Animals in the wild are aggressive, they have to be, ducks may seem like the last bird you’d think of when someone asks you to mention an aggressive bird, but ducks can be aggressive too.
If some of your ducks are picking on one duck, you’d be right to be worried and wonder why this happens, this article looks into it.
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Ducks picking on another duck:
If your ducks start to attack one duck then there is likely a very good reason for them doing this, ducks don’t just do things willy-nillly.
Here are reasons why your ducks may be picking on one duck:
Competing for food:
It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, if resources are scarce then the weakest duck will be picked on by the other ducks and won’t get access to the available food and water.
The bigger birds will chase the smaller and weaker birds away and even bite the smaller and weaker bird’s necks to keep them away.
The smaller and weaker duck, the one that can’t fight against the bigger ducks to earn the right to have food and water, will simply stay back while the other birds eat
What to do:
If this is the case with your ducks then you’d need to check to see if you are actually feeding these birds all the food that they need in order to survive.
Increase how much food you give the birds and also increase the feeding stations so that all the birds can eat at the same time and eat their fill.
Mating:
Two ducks mating can be a very traumatic thing to watch.
When a female duck is ready to mate she will swim with her neck just above the surface of the water, one male duck or several male ducks will see this, be attracted, and move towards her.
Some unwanted males will try to reproduce with her and they may get aggressive while doing so. Several male ducks may hold her down while another mounts her and tries to mate with her.
This may leave the female duck de-feathered and bloody. The male ducks will almost drown her during this encounter as they hold her head underwater.
Thankfully she has mechanisms like false chambers in her body which help prevent fertilization from males who she doesn’t want to be fertilized by.
What to do:
The female will relax with a male that she wants to be fertilized by, so, if you see a female duck struggling during mating, if you see a number of ducks holding her down and another duck trying to mount her, then you can shoo these birds away
You can alternatively do nothing, the male duck that is forcing himself on her is highly unlikely to get her to have his ducklings. It is rare for a forced entry to result in successful fertilization
Pecking order:
You may know what the pecking order is through chickens but ducks have a pecking order as well.
The pecking order is the social order among birds, bigger stronger birds rise to the top and get the most respect and access, and smaller and weaker birds are lower down.
If ducks start fighting and getting aggressive with each other then this may mean that they are fighting over positions in the pecking order.
During these fights, one drake will give up and the other will be considered higher than him on the pecking order
What to do:
There isn’t anything you can do in this situation, the birds simply need to fight with each other until one of the birds gives up
If you do try to intervene then the birds will simply go back to fighting with each other, once you’re gone, until one comes out on top.
Fighting for mates:
If there are too few female ducks to male ducks in an area, and if a male duck doesn’t have a mate during the mating season, he will fight another male to get the chance to mate with a female duck.
These unpaired male ducks may even pick fights with males that have already partnered with a female duck during the mating season.
What to do:
It is recommended that you have a healthy ratio of male ducks to female ducks on your property. A good ratio of male ducks to female ducks is 3/4 female ducks to one male duck.
This ratio will keep the male duck busy during the mating season, it will also ensure that the male birds don’t have to fight for females and will also keep the males from trying to reproduce with the same female ducks over and over.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Can You Get Sick From Touching A Baby Bird?, Why Do Birds Break Their Eggs If You Touch Them?, When To Take Ducklings From Their Mother