Can girl duck get the curl???

[Animal_lover2003]

Yes and to make things clear I do have enough female ducks to balance out my drakes. I think that's probably why I have not had issue mixing the flocks and they pay no interest to the hens and also like @AshVau22 my roos would never allow it lol. Other then free ranging together they do have separate pins for night time. I only have 1 true mix pin where i have 4 chickens and 5 ducks grew up together at the same time and I have not had issues other than removing the rooster who did grow an interest in the female duck.

I do have a roo and 2 older hens (as in 2yrs old) but the 4 young hens (chickens) and the 2 ducks grew up together, same brooder. And they do have separate coops.

And I understand nothing is guaranteed but if the main consensus is to separate the yard I almost feel it would be better to rehome them so they have more space. Idk

 

[Animal_lover2003]

My ducks free range with my chickens. They have there own coop. I currently have 1 drake and 3 ducks. So my drake has no interest in my hens plus my roos wouldn't allow it. The curled tail feather is a male trait. In very rare cases a duck with a damaged ovaries can grow one and her feathers could change to resemble a Drake. Side picture of the tail would be helpful. Right now they are young if they are drakes around 6-7 month old is when you will have a problem. The hormones kick in and your hens will be in danger if they have no ducks to mate. And I definitely wouldn't (even with ducks) keep the drakes in a enclosed run with hens. The damage caused to a hen from being mated by a Drake is horrific and a awful way to die.

I can take a picture when I get home but by the sound of it it's a lose lose situation

 

[Animal_lover2003]

And also the picture

 

[Animal_lover2003]

I do hear they both sound the same

 

[KathiQuacks]

And also the picture

These are both boys.

 

[Amykins]

My Bean hit henopause and has a fantastic drake curl! So even if you had an all girl flock, at some point they're all gonna turn into drakes and become more aggressive. I'm sure they don't all go aggro, but both older girls I got are almost worse than my drake Poor Wobbles is terrified of them! It's just how ducks are, unlike other organisms ducks kind of "default" to male so in the absence of estrogen they morph into mini-drakes. This can happen in young hens if her ovaries become damaged, but this is quite rare. Going by the sounds of it though, these are both drakes.

A boy doesn't always ruin things, though! Sometimes they can be quite gentle (just ask forum OG "Tevye's Dad" on the eponymous Tevye, the thread is "A Really Awesome Duck"). Hopefully yours will be, too. Please keep us posted on your flock

 

[FrostRanger]

My Bean hit henopause and has a fantastic drake curl! So even if you had an all girl flock, at some point they're all gonna turn into drakes and become more aggressive. I'm sure they don't all go aggro, but both older girls I got are almost worse than my drake Poor Wobbles is terrified of them! It's just how ducks are, unlike other organisms ducks kind of "default" to male so in the absence of estrogen they morph into mini-drakes. This can happen in young hens if her ovaries become damaged, but this is quite rare. Going by the sounds of it though, these are both drakes.

A boy doesn't always ruin things, though! Sometimes they can be quite gentle (just ask forum OG "Tevye's Dad" on the eponymous Tevye). Hopefully yours will be, too. Please keep us posted on your flock

They don't turn into drakes, if their ovary gets damaged, they will gain male traits, but they are still hens. Same thing happens to chicken hens if their ovary gets damaged somehow

 

[Amykins]

They don't turn into drakes, if their ovary gets damaged, they will gain male traits, but they are still hens. Same thing happens to chicken hens if their ovary gets damaged somehow

Lol they don't LITERALLY turn into drakes, they don't magically grow a noodle. But they do grow in drake feathers, their color changes to look like a male, and their behavior becomes more aggressive/may start trying to mount other females. So, functionally a drake in all but where making babies is concerned.

It's actually quite a fascinating thing, from a zoological and biochemical perspective. Most organisms "default" to female, it's the testosterone production during in vitro-development that kicks off male organ development, and a continual production of testosterone is necessary to create secondary characteristics like facial hair, musculature, behavioral patterns, etc. But for ducks, it's the other way around. Their biological "default" is male, and it's the estrogen during fetal development that kickstarts the development of ovaries. So when they reach henopause and no longer produce estrogen, their bodies revert back to that default.

As far as I know, chickens change after henopause, but I've never seen one grow sickle feathers as a result. I've seen 'em crow, though. Ducks have a full blown transformation into drake plumage, it's really something!