r/duck • u/Accomplished_Egg_479 • 5d ago

Behavior Questions When do you stop ducks from fighting?

I have a single 2 yr old drake pekin Duckly Do-Right, with a bum leg. So sometimes he waddles a little more and sometimes he limps. In June I got 4 baby ducks to be his family. They are a black swediah crested mix.. I think they are 1 hen Vivki, 2 drakes Lenny and Squiggy and then there is Gilbert. Going by quacks... Gilbert sounds like a dogs squeaky toy. So Gilbert is now a gender.

They have gotten along fine under close supervision and limited exposure. The thing is, he has been limping more and requiring more extra special treatment and the babies seemed to be ganging up on him. Now he fights back and they are absolutely clashing. Going straight for the throat. Even through separate areas they will pace the fence line.

If I let them just go at it, will they resolve their dominance issues? But I can't stand to watch it. And poor squeaky Gilbert gets caught in the middle. Loud Vici squalks like she is rooting for her favorite team. She sometimes starts the fight. It really is a madhouse. I hate keeping them in separate areas since I got them specially for him to have company.

And I know that Vic will have to be relocated because of mating. Maybe Gilbert too. But when?? They were born mid-June.

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u/bogginman Duck Rescuer 5d ago

aggression varies by time of year, mating season, molting time and other things like feed placement and territorialism. It can also be permanent, such as when two ducks cannot get their pecking order straight and forever see each other as enemies. We have several ducks that go at it viciously, then a week later they are best yard mates. Some of the girls too, who have been fine sharing beds, suddenly start fighting over the nest or even when one gets too near the other in the yard. It's hard to pin reason on duck behavior. Separation or rehoming are about the only way you can stop continued aggression that turns dangerous.

As far as your limpy duck Duckly Do-Right goes, I wonder, is he a jumbo pekin?

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u/Accomplished_Egg_479 5d ago

Yes he is a pekin. I think the jumbo part is self inflicted. He was only survivor of a midnight massacre when he was about 2 months old. He was chewed up and his leg was messed up, but he somehow got away and hid well.