Ducks are known to be very gentle birds, but this doesn’t mean that these animals will always be gentle and mild-mannered. These birds can be quite fierce sometimes.
If your duck is becoming aggressive then you may be wondering why is my duck attacking me? This article looks into it.
Table of Contents
Why is my duck attacking me?
Ducks are usually sweet animals but if you’ve ever been attacked by a duck then you’ll know that these animals can leave a pretty deep gash in your leg if they attack you. Here are reasons why the bird may try to attack you:
The bird is in pain:
Ducks don’t like to show that they are in pain, this is because outward signs of distress or pain will attract predators. The birds will rather show aggression rather than pain.
If you’re getting too close to a duck that is in pain then the bird may attack you to try to scare you away to keep itself safe.
What to do:
If the bird is showing signs of being in pain then you’d first need to isolate the bird to keep its stress levels down and give it access to its own food and water
Signs that communicate the bird is in pain include a disinterest in food and water, fluffed feathers, and being very quiet
You then need to examine the bird and figure out why the bird is in pain and then relieve the bird’s pain either at home or at a vet.
The bird feels threatened:
Ducks are quite small when compared to humans, if these birds feel threatened by you the first thing that they’ll try to escape the situation, but, if they can’t, the birds will defend themselves and attack you in an effort to keep themselves safe.
The male ducks are generally more of the aggressors and they will attack more often than the females will but the female ducks will also attack if they feel the need to.
What to do:
If the bird feels threatened by you then you’d need to make the bird more open to having you around, do this by giving the bird treats so it associates the good feeling of eating treats with you.
Also don’t force the duck to be comfortable with you too early, allow the bird to relax and come to you.
The bird wants to mate with you:
Male ducks who don’t have female ducks to mate with will turn to you when they want to mate.
Because the males don’t have any females around they will turn their sexual attention to you, the sexual attention of ducks looks like an attack
What to do:
The bird will only be satisfied once it can mate, you adding some female ducks to the flock will allow the male duck to mate
The ratio of male to female ducks that is recommended for the birds is three or four female ducks to one male duck. This will ensure that he doesn’t over mate one duck
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: Duck Swollen Crop, Duck Chest Swollen, Duck With Lump On Head, Introducing Geese To Chickens