"Wild" domesticated duck from farmer turned mean

[RebinNH]

I got a thrid duck (2nd hen) a few months ago from a farmer. She has had a rough time being accepted by the other 2 muscovies. It seemed like it would finally happen when she went rouge. She decided not to sleep in the coop and most nights stays outside (where?) but often (not all days) comes back to eat a bit and then disappears again. I am worried as lately she literally puts her beak down close to the ground and runs up to attempt to pull feathers from the other (older and been here for 2.5 years) hen. Could she be sick?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

If she is disappearing and then acting aggressive suddenly it sounds like she is simply broody.

 

[RebinNH]

I think this is more than broody. She seems unwell. Has always been wild and flies when the others don't but these new nasty attacks just don't make sense. It's not like she is protecting anything. If there were eggs I could see it. She actually laid about 5 eggs in the brook, so that seems confused or sick as well.

 

[RebinNH]

If she is disappearing and then acting aggressive suddenly it sounds like she is simply broody.

Turns out it was wry tail and therefore lack of nutrition. I gave her some supplements and blocked her entry to go under the shed and now she's much better! Having a "wild" duck is much more challenging than having very domesticated ducks, like my others.

 

[fowltemptress]

I still think she was broody. What you're describing is  exactly the behavior of a broody muscovy. My girls will wander the whole property in the broody posture (beak to the ground) looking for a fight, tearing out feathers of anything they can find, hounding the others and being mean as sin to the other ducks until they eventually wander back to their nest. Her potential nesting site was probably under the shed, so by blocking it you may have broken her broodiness for now.

 

[LRH97]

I still think she was broody. What you're describing is  exactly the behavior of a broody muscovy. My girls will wander the whole property in the broody posture (beak to the ground) looking for a fight, tearing out feathers of anything they can find, hounding the others and being mean as sin to the other ducks until they eventually wander back to their nest. Her potential nesting site was probably under the shed, so by blocking it you may have broken her broodiness for now.

I agree. My Muscovies are experts at hiding nests too. I had one that somehow slid up under an old mower deck in the barn and nest there. Only found her when we moved it. She was quite comfortable.

Some of my hens have the attitudes of geese when they nest. Just plain nasty sometimes.

 

[RebinNH]

Yes, she sure was broody but was getting sick (undernourished) from it and possibly attacked by something. I could not let her hatch any eggs she had under the shed because it was not safe under there and there may have been other things going on there that further caused her to be ill.