Are my ducks confused?

[DanceswLabs]

I have read several places that male ducks quack very softly if at all and that females are the loud quackers. My two Indian Runner ducks don't fit that description. The male quacks -- not too loudly but you can hear it. The female makes this soft wavering humming-type quack. Is this normal?

 

[katharinad]

Are you sure you've got the sexes right? How old are they? I would not count on the voice entirely unless they are 8 weeks old. Another good way to tell is stress them out and grab them. That is when they reveal their true voices. A small chase in the pen followed by catching one works wonder. What also works is getting them exited about something like peas. The girls usually quark really loud and the boy he cant stop talking either. Only he sound like he has a sore throat barely getting a peep out. Mine are adults now and I have gotten plastic bands for their legs now. They are numbered so I can keep track of thing on a bird basis. The girls have their rings on the right foot and the boy on the left. That will help when they boy looses his plumage during an eclypse.

 

[DanceswLabs]

They are almost 6 months old. "He" has a curly tail feather, chases my rooster (who deserves it), and assumes the top position when mating (which happens many times a day). If he isn't a he, then they are really confused. I will try grabbing the female when I put them up tonight (they think I am a duck-eating monster) and maybe she will quack. If there are weird and confused ducks, I would have them! : )

 

[Featherland]

Could you make a video of them for u-tube? It would be extremely interesting to hear and see them. I had an Indian Runner that I thought was a female because it had a soft quack but then it got the drakes curly tail.

 

[katharinad]

The curly feather is a clear give away of being a boy. Thinking about females, not all females like to be loud. I have 8 girls and 3 of them love to get loud, and the other are either mid range loud or not at all. This does not mean that they wont quack loudly when grabbed. It seem the 3 girls in charge are the loudest.

 

[ejctm]

My runner girls "chatter" all the time, which is like soft short quacky noises in quick succession, but they really quack properly when they get scared or excited. The boys just aren't as vocal generally as well as having the sound of a sore throat!

From about 3 or 4 weeks, my boys were taller and longer legged than my girls, with one boy having grown a good couple of inches taller than the girls already. They also just had a "boy" look about the face, while the girls were bossy, more confident but dainty and pretty looking. You kind of just get to know by watching them grow.

Having said that, still waiting for curly feathers to confirm what I think I know!

 

[DanceswLabs]

Well, I took peas out to them today, and I have to say that the girl's quack IS louder. But just barely.....and she only quacked once. She just isn't talkative I guess. My boy, on the other hand, is a chatterbox. Luckily it isn't loud. Sometimes he comes up to me and quacks on and on like he is complaining about the service around here. : ) But his quack is definitely soft. It will be interesting to see what their ducklings will be like since I have 11 eggs in an incubator. These are our first, so I expect I will be back with more questions. This is day 8 and we can see the embryos!

 

[Mom 2em All]

I agree here. My male runner never shuts up. its a constant chatter/quack and it is all day long, and even at night if you walk outside. My female is very very quiet and she only quacks when she is scared or upset. They are definitely male and female.