Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I brought my juvenille Pekin in the house last night because the temps were dropping severely and she was doing some pretty weird things....maybe not weird if you're a duck. I'm wondering what she was trying to do. She is very attached to me and I'm "the momma" to her. Last night she picked at me for about an hour, pulling my hair, picking at my clothes, burrowing into my shirt sleeve & jiggling her head and throwing herself into my legs. She did not seem to be displaying this aggression as a fight, more playful although her pecking was getting annoying. She exerted herself so much she was panting like a dog afterwards. Was this playtime to her, was she marking me as her territory, or was she stressed about something? She has been in the house before so it wasn't new to her. When I picked her up to keep her from continuing, she hung her head low as if to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Any ideas on how to interpret this?

Hey,

I think what your duck was doing was normal.
My Muscovys do the same if i go near them and gently stroke them. They just gently peck at my hands, fingers and clothes. It's just a way for them to find out about us in an affectionate way. It's not meant as any threating gesture, unless of course they really get nasty by pecking you and holding on. One of my male Muscy's (Smudgy) has been interested in watches ever since i've had him from 3 weeks old.

Especially this time of year (Autumn - Winter) ducks can be either very sociable or aggressive as this is generally the time of year, after moulting, when ducks pair up for the following Spring. Males can be more aggressive as they would naturally have to see off rivals and display to the females.

It sounds as though you and your lil duck has a good bond, and she's obviously happy to be close with you, as mine are with me.
I don't think ducks generally have a bad behaviour, if their cared for correctly they have a sweet nature.

As for your duck putting it's head down while you were holding her, all ducks do the same if their bodies are not supported properly. When you hold the duck, make sure you have one arm under it's breast and belly, gently if possible holding it's legs between your fingers to support them. With the other arm you can gently hold down it's back and wings and support it's neck. It's easy to do with practise, and by the sounds of it your duck should be fairly easy to handle.

I hope you lil duck does ok over Winter, merry Xmas!
Mel X

Hey, i found a website that has a picture of the correct way to hold a duck. I thought it might help you.

http://www.indianrunnerducks.co.uk/care.htm

Mel X

Thanks for the link. I was holding her incorrectly. I kind of scoop her up and hold her in my arms but not necessarily supporting her underside. I tried the new way out when I got home yesterday and she seemed more confident that I wasn't going to drop her.

Also, I had to laugh about your mentioning the attraction of your watch. I had to give mine up when Tucker was first hatched because it really grabbed her attention. I ended up putting it around the neck of a stuffed animal duckling and letting the real duckling sleep with it. I have since taken it back and everytime Tucker sees it around my wrist she wants it. Also, she has an attraction to anything shiny like rings, necklaces, buttons & zippers.

Aww bless, well im glad the picture helped. It's obviously alot harder handling wild or non-tame birds, but that's the safest and most reasurring way of holding a duck.

It was a good idea putting the watch on the toy, i'll have to remember that.

How long have you had the duck, is it very old? I've got ducks of all age ranges from a few months old to 4 years old, that can also effect the way they behave.

Mel X

Tucker was hatched 9/26/04. I have four other Pekins (2 boys & two girls) that were purchased at Eastertime. Tucker is one of their eggs that I hatched in the house...the only survivor of about 26 eggs. Pekins won't sit, and I thought it was a terrible tragedy not to try to hatch the eggs so I made an incubator. The first thing Tucker saw when she finally broke through the egg was my face and therefore as far as she is concerned I am "The Momma." I truly love pretty much all animals but I am totally Duck Crazy-in-love with Tucker!

My husband and I were curious if ducks feel anything on their beak or if it is similar to fingernails? One of the other ducks managed to poke through Tucker's fence and chomped her beak. It scraped it a bit but Tucker didn't seem to even notice it.

Also, a new observation. Tucker, it seems is beginning to grow up and act like she's "in-season" if that's possible to witness. Whenever I fill up her kiddie pool or even now when I let her out of her pen, she will press herself into the ground flat and stretch her neck way out. The other girls do this for the boys if you know what I mean. Doesn't really bother me, as it is a good opportunity to pet her without her running away. Tucker is about 3 months old now so is this a mating thing? Is she old enough to be behaving this way?

Hey,

Tucker sounds really cute.

Birds beaks/bills are made from keratin, which is the same as our fingernails. I'm sure that ducks have feelings in their bills as they use their bills for feeding, and therefore must be able to sense or atleast tell the difference between things.

Reguarding Tuckers behaviour, i would agree with you that shes trying to attract a mate. Autumn and Winter are the most common times for ducks to pair up ready for the following Spring. The head and neck lowering is a classic form of female duck display. Females are sometimes more affecionate during this time, and as Tucker already has a strong bond with you, she doesn't mind being touched.
Does Tucker live with your other ducks outside?
If not maybe it would be an idea to try an introduce Tucker with your other ducks, and allow them to live together. Ducks are naturally social birds and enjoy each others company, although she may not be quiet as close to you once shes formed a bond with the other ducks.

Mel X

Hi,
Tucker does live outside with the other ducks in-sight, but I've had numerous problems with the adult males being downright mean to her. Everytime they can get to her, they bite and pull at her feathers. This is not being done affectionately I assure you. So I've had to split them up. We have several acres of land and I've been able to fence off a section for Tucker to be in during the daytime. At night she has a separate pen that sits next to the other duck's pen and most times that works out fine except when it's cold I keep her in our attached garage. So she does see the ducks and is able to have that communication opportunity, but safely. The only bad thing about the current situation is the four ducks get total use of the 1 & 1/2 acre pond, while Tucker has to be happy with a kiddie pool. She probably doesn't mind much, but it bothers me that she can't swim in the big water.

How long have you had your ducks? I admit that I would have never thought of a duck as a pet until I my son suggested getting the first four. Now, I can't imagine not having them.