We as duck owners would want our pets to live in harmony but this doesn’t always happen, your pets may be biting each other’s necks
If you’re worried about this and want to know why this is happening then this is the article for you
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Duck biting other duck’s neck:
Your duck may seem like a very sweet and affectionate animal to you, but these animals, just as any other animal, have the instinct to fight if need be and in these fights, you may see some neck biting.
There are a variety of reasons why a duck will fight and bite the neck of another duck, including:
Pecking order:
There is a hierarchy called the pecking order among birds and if you’ve just introduced a new bird into the flock and it is being pulled and its neck is being bitten then the flock is likely just trying to figure out where this bird belongs in the pecking order.
The birds that are high up in the pecking order are usually in their prime years, stronger and male, the younger birds, weaker birds, and female birds are usually lower in the pecking order.
This pecking order changes as birds come and go into the flock, and biting, including neck biting, is one way that the birds fight each other to determine how strong this bird is and thus where it belongs in the pecking order.
Protecting mates:
If your male duck manages to find a mate he will be very protective over her.
The males, during courting, have to do a lot to win the favor of the female and get to mate with her, so, he will not let another male waltz in and mate with his mate.
If another male does try to mate with his female he will attack him.
The males of the species are usually the more aggressive, and are ever ready for a fight.
If another male does try to mate with a female in a mated pair then the male of the mated pair will attack the intruder by pulling out his feathers, charging at the intruder, and biting him, including biting him on the neck.
This biting is the male’s way of showing dominance over the intruder and trying to get him to go away.
Establishing territory:
Another reason why a duck may bite another duck is to protect its territory. Just as most animals are territorial, ducks are also territorial, males more so than females.
Once they’ve taken an area as their own the birds will do their best to keep intruders away, including fighting them and biting them in the process.
If you’ve added new ducks into the flock then the male duck who sees this area as his own will be territorial and fight the newcomer, even going as far as biting the intruder, and biting them on the neck.
What to do:
As long as the birds aren’t fighting to a point where they start to bleed then you can let the birds be and let nature take its course.
If however one of the birds starts bleeding then you’d have to isolate it and treat its injuries away from the flock.
If this continues, and the bully bird keeps injuring other birds to a point where the other birds are bleeding, then you may have to isolate the bully bird for a while, this will rearrange the pecking order.
You may alternatively have to remove the bully bird completely from the flock.
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?, 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?, Abnormal Duck Behavior, Why Is My Duck Making Weird Noises