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I have a few questions about ducks..

Discussion in 'Ducks' started by americana-chick, Jan 3, 2010.

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  1. Jan 3, 2010 #1
    americana-chick

    americana-chick Songster

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    Ok i just bought my first duck with a few hens and 2 baby chicks i have figured out he/she is an Ancona duck. i think its a female but i am definatly not a duck expert as this is my first time ever owning a duck. How do you tell Ancona ducks apart? (female or male) and can chickens and ducks mate and have chicklings? (lol)
    Thanks!
     

  4. Jan 3, 2010 #2
    Katy

    Katy Flock Mistress

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    If it quacks it's a female if it makes a raspy sound it's a male. Males also have a tail curl which are a few feathers that curl up on the top side of the tail.
     
  6. Jan 3, 2010 #3
    rainplace

    rainplace Interstellar Duck Academy

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    if it quacks it's female, if it has a curl or two at it's end, it's a male.

    ducks and chickens can't have babies [​IMG]
     
  8. Jan 3, 2010 #4
    Goat_Walker

    Goat_Walker I Am THE Crazy Duck Lady

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    I am so JEALOUS!!! Anconas are a really cool breed. You cant tell by coloring, you'll have to wait for the curly tail or the quack. You need to post pictures!!!! Oh, and no, the chickens wont cross breed with your duck - though they will try.

    and you might want to highly consider getting your duck some duck friends.
     
  10. Jan 3, 2010 #5
    americana-chick

    americana-chick Songster

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    This duck is HUGE but i dont believe she has a curland she has quacked so im guessing definate female! Thank goodness because one of my friends has an Ancona Draik and she said i could breed the 2 if i wanted! And my mom already freaked that i brought 1 duck home.. bringing another isnt a good idea here... [​IMG] But maybe once the feed store gets chicks i might buy some more duckies as i am lving how cute they are [​IMG]
    My little duckie wich i named Albert even though he is a she.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    And if you look to the right of the pic you can see her tail wich has no curl. How old do you think she is?
    [​IMG]
     
  12. Jan 3, 2010 #6
    americana-chick

    americana-chick Songster

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    Oh and in the picture with her are my Standard Cochin hens which are HUGE [​IMG] The Partridge one already went broody and she is 9-10 months old. i have 2 of her babies [​IMG]
     
  14. Jan 3, 2010 #7
    LittleSquidgenHome

    LittleSquidgenHome Songster

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    I have Ancona's and I would guess she's a hen. The tail curl or "drake butt" feather is not present, but if a molt was recent it might not be back in yet, Ham-n-Cheese's always takes a couple months after a molt to come back in. The head looks more like a hen to me, boys have a kind of blockier head and are a bit bigger than hens. Hens have a more graceful curve to their head. The only way to know for sure is to check manually or wait for eggs. Congrats! I really love my Ancona ducks they are super funny and pretty mellow. Enjoy her, and I am with Goatwalker on the get her some more ducky friends, ducks are the best, very messy, but totally wonderful.

    Goatwalker, we are gonna talk soon. Hows your bator working? I am thinking about trying to ship some fertile eggs for testing, and you are first on my list.
     

  17. Jan 4, 2010 #8
    americana-chick

    americana-chick Songster

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    Here is the link to a video with my duck and kinda what she/he sounds like. she/e does sound a little differnt in real life. So whatta ya think on gender?
     
  19. Jan 4, 2010 #9
    priss

    priss Songster

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    I looooove Albert!!! What a cyoootie!!! I love her little face!!!
    Plus, good name, my 17th Lancer grandad was called Albert!!!
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
     
  21. Jan 4, 2010 #10
    Wifezilla

    Wifezilla Positively Ducky

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    That soft "cluck-grunt" sound is a girl duck sound.

    With all those critters your mom freaked out over a duck??? LOL

    That comb on the big roo is ridiculous! And that bantam crowing totally cracked me up! Great looking animals [​IMG]

    Here is a duck I had at a couple of weeks old. Before she outright quacked, she made all kinds of grunty noises. The brown one is the one that turned out to be a female. The other one turned out to be a drake. He was a week younger than the brown duck.


    And it is really easy to change her name to Alberta [​IMG] so no worries about the name.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2010
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