Goslings? Nope Ducks.

[1MrsMagoo]

Typically, their voice changes several weeks before the drake feathers appear. I think the earliest I have heard a quack was in the 4 week range, but mostly it took around 6 weeks. Sometimes it can take longer to be sure though, since the drakes are sometimes quiet and it can be hard to tell who is quacking.

Luckily, with only two ducklings, it narrows the candidates down and should be quite a bit easier to tell.

 

[aoxa]

Typically, their voice changes several weeks before the drake feathers appear. I think the earliest I have heard a quack was in the 4 week range, but mostly it took around 6 weeks. Sometimes it can take longer to be sure though, since the drakes are sometimes quiet and it can be hard to tell who is quacking.

Luckily, with only two ducklings, it narrows the candidates down and should be quite a bit easier to tell.

Awesome So drake feathers come in around 8+ weeks or so? I am keeping all 12 until late September, and then I am selling them at a chicken stock (minus a few for myself). I plan on keeping 1 drake. It would be nice if they had their drake feathers at the end of September

 

[Habibs Hens]

mine are more than 10 weeks old and no drake feather

either there no drakes in there or they come later

i guess no drakes

 

[1MrsMagoo]

I can't recall when the feathers appeared. Usually, by the time they did, the feathering and voice had already told me who, was what gender. Good luck to both aoxa and silver...may your ducks be mostly hens!

 

[aoxa]

I can't recall when the feathers appeared. Usually, by the time they did, the feathering and voice had already told me who, was what gender. Good luck to both aoxa and silver...may your ducks be mostly hens!

Thanks!

I only want to keep 2-3 hens and one drake. Out of 12, I must have close to that, right?!! I would not be happy if all but one were boys. I know at least one is a girl because I heard a very distinct QUACK.

 

[Habibs Hens]

I can't recall when the feathers appeared. Usually, by the time they did, the feathering and voice had already told me who, was what gender. Good luck to both aoxa and silver...may your ducks be mostly hens!

i think they are all hens but was hoping for a drake so i can follow on with flock maintanance and hatch some out each year

 

[Happy Chooks]

Edited the title to avoid confusion. Also moved it into Ducks so the OP can get more responses from those that raise ducks.

 

[Blondiega1]

It was my experience that the boys "peeped" much longer also.
The girls got their QUACK first.
And the girls are a LOUD QUACK while the boys are a more mumbled muffled quack.


Mine are 18 weeks (give or take a week) and my boys got their drake feathers at about 15 weeks old.

Here's my flock at dinner the other night:

 

[desertdarlene]

Those are awfully cute! They seem to have a Muscovy looking face to me, but the rest of them look like regular ducks. Perhaps they're mule ducks?

I mostly observe wild ducks, but I generally don't see tail curls on male until about five months, perhaps a little sooner. Females seem to start peep-quacking at around five or six weeks, but will be more vocal, overall, as babies. I've also noticed that males sometimes go through a growth spurt between two and five weeks of age and will be bigger than females during that period, but girls will catch up, eventually. But, it's hard to tell that way when there's only a few ducklings or less.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It was my experience that the boys "peeped" much longer also.
The girls got their QUACK first.
And the girls are a LOUD QUACK while the boys are a more mumbled muffled quack.


Mine are 18 weeks (give or take a week) and my boys got their drake feathers at about 15 weeks old.

Here's my flock at dinner the other night:

Aww they are so pretty!