Duck Mad Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I hope my understanding of Drakes helps others.. (as it's all to common nipping pecking etc) Male ducks (as we know) have one thing on their mind! breeding, so what ever they can get a grip off, your skin etc is their plot to mate with you, dogs cats what ever takes their eye.. Most importantly owners become timid of going near their own ducks.. Here is my cure for the problem (my boys are very well behaved) Firstly when I greet them, I pick them up and play rough and tumble (hold their beaks ruffle their feathers up, put em back on the ground and pick them up again and repeat a few times) all their excitment is lowered because I have played with them.. I then walk with them following where they are going, rather then than them chasing me.. A dominante male will do all the following.. so they know im the dominant one.. When play time is over, and for example one does try to come up, with his naughty ideas, i simply hold his beak and loudly say nooooo when he looks as if he is going to back off i let go, because I have won.. So when they do come up now i just point and say noooooooooooo they back off before they even come anywhere near.. No way on this earth would hurt my babies, its all gentle play that shows them it really isnt worth the effort trying to mate with my arm! lol ... Truely I believe Drakes need to taught things, they are like naughty children.. When they do come up pestering you, gently pin them down so they can move, they will get bored of seeing you as the vitim, Play with them lots too, it really does help them, its not their fault they are filled with raging hormones Anyway hope to of helped Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DozyDoris Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Love your advice : ) We've just adopted 4 ducks, one of which is a runner drake. They all live with my hens and he is giving the poor girls so much grief, as you say, trying his luck with anyone in sight. He won't come up to me at all yet, the only time I can catch him is when he is concentrating on one of the girls!!!!! Any advice on how to put him off, does it only last during the breading season?? Doris : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Mad Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hello DozyDoris By the sound of things here, its probably going to take quiet a while for him to become real friendly, The problem here is the Hens make poor atempts to defend themselves (My chickens have just figurerd out to run fast if a male duck comes near) .... I personally think because they are easy targets there isnt a huge chance of stopping this, is there any chance you could section him off with just the female ducks? Things you could try is the hose pipe trick direct at him to put him off (if you have a jet peice) obviously making sure its done in a gentle manner... Also A very small enclouser everytime he is being naughty he get put straight into there asap, leave him for 20 mins or so, then let him out, if he does it again, put him straight back in the pen, he might assoicate his behaviour with ending up straight back in the run... The thing that concerns me tho, is because he aint real freindly yet, it could end up making him scared... I think your best option here is to seperate them for a while and gain his trust, then it would be easier to overpower him.. Breeding season, my ducks tend to be real randy join the nice weather, then are more placid the rest of the time, i dont think they completely loose their randyness tho.. I hope you manage to sort your little man out, and that he proves to you what a lovely boy he really can be, and keep us posted to how things are going, im sure our human brains can come up with solutions x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Thanks for this We do similar with Gerald. Picking him up and chasing him whenever he does it to us. Now we only have him his attentions have moved onto the chickens and he can be really rough sometimes but they tend to run out the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I am having trouble with an aggressive Cayuga drake, he has a mate, but as soon as she begins to lay, he chases me and tries to nip me. Not my husband though, just me. The letter from Duckmad seems to be a good help. We will try his suggestion and let you know how we get on. Because I can't garden or enjoy a BBQ at the moment ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
