Confused duck

[icequeen029]

I have a hen Rouen I bought about year or so ago at the time I had a male Rouen too. The hen laid one egg then stopped laying. About a month later the male died. It took me about 2 to 3 months to find another male but he was young. He never would mount her so time goes by and got another female mallard. He started mounting her then my hen Rouen started tryin to mount her to and now she has changed colors and has tail curls still has the hen sound kinda. My thing is whats going on please help if you know or heard anything like this.

 

[Amiga]

Sometimes ducks (the girls) will get a tail curl. For almost three years, I had an all-girl flock. Then we adopted a trio, a drake and two buff ducks.

And about six months later, lo and behold, my girl Vier developed drake curls. She still quacks (actually my runners don't quack, they say something like, "ah AH ah ah") and in fact is the flock spokesduck. But she has the curl. Most definitely.




So my best guess is it is hormones, but that's a vague guess. I have a friend who has raised a number of ducks and she always saw it in girl groups, thinking someone had to be the "drake."

There's a PhD thesis here, I believe.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

That is totally fascinating...

 

[Haunted55]

I have been told, by someone I trust, that chickens will do this. Her rooster was killed and left her flock without 'protection' and one of the hens started to change to become what they no longer had. To the point of larger comb, sick sounding crow and even "mating" with the other hens. I personally have not seen this. I do have an Ameraucana hen who fights off the roosters and anything else that she doesn't want near her, but that's as far as it goes here.

I think Amiga is correct with the hormone theroy. What else could it be? Nature wants it's participants to procreate and will find a way to make it happen, no matter what. I believe it's frogs that can readily change sex and actually get the job done, so I guess it's not too far a stretch to think of our birds, chickens or ducks, being able to do the same.

 

[Going Quackers]

Yes, i too have heard similar mind you much to my surprise i have yet to see it in my standard chicken flock, all hens no one has taken on the "roll" of rooster but of coarse they have never had one anyways and are not known for being broody either(thank goodness!)

Now oddly enough i do have one duck, she's of the younger ones, almost 1yo(come Aug) and boy she is feisty, she NEVER quacks only hisses, like a drake.. yet, we have drakes... heck i have 5 of them again, she's bossy and real, like she challenges you, the only thing i can think of is they came in as a trio of sex linked chocolates and perhaps she's top duck of that group? so i believe it can happen even without the lack of a drake, in addition to drakless flocks.

 

[Britesea]

I'm new to ducks so I don't know if they can change sex, but I know for a fact that chickens can do this. They can become fully functional males too- but it only goes one way: roosters don't change into hens. The problem is, you never know who or How Many will make the change. I knew someone whose entire small flock (6 sex linked chickens so there was NO question that they were already roosters) turned into males.

 

[ducksinarow]

I have read of this before. This is exactly why I decided to get a drake. I figured I might as well have a real boy as have one of my hens attempt to transgender and turn into a drake.

 

[Going Quackers]

I'm new to ducks so I don't know if they can change sex, but I know for a fact that chickens can do this. They can become fully functional males too- but it only goes one way: roosters don't change into hens. The problem is, you never know who or How Many will make the change. I knew someone whose entire small flock (6 sex linked chickens so there was NO question that they were already roosters) turned into males.

I have heard of them acting like it, but actually Physically turning into roos? how is that possible?

 

[Speceider]

They don't genetically change....it's a change in the estrogen:testerone ratio that results in plumage changes...

Clint

 

[icequeen029]

Thanks for all the info thought I was going crazy I have got 2 drakes now & some more hens hoping she'll go back.