Duckling Genders

[HorseMadWhovian]

Hi,

I have four Khaki Campbell X SIlver Appleyard Ducklings that are three weeks old. Whats a good way to tell their genders?
They all have dark beaks, one is a greeny colour but has a dark bean that apparently means she is a female. I've read the Appleyard ducks have dark toe nails and drakes have light and that would mean I have three ducks and a drake which I hoep for but am not sure.
Pics soon
Thanks

 

[ducksinarow]

~~Other sex-linked matings: (thanks to Dances with Ducks at BYC) With certain parents it is also possible to tell the sex of the ducklings by the color of their fluff. These are called sex-linked matings. The drake needs to express the brown dilution and be mated to hens that are genetically black or grey. It doesn't work in reverse (chocolate hens to black drakes for instance). The offspring of sex-linked pairings will have males that are black or near black and brown or lighter in females. To get sex-linked Harlequin ducklings: You can mate a Gold Harlequin drake and a Silver Harlequin hen and the drakelets will be silver and the ducklets will be gold. Silver phase ducklings are yellow with a grey blush on their head and tail. Gold phase ducklings are yellow with a bit of brown blush on the head and tail. To get sex-linked Campbell ducklings (these with be phenotypically Campbells but carry one recessive Harlequin gene): If you have a Khaki Campbell male you can mate it with a Dark Campbell female and get Khaki ducklets and Dark drakelets. Or you can mate a Gold Harlequin drake with a Dark Campbell female and get the same results as with a Khaki Campbell drake. Or you can mate a Khaki Campbell male with a Silver Harlequin and the same results. These drakes can be used in sex-linked matings: Khaki Campbell Gold Harlequin Penciled Runner Chocolate Runner Chocolate Magpie Chocolate Anacona Chocolate Muscovy These hens can be used in sex-linked matings: Silver Harlequin Dark Campbell Black Runner Grey Runner Black Magpie Black Ancona Black Cayuga Black Swedish Silver Appleyard Grey Rouen Black Muscovy

This might help. I found it on mouse manor farms website.

 

[Harriet&Lucy]

The older they get, the easier it is. When they're really young, I look at their feet. Drakes have big feet. When they start quacking, only the ducks have a real quack. Drakes sound hoarse, gravelly, almost whispery. Eventually a drake will get that curly feather, and you'll know for sure.

There is an official way to sex them, but I'm told that you can injure the bird unless you know what you're doing.

 

[ducksinarow]

Was the mother hen a KC or an SA? What was the father drake?

 

[HorseMadWhovian]

Not sure, we bought the eggs from a girl down the road and she said they're Khaki Campbells X SIlver Appleyard. They look like silver appleyards to me though.