my game boy camera so it's pretty bad quality, but it's all I had within reach. Here it is:

 

[Orca5094]

That is 100% a mating display, no worries Amykins! My drake does this all the time to his favorite female.

 

[Amykins]

That is 100% a mating display, no worries Amykins! My drake does this all the time to his favorite female.

Well, great...that's just great. He also does the head down running in circles thing, but he also did that when he was in pain from his bill injury two months back so we weren't sure.

You know, I never dealt with this when I raised chickens! When they were feeling romantic all they did was crow and then do, um...naughty things to the hens they clearly didn't agree to. Oyvey.

 

[needlessjunk]

Yep, mating call. Took me forever to figure it out with my boys and only one did it.

 

[Amykins]

Yep, mating call. Took me forever to figure it out with my boys and only one did it.

But....but I'm the mama, not the mate! Man...I dunno how I'm gonna deal with this until my other duckling gets old enough 5-6 months from now. And that's IF it's a female (fingers crossed!)

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Oh that's great! Nothing to worry about

I don't think this is strictly a mating gesture. My drakes do it when they are just excited, like when I'm bringing treats to them. It seems like a greeting. They also do it when they are strutting their stuff to show anyone who is watching that this is their flock... a dominance thing. I rarely if ever see it lead directly to mating. Now, if Wobbles starts vibrating his neck and lunging at you, that's another story; you know he's either "into" you or angry with you. Haha, I always laugh at myself when I'm analyzing duck behavior because I have no idea at all what's going on in their little tiny heads... but these are my best guesses!

I'm sure bringing in the new duckling will work out whether male or female... it may take some time, it may be instant, but I bet it will work out. Weird idea, but maybe consider introducing them on neutral territory where Wobbles rarely spends his time. I think that's a best-practice when introducing dogs, so maybe you can apply it to these ducks.