Golden Cascade sexing?

[Ruralpearls]

Also another thing to think about, female GC have a dark beak while the males have a very pale/peachy colored beak. I looked at Ruralpearls picture again, and now I'm thinking two girls

REALLY????????

Hmmm, time will tell though!!

 

[mamdoe]

@ruralpearls
Any quakes from your crew yet??

 

[Ruralpearls]

@ruralpearls
Any quakes from your crew yet??

Yes, at least I think so... kind of a strange honk! I can't quite tell with the GC's. It is a bit hard to make out which of the seven birds are quacking and which are still peeping. How about yours? Mine are getting feathered out on their sides and backs quite a bit. Any white throats on yours yet?

 

[Ruralpearls]

@ruralpearls
Any quakes from your crew yet??

Here are some shots and a video I got of my SA's and GC's. Both GC's are still making the 'baby' noise. I'm not sure if that means two drakes or that they just mature slower?!?

You can kind of hear the funny little honks they are doing. How are yours doing?

 

[mamdoe]

Here are some shots and a video I got of my SA's and GC's. Both GC's are still making the 'baby' noise. I'm not sure if that means two drakes or that they just mature slower?!? You can kind of hear the funny little honks they are doing. How are yours doing?

That's a great pool! I'm still figuring ours out. It's crazy how different the GCs look. Neither of mine have a ring around their neck. My darker GC is the only one that I can tell for certain is quaking. I'm starting to think the lighter one may be a drake. It's noticibly larger than the darker. Still can't tell with my SAs..but there are at least 2 welsh harlequin that are quaking. Do you have any ideas about what you will do with extra drakes? Will you keep any?

 

[Ruralpearls]

That's a great pool! I'm still figuring ours out.
It's crazy how different the GCs look. Neither of mine have a ring around their neck. My darker GC is the only one that I can tell for certain is quaking. I'm starting to think the lighter one may be a drake. It's noticibly larger than the darker. Still can't tell with my SAs..but there are at least 2 welsh harlequin that are quaking.

Do you have any ideas about what you will do with extra drakes? Will you keep any?

I'm not certain what I will do yet. Both my GC are making the baby noise so I think they are boys. I do think all five of my SA's are girls though. I was told that five girls are enough for two boys if they are raised together from when they are young...I am still not sure.

 

[Ruralpearls]

Here are some updated photos of my duckies. My two GC's are drakes I think.

 

[Harborotter]

Did you ever figure it out? I also received two GC's from Holderreads. I received a light one and dark one and both ended up being drakes. I drove to Holderreads to pick up some geese and a trio of GC's and one hen overheated and died on the way home. So now I have three drakes and one hen. Sigh. I can't win. I really GC's but am struggling to get hens. Before the GC hen died she laid an egg in the box and it is fertile. So I am really hoping for another hen.

 

[Ruralpearls]

They both were drakes. One died but I still have five females and one drake. I have hatched out the eggs and they are sexable because the drake is gc and the ducks are silver appleyards. If your egg is pure gc you won't be able to sex the duckling by down color. I do like my drake but he isn't anything special to look at. I'm not sure what the females look like. I do love SA ducks. They are pretty and have about the same body weight of the GCs if you decide to get more. Hope you have better luck! I will warn you that if you only have one hen and 3 drakes they will breed her to death. They are capable of drowning her if you have water.

 

[Harborotter]

Yeah, I have been watching them. She has a lot of room to hide right now as it is a bushy enclosure. Unfortunately I am getting ready to move and cannot set up any more pens. I bought the trio as my two drakes just walked my fence calling out to my Khaki Campbell pair. I also caught the two GC's raping my bantam ducks. They were squishing the hens terribly. I separated them as soon as I saw what was going on. I just wanted to at least have one hen for each drake but Holderreads will not sell just hens. It was either a pair or trio. Then losing one hen really crushed me as it was an 8 hour drive each way to get them. It was cold outside so I am not sure why one hen died. Overheating is all I can come up with. And like I said, she laid an egg before dying. I am really hoping it hatches. I haven't had a lot of success with hatching duck eggs.

I think Holderreads, as nice as they are, gives out only drakes as extras with their orders. I guess it's a good way to rehome drakes as they are cute till they grow up and get all rapey on anything that moves. Lol

I have considered the Appleyards. I'll post a picture of my GC hen. She is beautiful. I just wish it were easier to find GC hens.