Abnormal behavior usually means that there is something abnormal going on. This is true whether you’re dealing with ducks, your other pets, or even humans.
This article looks into what abnormal behaviors you may see in your ducks and what to do if you see this.
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Abnormal duck behaviour:
Humans aren’t the only animals that can communicate through both sounds and body language, your ducks can communicate through body language as well, but some of these behaviors are actually abnormal
Here are a few abnormal behaviors to look out for in your ducks:
Abnormal, and worrisome, duck behavior:
There are a few things that your ducks will do that seem abnormal and weird. Here are a few to look out for:
Excessive preening:
Preening is good for birds, this behavior keeps the birds clean and their feathers looking good, but not when done excessively.
If your bird is preening excessively then the bird may be infested with parasites like mites or lice and may be preening or even scratching to get rid of the parasites.
Tail or bottom low:
If your duck’s tail is down, lower than normal, or its bottom is lower than normal then you should also be worried.
Female laying ducks will usually do this, if the bird’s tail or bottom is low then this means that the bird is egg-bound, which means that the egg is stuck in the oviduct and can’t get out
Isolating itself:
Ducs are usually very outgoing social and active animals so if the birds stop being so social and outgoing then this can mean that there is something wrong with the bird.
If a bird is isolating itself then the bird may be doing this because it is sick and it doesn’t want anyone to know, or, because it is scared of something, maybe a predator, nearby.
Signs of sickness:
A duck’s behavior may start to change once it starts to get sick.
Abnormal behaviors in your sick duck include lethargy, diarrhea, discharge from the eyes or nares, loss of appetite, weight loss, lethargy, sitting down for long periods of time, and not being able to move.
Ducks will try their best to avoid showing that they are sick or weak. Signs of weakness would make them a target to predators or would make them a target to the flock who would peck the bird because it was a target to predators
For this reason, your sick duck will avoid showing signs of being sick, but, if you notice that the bird is sick then the bird’s sickness is likely quite far along, far along enough that the bird can’t hide signs of being sick.
Weird but normal behavior:
You may be used to a duck quacking but ducks can make a variety of different noises. These new noises may seem strange and weird but they are actually quite normal.
Weird sounds that your ducks make include hisses, peeps, growls, honks, groans, chatters, barks, and yips.
Some behaviors that you may see in your ducks may seem weird but these behaviors can be quite normal.
Weird behaviors in ducks include blowing bubbles in water, which the birds do to clear their nares, going bottoms up in water which means that the bird is fishing, wagging its tail, which shows excitement, and sleeping with one eye open to keep an eye out for predators.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do Ducks Love Their Babies?, Duck Biting Other Ducks Neck, Can You Train A Duck To Attack?, How To Care For A Single Duckling, How Do Mother Ducks Protect Their Young, How Do Ducks Know Their Babies?, Why Is My Duck Making Weird Noises
