Ducks can be quite fun animals to keep as pets, they are cuddly, they are social, and, they are intelligent.
However, these birds can sometimes do things that seem quite odd to us humans, like splashing in water, you may want to know why ducks do this.
This article looks into why ducks splash in the water.
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Why do ducks splash in the water?
Ducks are actually more complicated than many would imagine, this partly makes them interesting animals to keep as pets.
The reasons why ducks would splash in some water are interesting. This is why your bird may be doing this:
The birds are just having fun:
Ducks need to clean themselves on a regular basis, the birds clean themselves the water and will splash themselves while in the water.
The splashing is simply one way that the birds enjoy themselves in the water. This is simply a form of entertainment for them.
In fact, if ducks don’t have access to any water that they can play around in, they will become depressed over time.
What to do:
This isn’t something to worry about, in fact, you should be happy that your duck is happy and is splashing around in water, it means that the bird is having a good time.
Its instinct:
Not only do ducks like to splash water because it is fun, the splashing of water is also instinctual and keeps the bird from becoming waterlogged.
These animals have a gland at the base of their tails called a preen gland. The preen gland releases an oil that coats the bird’s feathers and makes them waterproof.
The preen gland is activated by water, it releases the oils once the bird gets into the water.
What to do:
The oil produced by the bird’s preen gland is important and keeps the bird from becoming waterlogged, you should be happy that the bird is splashing and getting water onto its tail.
The birds are mating:
Another reason why your ducks may be splashing water may be because the birds are practicing courtship and mating rituals.
Ducks prefer to mate in water, so, they will also flirt with each other, will initiate mating rituals, and, will initiate courting rituals while in the water.
The male is the one who will splash water around when he has found a female duck that he likes.
In addition to splashing water, the male will also playfully nip at her, bob his head up and down and shake his tail and head as a mating ritual.
The female will react by bobbing her head up and down, and will flatten her body on the surface of the water giving the male the opportunity to mate with her.
What to do:
This is normal behavior and is not something that you should be worried about. Duck mating may seem odd to humans but the birds know what they are doing.
If the male seems a bit forceful when it comes to mating you don’t have to do anything either. The female duck has safeguards that keep her body from producing an egg with a male she doesn’t like.
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: Chick Keeps Flipping On Back And Shaking, Chick Keeps Flipping On Back, Will A Single Chick Survive?, How To Make A Baby Chick Not Feel Lonely, Why Is One Chicken Always Alone, Why Is My Duck Laying On Its Side?, How To Get A Wild Duck To Trust You, Why Is My Female Duck Squeaking, Male Duck Making High-Pitched Noise