Help please!

[MrsTorch]

I recently became an owner of ducks. I'm trying to figure out what breed this one is. Any ideas? I'm fairly certain the white one is a Pekin. But I'm lost on the darker one. It kind of looks like a mallard but I'm not sure. Any help would be great.

 

[Welshies]

Do you have pics of them as babies?
It is probably Rouen. It's a drake, but Rouen ducklings have two eye stripes when little, and mallards have one.
mallards are only 2-4 pounds at maturity, Rouens (production type- what you have there) 5-8.
The white one- can I see a better picture of it after it had a swim? Either it's really dirty or not pure Pekin.

 

[MrsTorch]

I don't have any other pictures of them. I just got these ducks today. It's for sure a drake?

 

[MrsTorch]

And the white one is just dirty. The person who gave them to me had to get rid of them because her turkeys were pecking them.

 

[RachG75]

Has the mallard/rouen been grabbing the back of the white one's neck? Just wondering why it's dirty where it is.

 

[Welshies]

And the white one is just dirty. The person who gave them to me had to get rid of them because her turkeys were pecking them.

Okay, the white is Pekin, and yes it's a drake. Rouens are colored just like Mallards. Males are flashy, whereas females are more camouflaged- in almost all breeds (except pure white, or pure black, or patterned ducks such as anconas and magpies). All drakes get a "sex feather" (a curled tail feather or two) at 14-28 weeks. Drakes also don't quack, but make a shallow hoarse whaaap whaaaap sound.
Is the Pekin quacking?

 

[MrsTorch]

They both make the same whaaap whaaap kind of sound. This is the zoomed out version of the original picture I posted. The white one has a small sore on its neck from the turkeys pecking at it. We just got their pool filled and they are splashing around in it. So hopefully the white one will get cleaned up and I can get a better picture of it.

 

[Welshies]

:/
I am sorry but your Pekin is a male. I can see his drake feather. You need to act immediately.
You either need to:

•Get 8 more duck *hens* at the same age or older, ready to breed soon

•Cull (get rid of or eat) one of them, after getting a couple friends for the leftover one.

If you don't remove one or get more hens, your drakes will fight and possibly hurt themselves, or you, in their hormonal time. Drakes are known to rape each other if there aren't enough hens.

The proper hen ration is 1 drake for every 3-6 hens, in the heavy class.
In medium ducks, 1 drake for every 4-6 hens
In small ducks, 1 drake for every 5-8 duck hens.
The smaller they are, the more active breeders they usually are.

 

[Welshies]

That's the drake, or sex, feather.

 

[MrsTorch]

I saw the curled feather so I figured the Pekin was a drake. He was easier to figure out.