How to tell on baby ducklings

[CityChicker]

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I was lucky enough to be taught how to do it when I was 13 years old. I raised many many ducks as a kid. I just recently got back into ducks and sexing them was like riding a bike. I think it would be much easier to learn by someone who already knows how to do it than by reading something though. My next endeavor will be learning to vent sex chicks!

Been there, done that. I have raised ducks for about 25 years. God only knows how many times I have tried to do it and can't even when shown. I just cannot see it. I really think a person has to have a natural talent for it. I would not describe it as "easy" by any stretch of the imagination! LOL, you just think that because you are good at it!

LOL, I really am jealous of people that are really good at sexing day olds. I've been thinking I should keep my eye out for one of those headbands that has the light and magnifying glass on it to see if that makes it easier.

Editing to add- I went and checked out that other thread. OP- I would be *very* hesitant to go by the example in that thread. Do not attempt to sex a day old duckling of one of the Mallard derived breeds (the pic in the other thread was a month old Muscovy) and expect to see a prominent white penis like that. You simply will not see that. Their penises can be literally as thin as a thread and almost completely transparent. Do not be fooled into thinking you picked females because you didn't see what is pictured in that thread.

 

[newchickmom09]

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I am new to ducks. Could you please explain what you mean by, "when the female starts to get her quack".

Is the females quack different? What if they start to quack earlier? Mine are starting to quack and they are only 16 days old. It is an actual quack sound, not their normal squeaky cry.

Thanks

The normal "quack" noise that you hear and know as a duck quacking only comes from females. Ducklings voises change as they get older, so every week there voices are changing and they are making different noises. The new sounds you are hearing are normal and they are just getting there voices. Usualy when they are around 6 weeks old (my female started at 8 weeks old) the females start to sound a little different then males. At 16 days old I would assume that they are just starting to growing out of the new baby sounds that they make. Now turning into duckling sounds. Keep a close eye on them and listen to the sounds that they are going to develope in the next couple weeks.

Females quack and males hiss and make a raspy noise. Here is a good link on male vs. female sounds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=181147
Part of the link I provided:
Go to this site to hear sound files of the different noises made by male and female ducks.
http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/artquacks.htm
In this short video, the grunting "whoopie cushion" noises are coming from the young female khaki campbell mix duck (rich brown colored). The peeping is from the younger male rouen.