Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had two pet female ducks. One got killed by a neighbour’s dog, so the other was left to freely walk around the yard,
thru the house to the swimming pool where it would swim
with my dogs, and was generally pampered, was very friendly and got on well with my Dashhond.

At times it would be found sitting on infertile eggs which I removed when she was’nt watching. The duck would think
it was the dog that stole them and would bite him
instead of the customary nibbling. This would last for a few days before they were again friends.

A sudden change has taken place in her behaviour over the last few weeks.
She now lies in the dog’s kennel all day and night, does not walk around, is very aggressive towards the dog,
and even bites my feeding hand. She has her head tucked
in under her wing most of the time.

Her behaviour has clearly upset the dog who sits crying at the kennel entrance, not understanding what has happened.
She does not appear to be sick and all this time has not laid an egg.

I took her out the kennel today and she started chasing the dog
in a very agressive manner.

Can somebody please tell me what is going on here otherwise
I will be forced to get rid of her.

I find that spike becomes incredibly cranky if her eggs are even touched. She is also a house duck who is allowed to go wherever she wants. Since laying eggs, her behavior has been awful! She's so naughty. She always bites at us and does this high pitched sqeak. She has never done anything like this before so I assume it's her motherly instinct taking over. She's also become very lazy like you say yours is - she sits all day and tucks her head into her wing. I wouldn't worry about it much as long as she is eating healthy. I think it is just instinct to sit and wait for eggs to hatch (even if there aren't any)

I understand they get grumpy when sitting on eggs, but this lasts for only a few days.
My duck has not layed an egg for weeks but is still refusing to move from the dog's kennel and seems to be angry with life.

How old is your duck?
It sounds to me like she is broody. She may feel that if she takes up the dogs kennel her eggs will be safe when she does lay them. P
Is she eating and drinking?

Valk

She's 3years old. When she gets angry she squirts a green liquid from her rear. I took her to the vet- she has no worms.
I was advised to get her a companion- it could be a psychological problem.
She wags her tail when she sees me but is quite aggressive
when I touch her while her beak is buried under her wing.
She has not laid an egg for over a month.

I can now confirm that my duck was suffering from depression.
Once I found it a companion (same sex) it reverted to it's former self.