I have 5 ducklings aged 6-7weeks and I cannot tell them apart. Some peep, some quack, some a big some small. They are all brown, with lovely patterns on them, no dark heads etc... How can I tell their sex? AND what is a good ratio of male to female? Why is this important, do the drakes get agressive?
Thank you!
Libby
Hi Libby
I have never succeeded in working out which duck is male/female until their tail feathers grow more. The drake tail feathers curl round whereas the female feathers are straighter. There is apparently a difference in the noises they make, and hopefully one of the more experienced duck owners on here will be able to help with that.
Yes, drakes can get aggressive, but as you have the same breed together that will help reduce any damage to the 'lady' ducks! It is normally best to have just one drake with the number of ducklings you have - they can compete and then possibly hurt any female ducks by becoming aggressive and competitive.
good luck!
hello, I had 3 khakis from one week old, ive just gone through some old photos and at 7 weeks old they were just starting to change colour until this time they were identical, as ive mentioned before they ended up being two drakes and one duck, the boys make a very soft quack sound at this age and girls more of a loud grunt, the boys legs began to turn more orange where the girls will stay more body colour, by around 10 weeks old both drakes were practicing their mateing skills on the one girl so I got two more girls the same age to give my first girl a break
they are nearly two years old now and last summer they had to be split into two groups as girls were very unhappy and one in perticular ended up with her neck completely bald by clumsy mating by the drakes, and even though the drakes are brothers they did fight with each other, all 5 have happily spent the winter together and already are showing signs that the need for seperation isnt far off already this coming spring
keeping to many drakes to some people isn't a concern but for me personally I feel i have a duty to make sure all my ducks are happy and safe from fighting and over mateing
Thank you so much. Best advice after hours of reading sites on the web!
Libby
if you would care to post some full face photos, I can try and help sex them but if some are louder then they are the females.
You must log in to post.