@jennasips I have an all drake flock and can confirm what others have written, that drake hormones kick in during the spring and that can make drakes aggressive.
Of my 4 drakes, only one is aggressive with me, but they all squabble amongst themselves. I now have the two pekin drakes sleeping in dog crates inside their coop to stop them being bullied by the two muscovy drakes. All 4 are fine outside free-ranging during the day.
I was very worried about O Pato, the muscovy that started attacking me at the end of December/beginning of January. He came at me flapping wings, with his feet and then trying to bite me, too, in the way your drake is biting you.
I followed the advice I read on this forum about holding the neck and pressing down on the drakes back, holding him on the ground until he sighed. It was a struggle, and I didn't like doing it. After doing that three times, I decided to adopt my own approach. I have a round concrete picnic table in my back yard and when O Pato next attacked me, I picked him up and put him on the picnic table. I then held him against me with one arm and held his neck behind his head so he couldn't turn and bite me. I didn't press him down, I just held him firmly enough to stop him struggling. AND I talked to him gently throughout. It may have been 5 minutes until he calmed down -- it felt like half an hour. When I put him down, he didn't attack me but did a sort of ritual of flapping his wings and dipping down his chest to the ground, very much like muscovies do in water when they are bathing.
Within half an hour O Pato was up on my side gate. I was very worried as there is a toddler in the house across the road and the last thing I needed is an angry drake on the lam. I went out to him, and approaching the gate he was up at near my height as the gate is up a step from the walkway. I admit I was frightened as I approached him. I slowly raised my arms and held them out to him and he let me get right up to the gate. I put my arms round him in a hug and he rested his head on my shoulder. the hug went on for a long time. As he was calm, I decided to try and turn him round and get him to go back into my backyard. He did and he was sweet all day. Next day [and for nearly 2 weeks most days] he attacked me as soon as he was let out of the coop. Each time I picked him up, put him on the table, and held him and talked to him. Quite frankly I was getting really worried. He's a rescue and there is no way I could re home him. No one wants muscovy drakes and certainly not an aggressive drake. He twice more got up on the side gate [I could see him through the kitchen window] and I twice more went to him and hugged him. Then after day 12 of attacking me, he stopped. He also stopped getting onto the side gate and having hugs. [He has done it once more about a month ago, out of the blue.] He isn't a duck that likes petting, but he is always at my patio doors looking inside for me. He and the other drakes get excited when I talk to them from the house and when I go outside to hang out with them.
All was good for more than two months, but over the last 3 weeks, O Pato has started coming out of the coop in the morning and going straight to bite me feet. I now have a dog crate in my back yard for time out. I pick him up and put him in there, then go back and get my other three drakes out. After tidying up the coop for a few minutes, I let O Pato out of the dog crate and he behaves absolutely perfectly: no more trying to bite my feet. Just a few minutes in the dog crate is enough to remind him that biting is not allowed.
You might be able to use/adapt some of these approaches to your drake. Also, don't lose heart -- drake hormones start to fade by August.
The photo is of the second time O Pato got onto the gate back in January. The first time, I was too frightened to even think of getting my phone out and taking a selfie!
He’s an only duck as of now but I’m currently raising a 4 week old Silver Appleyard. I’m not sure what the gender of the duckling is yet but if it is female I’m afraid I will have to get rid of my aggressive Drake. I really don’t want to get rid of him but I can’t do this everyday. Does anyone have any tips to stop this behavior? He has a stuffed animal duck to get his aggression out on but prefers to attack me. Will the behavior eventually stop or am I stuck with an aggressive Drake now?
