How, and when, can you sex mallard ducklings? And a few other duck???

[chicken_china_mom]

A few weeks back when I went to TSC I bought 2 ducklings along with 6 bantam chicks, and my ducklings are now about 4 weeks old and I was read on a website that you can sometimes sex mallard ducklings as early as 4 weeks because the females can start quacking louder than the males. My babies are just starting to lose their down and get in some pin feathers. These are my first ducks ever so everything about them is new to me. I love these little boogers though, and they know it. They are very attached to one another but after a minute of fidgeting once they are picked up, they settle down and tolerate being petted. Also, if anyone has any advice on raising them, please let me know. And is there a particular breed of duck that is really good to have? My neighbor has one with the big tuft on the back of his head, but he's a big duck. She said she's had call ducks before too, but I'm not exactly sure what a call duck is. I like my chickens, and I like my ducks too, and I just want to know if my ducks will stay people friendly or will they get aggressive? I hope they stay nicer. I handle them daily and I only have one that even tries to nip, and it isn't really much of a nip. It's more like he/she is just telling me hands off. I don't want them chasing and hissing at us later like I've heard some ducks can do. Any info anyone can give me, please let me know. I just want to be the best duck mom I can be. Thanks everyone! And here is a picture of my babies. The kids named them Jesse and Marion. Jesse is larger than Marion and is the friendlier one.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have 3 ducks I got as 1 year olds. They were flock raised and not used to people. Over time I got one of them to eat from my hand

I also have a 8 week old I bought from a feed store as a 3 day old baby. He is friendly, but doesn't like being picked up. He still wont eat from my hand

I also have a baby I hatched out in my incubator. Not only does it eat from my hand, it nibbles me to say hello and likes having its chest rubbed

How often they are handled, the breed, and the individual personality of the duck all effect how it turns out. Even though all of mine are different breeds, none of them are mean.

And is there a particular breed of duck that is really good to have?

Depends on your needs. I want egg production, so I am getting some Welsh Harlequin girls. Like a khaki campbell or a runner (have one of each of those), they lay a lot of eggs, but they are mellower than those other breeds.

As for call ducks, they are a bantam breed. As in very small. Cute little things