I was watching a video on YouTube that asked the question ‘Do ducks grieve’? The man, who had a flock of ducks, wasn’t certain. Hence the question. But I can tell you one hundred percent, absolutely, categorically – Yes, ducks do grieve.
It made me realise that this was a duck tail topic that needed writing about. I had written about myself grieving for ducks, but I hadn’t written from the perspective of the ducks and how, and why, they feel grief.
A Duck Tale
There are a few factors that can contribute to a duck grieving. The first time I saw it was a number of years ago, when I was the caretaker at a little Chateau and looking after 3 chickens, a rooster, and a duck. The duck was quickly named Mr Drake. Very original, I know.
Time for a little story… Mr Drake followed the chickens and rooster everywhere. They very obviously put up with him. If he kept his distance, he was allowed to hang out with them. It’s that flock instinct. The instinct to flock supersedes everything, including species, in the duck world. Safety in numbers.
First Love
My partner felt very bad for Mr Drake. He went out and bought a female duck and brought her home. She was a beautiful Wood Duck. Mr Drake fell instantly in love and followed her everywhere.
Now Wood Ducks like to roost in trees. I would find Mr Drake walking around a certain tree or sat below and if I looked up, there would be Mrs Drake. However, Wood Ducks also like water, and nesting near or above it. So when Mrs Drake wanted a nest, she decided that she should explore beyond the Chateau’s enclosed land to a nearby river.
Mr Drake always went with her. They would explore out, and come back in the evenings. And then one day, Mr Drake came back alone. He went in to the duck enclosure, stuck his head under his wing, and didn’t move for 2 days. Normally a very, very talkative duck, he went completely silent. I never saw Mrs Drake again. That’s when I first realised that ducks grieve.
Imprinting
If a duck has hatched with and grown up with certain other ducks, there’s a form of imprinting between them. This can happen growing up with other species, too.
Both my imprinted, and thus grown up in the house ducks, Maggie and Gabby recognised my cats. However, if an outsider cat came in to the boundaries of our land, the alarm was called out by the ducks. My cats learned to recognise this sound and scare them off.
In the case of the video I watched he had different breeds of duck that hung out together, even one duck that hung out solely with geese, because she grew up with them. In this sort of case, there can be grief for these well known siblings if they die.
A Sad Tale
This happened between my Sir Studly and Sunny. During the night a fox tore a gap in the stone wall of my duck enclosure. Sunny was on a nest at the time. The fox killed Sunny and took her away.
After that night I housed my ducks in the stable in the barn each night while I made repairs and strengthened the duck enclosure. Each morning, when I would shift the ducks from the stable to the enclosure, Sir Studly would go straight to where Sunny’s nest had been. He would search it and call out for her.
I would find him often searching the garden on his own, always calling for her. It was absolutely heart breaking to see and hear. He had lost not only his sister, but his mate (it’s a duck thing), so his grief was tangible for quite a while.
Different Forms of Grief
I’ve found that the intensity of their grief, like with humans, depends on the type and level of the bond, how long they have known each other, and very importantly if they saw the death. A duck simply disappearing, for example, may cause no grief. Especially amongst younger ducklings or siblings.
When I have too many ducklings, come teenagerdom they go to new homes, usually in pairs. Even though I collect them in front of the other ducks, or maybe because I do, the other ducks do not show grief at their going away.
When Does Grief Occur?
However, if they see the death, the ducks grieve. This happened when my little Pecan and Pumpkin were taken by predator birds. All the ducks went quiet, but their sister Pi was at a complete loss and kept calling for her sisters.
Immediately, as the only remaining young duck, she latched on to me from then on and wouldn’t leave my side. (Sadly I, rather than the ducks, then went on to grieve for Pi as she reached adulthood and was not able to lay eggs.)
Mother and Baby?
There is definitely a survival of the fittest moniker amongst ducks. If a duckling or even a duck is weak or there is something wrong with it, the other ducks may kill or abandon it, rather than weaken the flock. This is how I ended up with an imprinted Gabby.
He was abandoned by Maggie, his mother, as he had niacin deficiency. This vitamin deficiency is not uncommon in ducks, especially ducklings, but is treatable with human attention and additional niacin.
Hence, although abandoned, I was able to save Gabby, though with the result he imprinted on me as I became ‘mom’. Maggie did not grieve his disappearance when I took over nurturing him, and in fact would continue to attack him if she saw him again. Until he became an adult male.
Losing Maggie
When I lost my Maggie, my first duck, my first imprinted duck and Queen of the flock. It gave me the biggest understanding in consequence of whether ducks, like ourselves, grieve. George, who had been her duckling, grew up to be her mate (again, it’s a duck thing). He was like velcro for 4 years, never leaving her side. Until she left his.
George’s level of grief equalled my own, and I had many moments when he came to me to be consoled, hugged and commiserate with him. To read and understand more about George, grieving and ducks, read my Helping a Grieving George. It took over 6 months for George to get beyond his grief, and deserved it’s own telling.
Do Ducks Grieve?
So yes, ducks certainly do grieve. And like humans, it can take on many forms and intensities. What the form of bond is and how long for will play a part in the duration of that grief. And whether they see the death or recognise that a death has occurred also play a part.
I often get asked, if your duck is grieving should you go out and get a new duck to help alleviate that grief? That’s harder to answer, as much depends on how deep that grief went. And like we humans, grief is a process that has to be gone through, even for ducks. So give your grieving duck, and if needs be yourself, time to grieve. As well as love and support in this difficult time.
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More Duck Tails
I have written a whole series on ducks and the various aspects of having ducks as pets. Some are linked (in bold) above, and all can be found in my Duck 101 – Learn About Ducks posts. If you wish to read Maggie’s full story, you will find it here in Maggie’s Tales. And if you like tales of other animals, you will find those in my Other Animal Antics.
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If you are like me and are fascinated and love ducks, I have a selection of duck gifts available for you. Or those you know, who love ducks. Some vintage, some my own designs, all unique.
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I do believe that ducks feel jealousy too. We raised 10 ducklings together from the first day of their lives. As they grew one of them was very different from the others and I fondly called it majestic and spoke to it. He would listen to me and greeted me each day as I went to the pen. However, as I began to give the others more attention, he immediately change his disposition and became violent to the others and even to me.
Interesting and I would agree. I know that our imprinted ducks definitely see me as a big duck. As they reached adulthood it’s been different between our male and female imprints. Maggie goes through phases of telling me hands off her mate George, eg jealousy, and other times she is super friendly. And Gabby, our male, has just discovered girls and so now I am not wanted because he thinks I may try to steal his girls attention. He is going through the pecking phase, trying to show his dominance.
Very interesting.
This morning I woke to find 7 of 9 eggs, broken and eaten.
2 theft in the nest with mom’s feathers.
Dad came back and looked around; ate the duck pellets I left by a tree.
I have not seen mom. She is usually here nesting.
I am grieving.
What should I expect?
I am worried about the two remaining eggs.
Diane I am so very sorry to hear. Because of the broken eggs, I would say a predator has gotten to her nest. Was she outside or in an enclosure?
If outside, there’s always a chance she was spooked by something and flew off. (Can she fly?) The male duck calling her will bring her back within 24 hours if she is not harmed. So it’s a time of waiting.
In the meantime, the remaining eggs. Are they still warm? If yes, and you have an incubator, put them in there if you wish to try to keep them alive. If you do not have an incubator there is not really anything you can do for them.
The male duck will probably be or will start calling for the mother. He will search too. But mostly he will call regularly in hopes that she can find her way back to him. If she does not return within a day, he will start grieving for her. This means he will still call now and then, but more he will search for her and go to the places they used to visit together. Depending on the level of their bond will depend on how long he grieves. At some point he will go quiet and most likely find a spot to sit with his beak in his feathers. This can last a few days. He will probably not eat or bathe during this time. Make sure to keep food out to tempt him to eat, especially any favourites.
Here’s hoping she comes back.
I have had my ducks for almost 2 months now. They have been in their outside enclosure for less than a week and one has already died. He died most likely during the night but I didn’t know till morning. It was a bloody mess but I don’t know how he died or what killed him. My other duck is grieving and I am too. I don’t know what to do. RIP Noodle ❤️
I am sorry to read about the death of your duck. And so hard on the other one. Give your duck time to grieve, spend time with him. Give cuddles if he/she is used to itm but mostly spend time when you can. Ducks are flock animals, so losing a member of flock and being the only one is hard. Consider getting another duck, but not for a few days. Wait until your duck seems to be acting more normal.
Ducks will often grieve harder if they have seen the death. But it can also be being alone adds to that grief, since there are no other ducks.
If your duck was bloody, something attacked it. It is the only answer. If your duck enclosure is enclosed above and sides, look to below. A rat, weasel, stoat. They can get in an opening that is the size of a quarter (coin). If your mesh walls are chicken wire, but large hole chicken wire, the above rodents can get through it. Normally they would try and drag the duck back in to their den, or out of the enclosure. The fact they didn’t implies the hole was large enough to get in, but not get the duck out. If the head is missing, it is a weasel. If the top of your enclosure is open it could have been a bird of prey. Again, if the head is missing, then an owl.
Hope you find the source so you can close up to protect the other duck. Once the animal knows there is a source of food, they will be back.
Good luck!
I firmly believe ducks grieve the loss of another duck. Last October my precious Muscovy drake Bullie passed away, with me and my oldest female duck by his side. They had been together for 6 years. She knew something was going on with him and she perched by his side all through the night, until he passed at 4am. She has not been the same since, and that was 4 months ago. I haven’t been the same either. She went into hiding and wouldn’t socialize with the other girls for many weeks. She’s rejoined the flock but she’s definitely changed since Bullie’s passing. You can see my pets @ mauimuscovymulisha on insta. Ducks will forever change your life, that’s for sure. <3
I was surprised how long it took for some of my ducks. When Maggie passed, George, who had been with her for his whole life took over 6 months to move beyond depression, and then more months to find his way back in to the flock he had isolated himself from. Altogether it was a year before he was back to being close to ‘normal’. There is a definite correlation between length of time the ducks are together. Also whether they witness the death or see the body plays a part. Traits we very much apply to humans.
Okay, I don’t know if this information is encouraging, or discouraging. My mother duck died last weekend; father duck is obviously mourning. I have moved his 7 daughters into the coop with him to try to give him some company. I was hoping that would give him new attachments and friends. I have no idea if this is a good idea or not. I am keeping his sons separated because I was thinking they might fight. Any responses or suggestions would be appreciated.
Think on it like a human, and how humans grieves. It is almost the same. You have to let them go through it. Be there for them, give them hugs if you have done in the past. In other words, the type of interaction you have had before, ramp it up a little. Yes, keep males separate at this time (especially if it is your spring time.) He will not have the energy or interest to fight them for dominance, so they will take the opportunity to force him down the pecking order. Once he gains his energy back, eg he wants to interact again, then do what you normally do with your flock in terms of how they mingle.
As for letting the girls with him. Sometimes it can depend how old they are. Ducklings he will probably have no interest in, as males have nothing to do with their offspring at this stage. If they are adult females, it won’t matter if they are his daughters (ducks don’t differentiate with how they are related, it is simply male or female). Let them be near him and watch how he reacts. As long as no one is fighting, leave them with him. If he is fighting with them, remove them.
Each duck reacts differently to the loss of a mate, just like we humans do. The main thing is give him time to grieve. It can take months before he is ready to come back into the flock. Simply monitor that he is doing okay, particularly that he is eating. Interact with him more than normal yourself even if this is just sitting near him reading a book. Watch for progression out of his grief, but remember that it can take a lot of time. I wish you all well.
in March ’23 I bought 2 baby ducks that I kept in a crate and had 2 existing ducks living at a pond. I tried releasing the ducklings as they grew thinking that they could join the older ones but the older ones would scare & chase the ducklings away so I built a pen. By then the ducklings had experienced freedom & didn’t want to stay in the pen. In June a predator got one of them and the other cried out endlessly for 5 days when I went & bought another pair of babies. The survivor was excited and wanted to adopt them as I kept them in the crate which I left out during the day & brought in at night. Unfortunately the 4-month old was taken a week later. We have foxes, owls, chicken hawks, etc. so when these ducklings got a little bigger I put them in the pen and they loved it.They were still small enough to get out if they chose to but were thrilled to have so much room to run around in with a pool, that they had no desire to leave. The older ducks came around acting like they wanted to be pets too. When I would clean out the pen & pool sometimes they would step outside but not go far… until one day when the older males chased them to the pond. I put food out for them at the pond & they didn’t come back for a couple of days until a predator took one of the ducklings. The other returned to the pen exhausted & ate & slept for 2 days. I allowed the 2 males into the pen but they both fought over the young female. The female chose the black drake as her mate so I kept the white male outside the pen until something got him. I was building an extension for him but I was too late. My nephew brought another old male duck but he fought the other so he stayed in the extension. When cleaning the pen they would all get outside during the day but return to the pen at night. In Nov. last year the female began laying 1 egg every day but she didn’t sit on them or build a nest so I collected the eggs to eat. In Jan. she built a big nest & started hatching her eggs. After she began bringing her 1st 3 babies to the pond, she stopped sitting on the eggs. I cleaned out the nest & a week later I collected the 7 eggs that she wasn’t sitting on. I put these in an incubator and they all hatched in March and meanwhile the Mama duck had begun sitting on her nest full of eggs. In April she hatched 11 more ducklings. The flock became too large to manage so they come around to be fed twice a day but then return to the pond.The flock consists of the Mama and 17 of her offspring down from a total of 24 (21 young, Mama, Daddy & guest). Both times the Mama hatched eggs the last one was hatched the following day and the Mama rejected it. I raised both of those until they got a little bigger & could take care of themselves before being returned to the flock.
Such an interesting and complex story, with so much learning as a result. Raising ducks is tricky, especially how to keep them safe.