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My wife has eight Peking ducks; four males and four females. We know that is not the healthy mix; there should only be one male to every five or six females. However we keep them separated (males with males and females with females) at night - the females need some time away from too many males. Of course we have to locked them all up at night for their own safety; fox or dogs would kill them all.
So here is the problem: The males will 'mate' with other males and the females will 'mate' with other females. Is this natural or have me made them bisexual when we separated them? Or; maybe it is something in the water or the Purina that we feed them? Possibly we have to hire one of those Beverly Hills pet psychologist - I wonder if they can quack it up? Possibly we are just terrible pet owners? How will this look if it gets out that our ducks are new age? Possibly we should spike their drinking water with potassium nitrate?
Do any other duck owners worry about this? Is this 'bi' thing 'normal' today?
In the animal kingdom, it's not uncommon for males to exert their dominance by attempting to mount other males. It's a dominance thing, not a sexual thing. I assume the same is also true for the females.
In the animal kingdom, it's not uncommon for males to exert their dominance by attempting to mount other males. It's a dominance thing, not a sexual thing. I assume the same is also true for the females.
"According to Bruce Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity – including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex – than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept." Bagemihl adds, however, that this is "necessarily an account of human interpretations of these phenomena".Simon LeVay introduced the further caveat that "[a]lthough homosexual behavior is very common in the animal world, it seems to be very uncommon that individual animals have a long-lasting predisposition to engage in such behavior to the exclusion of heterosexual activities. Thus, a homosexual orientation, if one can speak of such thing in animals, seems to be a rarity." One species in which exclusive homosexual orientation occurs, however, is that of domesticated sheep (Ovis aries)."About 10% of rams (males) refuse to mate with ewes (females) but do readily mate with other rams."
Well I am glad we don't have to fly in that Beverly Hills pet psychologist for our ducks!
That's nature for you. Yes, this type of behavior takes place among other species also. Why isn't this knowledge more common? It's like the article below says:
"The fact that homosexuality does, after all, exist in the natural world is bound to be used against people who insist such behavior is unnatural."
What I do know is that pet owning can get more complicated!
We are just glad that we finally have one of our female Pekins sitting. We don't even know if they are her eggs - she has spent more time with her mother than the males. But, regardless, my wife always looks forward to baby ducks in the Spring and she doesn't even care if it is the middle of the Summer.
One other animal subject to pursue would be the courtship and post-sex performances. After sex ducks and wild turkeys will circle their mate with their neck stretched out almost like bragging about their conquest. They also have a distinctive sound. This is not exclusive of the males with our ducks.
"According to Bruce Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity – including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex – than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept." Bagemihl adds, however, that this is "necessarily an account of human interpretations of these phenomena".Simon LeVay introduced the further caveat that "[a]lthough homosexual behavior is very common in the animal world, it seems to be very uncommon that individual animals have a long-lasting predisposition to engage in such behavior to the exclusion of heterosexual activities. Thus, a homosexual orientation, if one can speak of such thing in animals, seems to be a rarity." One species in which exclusive homosexual orientation occurs, however, is that of domesticated sheep (Ovis aries)."About 10% of rams (males) refuse to mate with ewes (females) but do readily mate with other rams."
Well I am glad we don't have to fly in that Beverly Hills pet psychologist for our ducks!
What does any of that have to do with my point about the exertion of dominance?
What does any of that have to do with my point about the exertion of dominance?
At one time our little flock was more diversified. We had Mallards, Grey Swedes, Khaki Campbell's, and our Pekins . There was one male Grey Swede that was hit on relentlessly by our male Pekins. To us; that was one of your dominance occasions.
Currently, when we see our one Pekin daughter on her mother; we are not too sure if it is dominance. Perhaps it is just practice?
All of this is hard on the females and males that are hit on. They loose feathers on the back of their necks, their heads, and under their wings. They can end up looking plucked and bloody. Supposedly even the females can be drowned while having sex in the pond. That is one of the reasons that we also separate them - give them time to heal.
I lose my mind around baby ducks, fisheye. We had a mallard nesting in one of our trees a few years ago.
My wife lives to see those babies! I never knew that Mallards would nest in trees! We learn something new every day. I found this YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFZ20q4-C8E of one Mallard roosting in the tree.
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