MALLARD THREAD...not rouens, Mallards!

[muus]

There's no real way of sexing from looks (except the look of the vent!) until they get older. Anything that quacks is definitely a girl!
I'd say that you have some odd colours is all, another week at most and you should be able to voice sex them all.

When they was less than a week old, I sexed them and only I found a male, all the others were females...
And yes, I'm going crazy with this ducks, one day I'think that I have more females, and other days more males...
Thanks

 

[cymbaline]

I second the statement that regardless of looks, whoever is quacking is female. If the others don't start quacking in the next week or two, then they are likely males...my experience has been their voice changes later and more subtly than the females.
I would also reiterate that the green sheen on the top of their heads at this age doesn't indicate gender. In the pic below, all three of these ducks have some degree of green tinge to the black on top of their heads; only turned out to be a male. I bet you can't guess which one
The green seems to fade after a few weeks. I have no idea why it initially comes in like that. I know I was afraid I had sexed them wrong at first too!

 

[buff goose guy]

Where is it best to pinion your ducklings like what part of the wing ( how far from the tip of the wing to go when you cut it )

 

[buff goose guy]

 

[RoboDuck]

Just picked up 9 new mallards. 4 about 3 weeks old and the other 5 a couple of days old.

 

[buff goose guy]

Ooo take pics

 

[buff goose guy]

Walt, a may have an anomaly then... My mallard, Bella, started laying eggs last fall.  She had laid an egg every day since then except one - she outlays every one of my chickens.  She lays beautiful, great big eggs, and even lays them in one of my chicken's nests, so they stay nice and clean.

Well that is remarkable. I have raised a lot of these through the years and never have I seen that. Do your Mallards fly? The birds here can go almost straight up when they launch. The point being that the wild type don't lay like that. Mallards will mate with anything, so a lot of the Mallards in the wild are hybrids and that would affect laying.

Walt

Just going through old posts )

Yeah they really do I have a Cayuga mallard mix who flys very well

 

[RoboDuck]

Ooo take pics

The wife was taking pictures earlier. I will get her to post them later. We had to stop the guy at 9. He has several more hatching this week and wanted us to take them all.

 

[muus]

I second the statement that regardless of looks, whoever is quacking is female. If the others don't start quacking in the next week or two, then they are likely males...my experience has been their voice changes later and more subtly than the females.
I would also reiterate that the green sheen on the top of their heads at this age doesn't indicate gender. In the pic below, all three of these ducks have some degree of green tinge to the black on top of their heads; only turned out to be a male. I bet you can't guess which one
The green seems to fade after a few weeks. I have no idea why it initially comes in like that. I know I was afraid I had sexed them wrong at first too!

I'm not sure, but I think the male is who is eating something, If I gess it, I will tell you way I chosed tis duck.
Now I understand all...All my ducks are equal, green heads, green and brown rump and wing feathers.
For one moment I thought that they are cayugas....
Thanks

 

[cymbaline]

I'm not sure, but I think the male is who is eating something, If I gess it, I will tell you way I chosed tis duck.
Now I understand all...All my ducks are equal, green heads, green and brown rump and wing feathers.
For one moment I thought that they are cayugas....
Thanks

Dexter (the male) is actually the one at the front right. Ruby Sue is behind him, and little Miss Turkey Duck has her head down.

You definitely have mallards, and they look perfectly normal for their age. Not sure if I mentioned it or not, but both males and females have the iridescent blue speculum on their wings too.