Introduction and Sexing Question

[DucksInSeattle]

Hello, Everyone!
My name is Sharon and I live in Seattle, WA. I have three Khaki Campbell ducks in my backyard. They hatched on March 16th, so they're almost 21 weeks old. I couldn't find anyone else in my area who has ducks, so I started a blog about my ducks and have since found a couple of other folks. But I love the BYC duck forum! I've learned a lot from all the informative posts on here.
I hope there is someone on here who is willing to help me. Since the ducklings arrived, one of them, Amelia, has always been a little larger than the other two. She was the first to quack, she's the bravest and also the friendliest, and also the first to lay an egg. I'm very unsure of the gender of the other two, although they all look quite similar. The other two have a different sound to their quacking, they both attempt to mate with Amelia (she never does it to them), and neither of them has laid an egg yet. Amelia's first egg was on July 27th. But, neither of the other two (No Name and Jacqueline) has a drake feather. But, they're both slightly smaller than Amelia. And their bodies have a different shape; Amelia has a more prominent arch to her breast and she has a more prominent abdomen. Amelia's bill is dark, really black; the other two have dark greenish bills.
If you're wondering why one of the "other two" is called "No Name," it's because I wanted to name her Medusa and nobody else in my family thought that was a good name. Since my youngest daughter named Amelia, and my partner named Jacqueline, No Name is mine to name, and because I'm not sure if she might become someone's roast duck (not my dinner!) I have held off on naming her. If she lays an egg, she's Medusa, if she turns out to be a drake, he's Duck a l'Orange.
I just posted several photos on my blog at http://www.ducksinseattle.com/2009/08/lots-of-duck-photos.html. And also a video I made this morning at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wkFcr4Dh90.
Please, if someone would look at the photos and maybe watch the video and let me know what you think about their genders, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in Advance,
Sharon

 

[FenDruadin]

I hope you're going to really enjoy eating Duck a l'Orange, because it sounds to me like you've got two boys and Amelia. The easiest way to tell boys and girls apart (in breeds where the colors are not obvious indicators) is from the sound of their quacks, and you have just hit the nail on the head--the girls will have a loud, expressive quack beginning around 4-6 weeks, and the boys will have soft, raspy voices all their lives. You can also look at their tail feathers--the boys will probably start developing a couple little curlies on the top of their tails, but this is not as positive an indicator because the curlies will disappear when in molt or if they've been fighting or for any number of other reasons. And sometimes a girl duck will develop some (I had a girl with small curlies before a fox got her). So the voice is your best bet.

By the way, the link to your blog didn't show up for me...

Good luck, and let us know how the roast duck comes out.

 

[DucksInSeattle]

I appreciate the response. I won't be eating the ducks, but I have a friend who is eager. Just go to ducksinseattle.com to see the blog.

 

[ridgefire]

Here is a pretty decent pic of my Pekin Drake and one of his hens.

You can see his drake feather.

 

[FenDruadin]

Hmmm. I don't see any drake feathers on your ducks, seattle--which you obviously already knew. Beyond that and the quacking, I'm afraid I can't really add anything useful. It is possible at 21 weeks that they wouldn't be laying yet, but I think between the quacking and the mating behavior, there's a strong chance what you have are boys. I'm sorry! Have you thought about ordering sexed ducklings from some place like McMurray or Metzer? That way, you'd be sure of getting girls.

Good luck!

 

[DucksInSeattle]

Sadly, these three ducks all came from Metzer, with the additional payment for only females. In other words, I ordered three Khaki Campbell females from Metzer, delivered March 19th, but I'm still facing the quandary of whether they are really the girls they're purported to be. Who knows? Maybe I'll be lucky and in the end they're really the girls I wanted.

 

[Pearsandgrapes]

I have six Khaki Campbells and love them!

Congrats on your duckies!

Mine are 16 weeks old today and though I ordered all girls, I got one "oops" and now have a drake.

(I think he is very cool and quite handsome!) His coloring, curled drake feather, size (he is *much* larger), *and* whispery quack make it quite easy to distinguish him from the girls. Do the two ducks in question have any sort of flash of green on their wings or a hint of it on their heads? The drake does, the gals do not.

My girls do the mock mating thing...he stays out of it. I read somewhere that when the females do this, they are establishing dominance or the pecking order.

From your pics, I would say that you have three girls like you ordered. I couldn't get the video to work, so I didn't hear the different quack sounds, however.

Good luck!

 

[FenDruadin]

I think I read in another thread about someone who received a mis-sexed duck and Metzer replaced it free of charge, including the extra ducks to make up the minimum order. I would call Metzer and tell them what you're experiencing and ask what they suggest--they can both help with determining what sex your ducks are, and will hopefully fix you up if they've made a mistake. It does happen, though you'd be awfully unlucky for them to have messed up on two out of three! Good luck!

 

[DucksInSeattle]

PearsandGrapes, I'd love to see some photos of your ducks!

Happy news from our house: No Name (now officially Medusa) and Jacqueline both laid their first eggs yesterday. Late in the afternoon, they were both sitting quietly in the shade. Medusa stood up, and there was a perfect egg! About ten minutes later, Jacqueline also laid an egg. It looks like there won't be any duck dinners from these three beautiful girls! Hooray!

 

[EngieKisses]