What should I do with feather-puller?

[CoriM]

I've been keeping my 6 ducks separated when in their run and night time coop - for the last 2 or 3 weeks to see if my duck Penny's sides would get better (we'd been treating her for a skin issue since last October). She is getting better, though not perfect. Anyway, I let all the ducks be together around the little pond in their run this morning for about ten minutes. I came out and saw my duck Puddles floating in the pond and Tuppins (the feather puller) standing on the edge, reaching down and either biting her or pulling feathers out of her shoulder area. She did this to Puddles last week and so Puddles has a raw area under her feathers there. Clearly it's a problem and I can't let it continue. So what do I do? It's a big hassle keeping their area divided in half. And Tuppins has always been so friendly and sweet to me. She's always standing at the door when I come out to the coop and likes to be pet. Also, she and Penny are actually close friends and their feather-pulling ritual is mutual. It always happens by the water and Penny lowers herself and head-bobs, and basically seems to be asking Tuppins to pull her feathers. It's very weird! While the two ducks have been separated they lay next to each other on either side of the fence. Is Tuppins really a mean duck? Is she a crazy duck? I can't imagine how sad it would be to give her away - how confusing and scary for her. On the other hand, they're only one year old and I can't imagine doing this crazy separation for the rest of my ducks' lives either. It means they all only get to have access to a much smaller run because it's cut in half, and only half get the pond at a time, also two food dishes, two water dishes, etc. Should I just keep waiting it out this way? Is there any hope Tuppins will outgrow this habit?

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Is tuppins really a duck? Maybe a drake trying to mate?

 

[CoriM]

She's definitely a girl Gives me a pretty egg every day!

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

That's odd. Does she eat the feathers afterwords?

 

[CoriM]

I know. I've seen her appear to swallow some and I've seen lots of little ones left on the ground as well. The duck this happens to most often is truly a willing partner in the weird ritual. My other duck is not willing and Tuppins will lean over her if she's in the pool or laying down and just grab some out of her shoulder area.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

I know. I've seen her appear to swallow some and I've seen lots of little ones left on the ground as well. The duck this happens to most often is truly a willing partner in the weird ritual. My other duck is not willing and Tuppins will lean over her if she's in the pool or laying down and just grab some out of her shoulder area.

Could it be a protein deficiency? @Miss Lydia @Isaac 0

 

[CoriM]

How much protein should she be getting? I feed her Purina duck food that has 19% protein, and fermented scratch and peck whole grains a few meals a week. She gets a handful of mealworm, peas, and kale each day. She forages in the grass 1-2 hours a day and she gets occasional slugs and worms. Do you think I should add cat food or something?

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

She is getting enough protein, maybe its a bad habit? A little cat food won't hurt