Gender help - Also, Mallard or Rouen? Help please!

[jreynolds]

This is Josie/Joe...she/he is about 13 or 14 weeks old now. I'm hoping she is a she, because we got our ducks with eggs in mind... She is almost as big as our full grown Peking female. Ideas anyone?

 

[Missy60]

Definitely not a mallard then because our mallard are really not even half as big as our adult pekin. It doesn't look that big in the pic though and it does look like it only has one eye stripe. It's a very dark color also but maybe that's my computer. Ok I'm confused now to ..lol. So much for my help but it's adorable I do know.

 

[duck brain]

I would think a Rouen... What does his quack sound like? If it's a drake he will either sound like he has a sore throat or will not quack at all, on the other hand, females have a loud and definitive quack!

 

[jreynolds]

Well, the duck is officially a boy...my husband just saw him mount our IR female. So it's Joe for sure now! He quacks a lot, just not as loud as the girl ducks we had, which was throwing me off. Oh well, maybe we'll hatch ducklings sometime!

 

[Missy60]

Wow that seems early are they suppose to try to mate that soon?

 

[jreynolds]

No idea if its "proper" or not, but it's happening...I also checked, and Joe does have 2 little Drake feathers in now. I don't think they were there a couple of days ago! Maybe that means the girls will start laying soon?

 

[PetesMom]

They usually start the "sexual" behaviour some time before they are sexually mature....she probably won't start laying for another couple of months. Also if he is a he, my girls mount each other all the time lol, he will get a pretty green head, around 5 months old or so

 

[jreynolds]

Thanks! That's very interesting and helpful info.

 

[Missy60]

No idea if its "proper" or not, but it's happening...I also checked, and Joe does have 2 little Drake feathers in now.  I don't think they were there a couple of days ago!  Maybe that means the girls will start laying soon?

Wow I really was just curious I'm new to ducks and wanted to avoid that for a while longer...lol. My female Pekin tried to mount a rubber raft all the time, and it was sort of embarrassing when everyone was around. My grand kids really got a kick out of it, but they are to young for that stuff...lol. I just had to keep the raft up and that solved the problem. She is an adult duck but I was hoping the mallards would wait a while.