Very worried about possible sex ratio in rescue ducks

[MyGooseGrayson]

So I have 5 ducks and a goose that were a surprise rescue when they were little babies. They're about 2 months old now, and my original thought was that I had 4 hens and 1 drake, I'm afraid it could be as bad as the other way around. One is for sure a hen, she's loudly quacking, one is for sure a drake, he already has a tail curl and is the quietest of all of them. Both of those are runner ducks. My remaining three are a runner, cayuga, and call. The mystery runner was quacking at like 3-4 weeks old, was the first to quack... but doesn't anymore. The cayuga occasionally makes a very soft but not raspy quack but mostly whistles and peeps, and is also very gorgeous and shiny already. Both of those ones have a slight lift in that back tail feather, not flat like the hen and not a curl like the drake. The call makes no quacks and has a perfectly flat tail.
I'm really starting to panic about what to do if I have too many boys, which I probably do. I really don't want to send the boys away, it's so hard to find good homes for drakes of course, and I just love them all. I'm open to getting more hens, but I'm not sure how my space will allow for that- I have a 7'x4' coop with attached 7'x16' run all fully predator proof, plus free ranging of the backyard most of the time.
I guess my questions boil down to this:
-when will I know for sure if it's time to panic about sex ratio?
-how many more hens could I safely and comfortably add to my existing setup?
-is there any other ideas of managing this situation without sending my lovely boys off to potentially be supper?
-help???
thanks so much!

spinach, the for sure hen

lettuce, almost certainly drake

timbit the little call

licorice the runner who quacked really young but then stopped

truffle who sometimes quacks quietly

 

[Miss Lydia]

Most drakes need at least 3 and up females each to keep mating from getting out of hand and females over mated. A lot of members use what we call drake jail where during the roughest part of mating season the drakes are separated from the females. Spring through most of summer usually things begin to settle down in fall of the year.
Your ducks are beautiful.
Usually drake feathers begin to show up around 3 months and beyond. If a duck was quacking early on and it really was quacks then most likely that is a female. Have you picked each up and walked away from the group to see what you hear?

 

[MyGooseGrayson]

I haven't done the pick-up test yet, I keep meaning to but not finding a good chance. I know it's totally fine but I feel like I'm traumatizing them by grabbing them lol! They're all so friendly as long as we don't pick them up. If the cayuga is a male, would that be sort of the biggest problem, since he's so much bigger than the rest? I feel like if there was one to try and find another home for, it would be truffle... but gosh I don't want to.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have a 15lb Muscovy drake that mates his 4-5lb female muscovy so unless you have tiny Calls there shouldn't be a problem with mating it's just too many drakes can really play havoc with females if there are not enough girls. And sometimes they will single out one particular female and relentlessly mate her. It's really just a wait-and-see since where you are now they are still young. They probably won't even start breeding until next spring unless you live deep south where weather doesn't get cold. I have a friend in Texas who says her ducks mate all year round and hatch year round.

 

[MyGooseGrayson]

hopefully they can just chill all fall/winter (I'm in Ontario) and we can see what the situation is in the spring! I think I'll keep an eye in my local groups for hens needing homes too

 

[Quatie]

Some females are just not loud. I have a Saxony that barely made a peep. You would pick her up and nothing. It wasn't until nearly 13 weeks of age and no head color that I knew for a fact she was female. Now you can't get her to keep quiet . If you heard a quack, then it is a female. Not all female ducks like hearing the sound of their own voice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Quatie you need to tell my girls this. not every girl likes to hear her own voice.
Now My Muscovy rarely make a peep unless they are squeaking about being broody and want to give everyone a piece of their mind. Actually my Runner drake talks more than the girls he just isn’t loud.

 

[Quatie]

@Quatie you need to tell my girls this. not every girl likes to hear her own voice.
Now My Muscovy rarely make a peep unless they are squeaking about being broody and want to give everyone a piece of their mind. Actually my Runner drakes talks more than the girls he just isn’t I loud.

One of my drakes I had was just like that. In the brooder he was a non stop talker. He was pretty chatty outside too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are def a hoot. lol

 

[MyGooseGrayson]

So... it appears to be what I feared! I have one quacker and four raspies. I have also added four female 1-2 year old muscovy ducks, rescues, to my flock, and the two groups are coexisting really well but not mingling yet. It's only been like two weeks though. I'm hoping between tough muscovies able to handle themselves, one of the boys being a tiny call duck, and a goose who likes to break up conflicts, I can keep my flock as is with minimal management through the worst of spring randiness.