R3M1X
Chirping
So I have two ducks that are over a year old one male (Mika or Mikael) and one female (Yuu). In March I got two new ducklings one I am sure is a female (Shiba) due to the constant quacking that you can hear from a mile away. The other one which is a rounen (Shima), I believe, is making me question the gender because I thought it was a male because it doesnt quack much but when it does quack it isnt as husky and quiet like my older male, but rather almost as loud as my females, but like I said it doesnt quack much so still leaning toward it being male.
Recently after the younger ducks became a little over a month old my male duck started chasing and pinning down my rounen. It is not constantly every time Mika sees Shima he will attack them, but Shima has become scared and wary of Mika. Sometimes it seems like Mika is trying to mate with Shima, but i have read that is a way males fight, but the only one fighting is my older male.
Just recently it seems my older female has been wanting to lay on her nest and has become slightly aggressive, well she mainly makes a hissing face at anyone who gets close to her and her nest, so I figured it could be due to that or maybe a rut.
This is my first time owning ducks so I am still learning their mannerisms. All my ducks and chickens have a pretty decent sized fencing area with option to free-range outside of the fencing area. I have a kiddie pool that overflows into a self-made stream that creates a secondary pool where they like to dig in the mud. There is also five different shelters where they can sleep, hang out, or nest. I also have two feeding areas as well so they dont have to cross paths, but on occasion when my male sees the rounen he chases them down.
Is there a way to tell if my rounen for sure is a male or female before the 6 month mark? Is my male attacking because the rounen is male or is he trying to mate even though my young ducks are too young? He didnt seem to be attacking Shiba though he has started to chase her but cant seem to catch her and ends up nipping out some tail feathers.
The gray duck is Mika.
The black duck is Yuu.
The white duck is Shiba.
The brown duck is Shima.
Recently after the younger ducks became a little over a month old my male duck started chasing and pinning down my rounen. It is not constantly every time Mika sees Shima he will attack them, but Shima has become scared and wary of Mika. Sometimes it seems like Mika is trying to mate with Shima, but i have read that is a way males fight, but the only one fighting is my older male.
Just recently it seems my older female has been wanting to lay on her nest and has become slightly aggressive, well she mainly makes a hissing face at anyone who gets close to her and her nest, so I figured it could be due to that or maybe a rut.
This is my first time owning ducks so I am still learning their mannerisms. All my ducks and chickens have a pretty decent sized fencing area with option to free-range outside of the fencing area. I have a kiddie pool that overflows into a self-made stream that creates a secondary pool where they like to dig in the mud. There is also five different shelters where they can sleep, hang out, or nest. I also have two feeding areas as well so they dont have to cross paths, but on occasion when my male sees the rounen he chases them down.
Is there a way to tell if my rounen for sure is a male or female before the 6 month mark? Is my male attacking because the rounen is male or is he trying to mate even though my young ducks are too young? He didnt seem to be attacking Shiba though he has started to chase her but cant seem to catch her and ends up nipping out some tail feathers.
The gray duck is Mika.
The black duck is Yuu.
The white duck is Shiba.
The brown duck is Shima.
He was quite the bully. It took quite a while but they now finally all get along. How old is your Rouen? The drake curl usually starts to come in around 10 weeks or so. That is normally when they go through a molt. Feathers, feathers everywhere! If that was a male, I would expect the feathers on the head to start turning darker and green and I see no start of a white ring around the neck. This is my Rouen drake at about 14 weeks old. He hasn't fully finished his molt. Granted, this was in Oct. so we were going on in to winter. Not sure that matters or not, just letting you know for reference.
