CAN I TELL IF MY MALLARD DUCKLING IS A MALE OR FEMALE?

[BackyardAnita]

I have two mallard ducklings and i was wondering if there's any way to tell what gender they both are. At what age do the males start to develop the green head?

 

[Kevin565]

You can voice sex much sooner than sexing by feathering.

 

[BackyardAnita]

At what age will their voices start to differ?

 

[Kevin565]

By 5 weeks I can easily tell the difference.

 

[desertdarlene]

I've been able to tell as early as 4 weeks for male mallards. Their bill sometimes start to turn greenish at that time and their peep gets raspy. One thing I've noticed about male mallard ducklings is that they almost never seem to vocalize unless they're really scared. Female ducklings always seem to be vocalizing, especially as they get older. I know of one mallard duckling at our lake that has never made a sound, even when he was caught and injured.

 

[Bridgertrot]

Good luck trying to sex them. I gave up on my two Rouens and had to wait until they both started laying in order to feel 100% confident what their sexes were LOL Both of them were quite vocal but had different sounding quacks. Then I read that you can start seeing a little green sheen in the head at some point, checked both of my ducks out and only one of them seemed to have the sheen in the sunlight. So I figured it was a boy. Then that one developed a darker bill...and the one I thought was a girl got a really orange bill. The "girl" also started to get a white collar while the other developed a white spot. That's when I gave up.

Now they've both started laying so I have two girls. One is quieter than the other, one has a really dark greenish "female" bill and the other still has a really orange bill (even though Rouen females have darker bills?) and a neck collar like a boy would have. So I'm not really sure what's up with that. I can at least rest easy now though. haha

 

[BackyardAnita]

Now I can tell their gender! I have one boy and one girl mallard

 

[tdgill]

yayyy'

 

[lc123]

I have 3 mallard ducklings that were purchased the first week of March. I noticed today that the skin on their heads in a bluish green color, but the feathers are still all black/brown. Do all mallards have that type of coloration on their heads or is this an indication that I have three males?

Thanks.

 

[dham]

Sexing Ducklings | Sexing Goslings
www.metzerfarms.com/SexingVideo.cfm
Video shows how to vent sex ducklings and goslings. Sexing ducklings and goslings - determine the sex of your ducks and geese.

i just used this video to help me with my rescued runner. Although he's about five weeks old I was able to use this method to find out he's definitely a drake.