why do ducks attack ducklings.

[neetdark]

My friend had a friend who had a female duck that had some ducklings and a male was walking behind them and grabbing them and he threw them all one by one, killing them. Why did he do this? i am worried that this is going to happen to my ducks when they start hatching their eggs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Welcome. That does occur in poultry sometimes. If it isn't your offspring, or you don't know it is, than their instincts is to kill it sometimes as an intruder. Not all have proper instincts.

It's always best to separate out the very young for a few weeks before allowing the rest of the flock to meet the new members, and to wait until they are stronger and more able to get away from aggressive adults.

Your friend should have intervened and removed that drake, or removed the hen and ducklings the minute she saw that degree of aggression.

Not all ducks are so aggressive, but when hatching out any species of poultry it's best to be aware that it does happen and to keep an eye out, and separate when necessary, and help the hen protect her young.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Welcome. That does occur in poultry sometimes. If it isn't your offspring, or you don't know it is, than their instincts is to kill it sometimes as an intruder. Not all have proper instincts.

It's always best to separate out the very young for a few weeks before allowing the rest of the flock to meet the new members, and to wait until they are stronger and more able to get away from aggressive adults.

Your friend should have intervened and removed that drake, or removed the hen and ducklings the minute she saw that degree of aggression.

Not all ducks are so aggressive, but when hatching out any species of poultry it's best to be aware that it does happen and to keep an eye out, and separate when necessary, and help the hen protect her young.

X2 on what oldhenlikesdog said. Excellent explanation!
This covers other species as well, such as rabbits.

 

[N F C]

Great info from OHLD, hope you don't encounter that situation.

 

[drumstick diva]

That's a wake up call for me, I had no idea ducks could be as ruthless as some chickens

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Great info from OHLD, hope you don't encounter that situation.

You know, this is totally off topic...but the acronym of oldhenlikesdogs is ohld...old like the beginning of her name. Maybe that's a strange thing to notice...lol.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You know, this is totally off topic...but the acronym of oldhenlikesdogs is ohld...old like the beginning of her name. Maybe that's a strange thing to notice...lol.

I hadn't noticed that. I guess I was being smart without knowing it. Yay, me.

 

[keringordon]

That's a wake up call for me, I had no idea ducks could be as ruthless as some chickens

Years ago I had a bunch of Pekin ducks..I was raised in the duck capitol of the world on LI. One female went and killed all the ducklings from another mother. There was one still alive with a broken leg. I went to go get something to set the leg, a popsicle stick, and she killed it. I have no idea if you can set a ducklings egg..I was sure gonna try. Beware mothers around other young. FYI...my grandfather at one time owned the biggest duck farm in the world before I was born..thank god for the hurricane that destroyed it. All the pain and torture to kill these ducks. Im a vegan and I just started to raise chickens for their eggs and go back to being a vegetarian. After eating two eggs a day for a week my body smelled so bad of sulfur I had to stop. It smelled like my cat peed on me and the smell was horrid. Being a vegan I no longer had a smell for the last several years and used mineral deodorant. Has anyone else noticed the smell you get from eating eggs. Not much was found online...Im dumbfounded on how bad I smelled...like if I as in a crowd people would be checking their shoes Im pretty sure. I stopped eating eggs six days ago and the smell is gone.