Duck Breed Focus - Silver Appleyard

[mamaof2wi]

I read that some people can tell the sex of appleyards at an early age by their color/beaks? These babies are going on 4 weeks. Any thoughts on the sex? I know someone in the group is just starting to get their "voice", I read that females are normally the ones that start that first?

 

[smithmal]

I hadn't heard that. My experience with SAs is it can take upwards to 5 months for male feathers and proper coloring to occur. I can tell you that in one case, A 2 month duckling that I swore was a female turned it's coloring and turned out to be a male and a duckling that I thought was female turned out to be male.

smithmal

 

[mamaof2wi]

I hadn't heard that. My experience with SAs is it can take upwards to 5 months for male feathers and proper coloring to occur. I can tell you that in one case, A 2 month duckling that I swore was a female turned it's coloring and turned out to be a male and a duckling that I thought was female turned out to be male.

smithmal

I am thinking all 4 of these ducks are girls. We shall see I guess...

 

[hooktontravel]

is it normal for a SA duckling to be super bossy? or ducklings in general? I've never had poultry before, but got some eggs and hatched in multiple batches. for ducklings i only had 1 hatch, and he has a chick who hatched the same time so they're together & best buds...the duckling loves humans and will follow us around the yard, with the chick trailing behind. but when I put him in with the older chicks he immediately tries to chest butt and peck them. He's not quite 2 weeks old, and the older chicks are about 8 weeks now. most of them can handle it, but my little runtly special-needs chick weighs less than he does and he knocks her right off her brick. He's very bold, and there's only one chick who actually took off after him. (I didn't leave them together, just had them in for a little while with observation so they could start to get used to each other!!) Aside from the one orpington cross, everyone just sort of looks at him and ignores him, or walks away.

I have the Silver Appleyard duckling, and faverolles and brahma chicks, plus the orpingtons I got when my initial hatch only had 1 chick in it and I didn't want him to be an only & not be able to fit into a flock. total of 7 chicks and 1 duckling.

 

[jessicaagross]

I read that some people can tell the sex of appleyards at an early age by their color/beaks? These babies are going on 4 weeks. Any thoughts on the sex? I know someone in the group is just starting to get their "voice", I read that females are normally the ones that start that first?

Appleyard ducklings with more greenish beaks will generally be males, and more tan/regular beak colored duckling are generally girls. I have only hatched them a couple times, so I haven't gotten to really test the theory. But, I can normally tell with ducklings just a little older than yours by beak color. Easiest (and hardest

) to just wait and see with feather color though.

 

[jessicaagross]

Oh I just saw that was posted a long time ago, sorry! I'm sure you know what they are by now. I haven't been on here in a while.

 

[Hot Stuff]

What color is the undercoat of the drakes and hens of Silver Appleyards?

 

[luvmyduckies]

Snow and Macintosh. I got some of my ducks I was told that 2 of them were Appleyards and the white one was a Silver Appleyard

 

[mamaof2wi]

The SA turned out to be boys

 

[Miss Lydia]

The SA turned out to be boys

Gorgeous boys too.