Duck Fight! Who is to blame and what should I do? Video and explanation in the post!

[hoboerecta]

this is my intro post i copied and pasted it here since it gives some background.. as does the description box on the video Hello, I have taken over the care of my elderly parents ducks. They have three female ducks and One drake/One Female pair. The female living with the drake was broody last september and hatched one duck and squished it while hatching. Leaving me to finish hatching it inside, after two nerve wracking days, my favorite little duckling was free from the shell and shortly after, the female duck mom did not want her baby. I raised him indoor and as he got older he went outside during the day. Its not an exaggeration that the first ten weeks of his life, i was right next to him literally 24/7. it was exhausting. i will not allow a duck to ever imprint on me again! it was an experience, and remains an experience every day there is something new with him! He is now reaching sexual maturity- i think. And has spent the last month painstakingly attempting to win over three female ducks that are one year older than him and quite already established in their little flock... Tonight is night number 3 of living in the same pen as the girls. I will add more details in the question i am going to post (and a video!) please check it out and feel free to give tips, pointers, and corrections! I can take it! I want to give the ducks their best lives Thanks for your friendship and hospitality~ I have found numerous answers to my questions on this site. No other site has info this rich and useful! People who actually care, animal people- my kind of people! Thanks again, sincerely.

duck fight help link to video

 

[KathiQuacks]

That’s not too bad. That’s a small fight started by your girl. Your boy is being very nice, simply standing his ground and letting her walk away calmly.

Usually, I see girl v girl or boy v boy fighting. Girl v boy is rarer. I’d expect fighting like this to stop on its own soon and personally would only separate if it persisted or worsened.

Also, I feel you with, “I will not allow a duck to ever imprint on me again!” I did the same thing with a duckling that hatched alone & lost sooo much sleep. They’re needy little guys!!

 

[hoboerecta]

That’s not too bad. That’s a small fight started by your girl. Your boy is being very nice, simply standing his ground and letting her walk away calmly.

Usually, I see girl v girl or boy v boy fighting. Girl v boy is rarer. I’d expect fighting like this to stop on its own soon and personally would only separate if it persisted or worsened.

Also, I feel you with, “I will not allow a duck to ever imprint on me again!” I did the same thing with a duckling that hatched alone & lost sooo much sleep. They’re needy little guys

Hello, I appreciate your reply! You're right! I can totally see that now! He is being polite even though she just comes out of left field with the attitude.

He has been free-ranging for the last month with them, and he has always ran from the girls if they started at him like that. He managed to win over the brown duck already, One of the Pekins is on the fence about him, depending on which sister she's paired up with in that moment, and the Pekin shown in the video is the one that has been a solid NO since he moved into their pen 3-4 days ago.. During their integrated yard time, she would take many opportunities to shoo him, and he ran for his life when any of the girls began posturing like that and avoided her, so I guess I was concerned seeing him not run, but I guess he has finally had enough of her crap and is slowly asserting himself? It seems reasonable enough. And she has been lightening up on him a bit.. This is probably one of those situations where I might as well just let the duck be a duck, right? They know better than I do.

hmm.. question, the drake now runs out of the pen when i open the door and he bites quickly and nibbles my pant legs, not in a painful or scary way, but he runs after my feet frantic if i try to walk, this is brand new and began the day he moved in with the girls.

Could he maybe be territorial??Or miss me? I really did spent 24/7 with him for the first 11 weeks, i didn't even work..and then the weeks following that i have remained very close with him and his new life as a duck. I slept on the ground in a tarp sandwich while it rained. It was his first week that he slept in a real duck coop outdoors. He slept right next to me, touching thru the chicken wire of his modular temporary coop. He found so much peace just by being near me.. It felt unbelievable to be such a important part in another living being's world. I honestly loved every minute of it, but yeah, its a lot of work. And probably much harder for the duckling overall- but shi* happens, we didn't choose for only one to hatch! =]

I have been very involved with my duck through-out his whole life so far (he is 4 months three weeks old). So I spend a lot of time just sitting with him, foraging, sitting by the pool, truly engaging with him. My mom told me I need to give him more space and let him alone to bond with the girl ducks. I usually sit or work outside of the semi enclosed area that the ducks are interacting in, typically its the grassy area around their pen, where i dump the pools and they get to slop around in the mud eating worms. So i am not like directly putting myself in there attempting to take all my ducks attention or anything. I really want and need him to be settled with the other ducks soon, but when I walk by the pen he paces on that same wall, in the direction I am always headed, for a 15- 45 minutes following the 4-5 times that I went in their pen on a single day. Calling out to me, looking for me.. Isn't that a sign that he is stressed?

I hope not to send the wrong idea, I cherish the fact he imprinted on me, and i was and am still obsessed. So much so, that I actually live in a tent outside within earshot of the duck pen. I dont like to be so far that i can't hear if there was some sort of concern or danger. Is this excessive? Is this what my mother meant when she said that I need to stop being a duck and start living indoors again? That I need to give him space?

 

[KathiQuacks]

No, I understand. You aren’t sending the wrong idea at all. You clearly care a lot

Your mother has the right idea. He’s a bit too bonded to you since he was raised as a single duckling. It’s the cause for him nibbling, chasing your feet, and pacing the fence. He wants to be with you the most, but this want of his is not healthy for him or you in the long run. He should be spending most of his time out with the ducks, and when you do hangout, it’s best to hangout with multiple ducks, no one-on-one.

After introducing my single duckling to the flock, I continued to hangout with her too much. She hung out with the other ducks just fine, but my extra affection made her take 3 months to fully move on.

I have another duck that I rescued at 5 months old who was also raised as a single duckling. She bonded to me instantly, only knowing humans, but I knew better this second time around and let her spend more time with the ducks. It took her 2 weeks to be accepted into the flock, and only 1 month more to move on from me – way less time than my first duck.

I’d also recommend you ignore any nibbling or chasing, as it could spiral into more aggressive behavior otherwise. And, if you ever pet him, stick to his chest or belly; the back, wings, and neck are their sexual spots, so touching there excessively could confuse him further.

 

[davez]

The imprinting will fade. Dont worry about it too much. Yes, staying outside is excessive, but I get it. And yes, the white duck started the "fight" but it was just a minor pecking order thing. If ever you need to assert dominance, to stop "attacks" you EXACTLY sit (knee on either side of them) on their back and hold their neck and head to the ground for 3-5 minutes. If you dont have a copy, Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks is the best resource in print.