You really can't argue when a duck picks you out!
Your farmer is right about the tail feathers. But!! Mine are in the middle of molting right now, and only one guy is starting to grow his tail curls back. Double-check the voice - boys are raspy, whispery, and quieter (though they talk just as much) and girls are the only ones who actually quack. Here is a link with sound files to compare:
http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/artquacks.htm
Sex can matter because a boy and girl can work fine as a pair, but sometimes a male needs at least 3 females, or his lady companions can suffer injuries from overmating. They're equally wonderful as pets, though. The biggest concerns are keeping them safe from predators, and providing water without turning your coop or pen into a mud pit. They need water deep enough to wash their heads, to keep their eyes and nostrils clean. Otherwise they get eye infections etc. But ducks with water are like an unsupervised toddler with a 10 lb bag of sugar, in terms of both enthusiasm and potential mess. There are infinite ways to address this, and you'll find lots of ingenious solutions here in the forum, ranging from simple to complex. Myself, I'm lucky to have a pond and sandy soil with good drainage. I pen my birds at night, and they've got a 5 gallon bucket, and it's tall enough that they can get their heads in but not climb in. They still get it half empty by morning.
Do you like TN? It sounds like you're enjoying it! I'm northwest of Worcester in a wee little town. Love it here
