Who is the Boss ?? – The “Pecking Order”
Seeing Swans Peacefully Gliding Together is what we all Want.
Today is December 11, 2024.. I am going to Work on this Topic Page..
I will be Adding and Tweeking for Several Days.. And Cooking Dinner.
Happy Holidays to all Swan Folks.
***********************************************
Swans are Very Social Creatures.
When there is more then One… Swans will Establish a “Pecking Order”
and Know where they Belong in that “Order.”
They Eat, Swim, Interact by this “Pecking Order.”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definition.. November 2024
https://www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › pecking order…
The Basic Pattern of Social Organization within a Flock of Poultry in which
each Bird Pecks another Lower in the Scale without Fear of Retaliation.
Reddit · r/ENGLISH – “Pecking Order” Meaning..
The Sibling with Greatest Status is at the Top of the Order,
and the Sibling with the Least Status is at the Bottom.
This Order is called the “Pecking Order.”
In the Image below, the Larger Cygnets are Leading the Brood..
Swans/Birds/WaterFowl will Establish a “Pecking Order.”
That is Normal Behavior..
Within the World of Swans there are several way “Pecking Order” occurs ..
When a New Swan is Introduced to be a Companion or Mate.
The “Pecking Order” between them will be Established.
It may be Observed within a Few Minutes of Introduction..
It may Last a Few Minutes or take a few Days.. Unpredictable.
******
From Our Experience.. Mature Resident Male Swans are Territorial.
They Naturally Claim their Waterway and Protect it.
When a New Female is Released to “HIS” Pond/Lake.
The Resident Cob may see this New Swan as an Intruder.
Trespassing on “his” Water Environment without “his” Permission.
Setting Up a Chaperon Fence is a VERY Good Idea..
Hopefully, the Male will start Communicating to the Female what he Expects her to do.
There is Often a Brief “Shoulder Pecking” Event..
He is Establishing: “I am the Boss” !
The Female must become “Submissive” to the Male.
The Swans below are Emotional Happy… Both their Upper Necks are Puffed UP !
If the Cob’s Behavior is NOT Too Aggressive,
that he is NOT Hurting the New Female..
and NOT Totally Preventing her Being on the Pond and/or from Eating..
If the Female is NOT Afraid of the Male..
Stays Close by – Keeps Presenting herself to him..
they generally Settle into their Dominant – Submissive Order..
The Female MUST learn the Male’s Body Language and Vocal Signals.
His Job will be as her Protector.
Protective Male Swans will Swim Behind their Female..
She needs to Respond to him IMMEDIATELY if there is ANY DANGER.
This Dependency/Trust between them will Strengthen
as they spend Time Together.
If the Female Faces and “Bows” to the Cob, she is Letting him Know she is Submissive.
BE Concerned,,,, If the Male is Attacking her.. Scaring her..
Causing the Female to FLEE the Pond..
Doing her Best to Avoid him… That “is” to Worry About..
You just do not want Angry Aggression..
If that happens, try to put the New Swan somewhere Temporarily..
A Shed, Garage.. a Secure Fenced area.. (Safe from Predators)
And Allow the Swans to See, Visit each other as Much as Possible Safely.
>>> Patience is Needed when the Adjustment takes Days/Weeks..
There is No Way to know ahead of time, but, it will Happen..
Keep the New Swan Safe..
This is Why Planning for the Introduction with a Chaperon Fence
or Safe Barrier Area is a Good Idea..
You can Watch them for Favorable or Unwelcoming Behavior..
It is GOOD to keep a Close Watch for a while..
There may/will be some “Shoulder Nipping or Tail Pulling,”
some Minor Aggressive Behavior. ( Minor is the Operative.)
Once the Cob Accepts her..
They will Sit and Preen Together.. GOOD SIGN !!
That is Social Behavior like People Watching TV Together.
The Puffed-up Neck usually is a Happy Emotion..
The Acceptance may take Several Days..
Until the Swans are Comfortable Together…
BE Sure Both Swans are ON the Water at SunSet and SunRise !!!
Once the Pair start Nesting, the Cob is the Pen’s first line of “Nest Defense.”
Since Swans are Ground Nesting Birds, the Cob must be Fierce.
Nesting Pens are Very Vulnerable.
Some Examples:
Our “Handsome” ca. 10 Years Old and Little “Hannah” 15 Months Old..
We found her at a Live Stock Auction.
She was a Sad Little Thing.. SO Dirty and Scared..
******
******
******
The “Pecking” Behavior lasted maybe 15 Minutes..
We could only Watch.. as the young Female stayed Close to him..
She did not Flee.. but, Allowed “Handsome” to Bully her..
Then “Handsome” treated her as a Cygnet and took Care of her as she Matured..
In No-Time she became the “Pond Princess.” One of the Sweetest..
******
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
When Two Female Swans are going to Live together, ( No Male )
Usually the Resident/Older Pen will Declare Dominance.. ( No Always )
Multiply Pens will Establish an Order from the most Dominant to the Submissive..
Some Lone Pens are Accustom to having their “Apondment” all to themselves.
She did not Advertise for a “PondMate.” Now a Strange Female Swan has Moved in.
It may take some Adjustment Time for her to Share her Space..
She was there First.. and it may be that she is Letting the
New Swan/Cygnet know “She is the Boss.” ( the “Pecking-Order.” )
They have to Work this Out. The First Few Days may be Testy..Keep Everyone Safe.. Give them some Time to become Familiar with Each Other..
As long as the New Female is getting to Eat..
Can spend Most of the Time she wants on the Pond..
Is Safely on the Pond a Night.. The Females will become Companions..
Timing.. varies. Usually Females do not take Very Long..
What you Do Not Want to See.. Is ATTACKING.. !!!
Getting on the Back.. Trying to Drown the New Swan/Cygnet..
The Resident Female Below was NOT Welcoming to the Younger Female..
There is NO Way to Predict this Behavior.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
When TWO NestMate Male are Living Together..
There will be a Dominant and a Submissive Cob.
******
9 to 10 Months a Year they will be Best Pond Pals..
If their Hormones do not get TOO Intense..
they will Usually Work-out their Spring Testiness.
******
******
You might Need to Keep the Submissive One Separate for Several Weeks..
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Within a Brood of Cygnets.. Who Hatch and Grow Together..
there will be a Pecking Order.. They Imprinted as a Brood when they Hatch.
There will be Dominant Grabby-Pushy Cygnets..some Bullies.
and there will be Shy-Submissive Cygnets..
******
******
******
In a Large Brood there is often One Cygnet that seems to be the ODD One Out.
??? Likely the Runt.. The Cutest Little One, Shy and Quiet..
The Parent Swans will Protect their Brood..
but, I have not Observed them Interferring with the “Brood Pecking Order.”
The Dominant Cygnets will have a Better Chance to Survive..
If a Submissive Cygnet/Swan is prevented from Eating by the Dominant Ones.
I have Seen-Experienced the Submissive Ones will/may not Eat..
when there is Plenty of Food Available.
You may Need to Isolate these Little Ones from the Others..
to offer Food Totally out of Sight of the Others.. Especially, at Night..
HOPEFULLY, the Desire to Survived will take over.
******
This Little Runt is an Example.
She was Barely Eating and Could NOT Stand/Walk.
Her Nest Mates were between 6-8 Pounds.
We Brought this Tiny Underweight Cygnet Home for One to One Care.
It was 10 LONG Days of Trying Everything I could Think of…
and Things Suggested by Others to get this Cygnet to EAT !!!
We were Successful and by 16 Months “Abigal” was Beautiful.
“Abigail” was Adopted for a Lone Male and they had Cygnets for Several Years.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
We Adopted TWO Nest Mate Cygnets.. our “Brooke” and “Spring”
from a Farm where the Swans were OVER Crowded.
The “Pecking Order” was WAY TOO Long..!!!
“Brooke” would Protect “Spring” but NOT Allow her to Eat..
“Spring” was VERY UnderWeight..
I had Three Feeding Stations for them.. Far Apart..
“Brooke” would Chase “Spring” away after she had a Bite or Two..
Or JUST Give her a “LOOK” that Meant “Don’t you Dare.”
******
******
I finally had to Separate them at around 7 PM each Evening,
“Spring” could Eat at Night and use the Pool Every Other Night.
It took WEEKs for “Brooke” to Allow “Spring” to Eat when they were Together..
When we got the Sisters to a Pond where there was LOTs DuckWeed….
“Spring” ATE to her Hearts Content…Over Time it all became OK..
******
The Sisters were the Best of Pond Friends.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
******
******
******
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Information and Thoughts Compiled November 2024
from our Experiences.. PA SwanLover Linda
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
