One of my ducks is being bullied and mounted so often that he has lost his feathers. I really need help please!🙏

[AmyA248]

Good afternoon,
I really need some advice.
I have a flock of 12 Muscovy’s and 2 Pekins, things have been fine until about a month ago when our Pekin is being attacked by 2 others at a time and being mounted even though he is a male.
It has gotten so bad that he’s losing his feathers and I have to bathe him daily because he gets so dirty from these attacks.
I feel AWFUL and I’m actually looking for a coat for ducks to keep him from being hurt and scratched by the Muscovy’s claws!
I have no idea why this is happening but it’s breaking my heart.
Should I separate him with his bonded female and put them together in the garage where we put them all when it gets too cold?
We have special heat lamps in their coupe and a water warmer so their water doesn’t freeze and we have insulated the coupes with tarps to keep the wind out.
Could this happen because they are still too cold?
I just can’t figure out why they have chosen him as their target and I’m very scared that he may become seriously injured.
PLEASE HELP!!

 

[sourland]

They have picked him as their target because they are bigger and stronger than him. The only way to protect him is to separate him from the Muscovies. They are capable of seriously injuring him.

 

[AmyA248]

They have picked him as their target because they are bigger and stronger than him. The only way to protect him is to separate him from the Muscovies. They are capable of seriously injuring him.

Thank you so much. We thought of that but I just wanted to get some opinions from others first.
I really appreciate your input!

 

[ruthhope]

I have a flock of drakes that currently includes one pekin drake with muscovy. The drakes have been getting their hormone surges and started asserting pecking order the last few weeks. It is often the smallest that is picked on, but not always. If there are not enough females around, a low pecking order drake will be mounted by other drakes.

This year my pekin is being picked on -- but he is a truculent little fellow and comes out in the morning trying to bite a white muscovy drake. Last spring, the muscovy would retreat, and spend his days on my compost pile hidden behind my shed or stay in the duck house roosted on top of the dog crate that the pekin sleeps in. This year, the white muscovy is standing up for himself. He gained his moxie around September -- no idea why!!!

To manage this so that your pekin doesn't get picked on, you have to separate him from the muscovy -- it's good that you have a female that can keep your pekin company. My pekin sleeps in a dog crate in the duck house year-round -- as did a prior pekin drake -- to stop him getting bullied overnight. The pekins are annoying -- they shout and make a great noise day and night and I have some sympathies with the sleep deprived muscovy!! My yard has heavy cover with trees and shrubs and I don't need to separate the pekins during the day as there are plenty of places for them to go and hide. If you only have a run without hiding places, you will have to divide the run in the spring to give the pekins somewhere safe to be.

When my pekin comes out in the morning and runs straight up to bite the white muscovy, I separate him; then when I let him go, I have the hose on hand in case the muscovy tries to bite him, which he is now doing