Vent sexing

I orderd 6 ducks from cackle hatchery. WH ducklings.they will be a week old on wed. They only offer straight run. I can only keep two and need to sell the rest. I want to keep two hens for layng. I watched the metzer farms sexing video and sexed the ducklings all twice to make sure. On different days. Both times i got all hens and one male. Now i just wanted to doube check the male and no penis pops out. I dont want to keep doing this. I dont want to sell them and end up with two drakes. Am i making this harder than it is? Im trying to be gentle as can be. Is it hard to get the penis to pop out. Or what here. Any tips would be appreciated.

I never watched a video so I am sort of self taught. I can usually feel the boy part moving below the vent so sometimes I push it out gently if he is pulling it in. It helps to have the ducklings upside down and in a position where they flip their tail back to balance themselves. That seems to help the worm find the hole easier. I point the head down with the legs towards me so the tail flips back away from me.

For many years I could pull out my confirmed drakes but I was unsure on the hens. Someone showed me the two bumps to look for to confirm my hens so I no longer have questionable hens due to lack of cooperation on the part of the drake. I sex bantam sized ducks with confidence now. You do have to be able to open the vent wider to see the bumps and it is important not to overstretch the opening.

Okay, I just watched the video for reference. I do the same hold and I use my thumbs to open the vent the same way he does but if I feel a throbbing and it seems like the worm is there but not popping out I switch to using my thumb and pointer finger on my left hand to open the vent while I push below the vent with the thumb or pointer finger of my right hand to sort of guide the worm to the hole. If I don't see or feel a worm then I look for the two bumps.

What he said about exposing the boy part rather than pushing on it is accurate. The vent must be open enough for it to pop out and often the drakes are cooperative but if they are pulling it in instead of popping it out that is when I push it, sort of from behind to help slide it out. Having the tail bent back as far as possible also helps.

Thank you, that does really help. Im going to try again tomorrow. Good tip on the hen bumps too. Very helpful

So I never knew what I might learn by doing an online search of the male duck's anatomy. Apparently the reason my ducks take a break from reproduction November to February is so the drake can lose and then regrow his member! I knew that the little worm grows into a corkscrew and I have even seen one hanging out of a drake after he falls over on his side following mating but I was unaware that they grow so long after starting over every year.

At first I was skeptical but there is an article by National Geographic and another by The Washington Post (if I remember the publication correctly) and to top off the articles there are actual videos of the split second lymph filled drake phallus reaching astonishing lengths with the ability to forcibly navigate the duck vagina with its reverse corkscrew shape intended to thwart unwelcome forced advances from reaching the mark. It is truly facinating learning about the 3% of birds that can grow a penis, or more correctly lack the genetic factors that cause 97% of bird sex organs to stop growing and remain stumps.

I truly had no idea how the hen can allow sperm deposits from her chosen mate while rejecting fertilization from rapist drakes (except for about 3% of unwanted matings that are somehow unavoidable). I have seen that the hen is the one to choose her drake but I did not know that the growth of their reproductive systems becomes syncronized to allow successful penetration with only her selected mate.

I learned something new today but my opportunities for sharing my new found knowledge will obviously be limited to other duck keepers since I can't imagine a suitable time and place to share these fun facts in casual conversation at social gatherings. As fascinating as the videos were to watch, I won't be sharing them on Facebook either.

Wow. That is wild.

So i just sexed these ducklings and 1/6 is female!! And im not even 100% she is female. I saw a penis on 5. They didnt offer sexing on rare ducks probably because they keep the females. I'm mad. Why else sex all ducks but them. Im upset.

That seems pretty unfair if they are Welsh Harlequins because they can be sexed by their bill color for the first couple of days. I would expect a hatchery to have nearly half of each in a straight run but they may be offloading drakes with those statistics.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/195631/welsh-harlequins-can-you-sex-by-beak-color/0_100

That is so upsetting. If the female turns out to be male i will be mad. Never buying from cackle hatchery again. They could offer vent sexing on all breeds. It makes no sense. I hoped for at least two females. That is why i ordered 6.