Curly Drake Feather?

[dixie chicken]

Do male Pekin ducks get the curly feather. I have three. I know I have two females because I am getting two eggs every am. Cannot tell them apart. I know one is a female cause she quacks VERY loudly. But the other two are a mystery. I wanted to band the male when and if he got his feather so I could tell them apart all year.

 

[picklespickles]

my boy has a curly feather. the boys tend to be larger than the girls. and the boys, to my hear, whisper more than the girls. i have heard not all boys get the feather.

 

[scrapmom5]

My male Pekin is quite loud. Much louder than my female runner. I was positive he was a she until I came home from a weekend stay and saw the curl. It is very definately a curl, so yes the drakes will curl. Could she be a female that is slower to develop?

 

[dixie chicken]

Thanks for the quick replies! Could be he is a she and just has not started laying yet. I just started getting a second egg. For a while, I was sure I had two males and one female. They are all pretty much the same size. Am I correct that they just get the drake feather in the fall and then it goes away?

 

[picklespickles]

that's a good question. i am used to knowing who is who. i have no idea.

you will make me watch for the next year now to see when and if there are changes.

 

[DuckLady]

You should be able to tell by their voices by now.
The females will bray loudly (or lay eggs) and the males will talk in a hoarse 2 syllable "wah-wah wah-wah". THe drake feather will show itself at sexual maturity and pekins are notoriously amorous. The drake feather will be there pretty much all the time except for the molt.