Is she a she or a he?

[firehog]

I recently took in a couple of young ducks from a young lady would could no longer keep them. She assured me they were both female and a vet had determined that.

Well, the one duck is about 1/2 again as large and has more colorful feathers, a light green on top of its head and a bright blue along the ends of its wing feathers. The other duck is more bland in color and the blue band on her wing tips not so vivid.

I have them free range with my chickens and am concerned if she is a he may injure my chickens when he becomes sexually mature. I believe they are full grown now so not sure when they do that. No eggs yet but was wondering if there is any way I can determine if the duck is male or female? They both are sweethearts and not aggressive towards the chickens and actually the little female is more apt to charge a chicken if she gets in to close when I am feeding them.

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I am feeding them , in addition to flock pellets from the feed store and grain scratch, a daily feeding of lettuce, sliced tomatoes and soft canned corn which they just love and they really love worms. Any other types of food ducks like? Thanks

 

[Pyxis]

Well, males and females have a different-sounding quack, and when males get old enough, they grow drake feathers, a curly feather at the base of their tails. Here's a video showing the difference between female and male quacks:

First is a male, second is a female.

 

[jdywntr]

With the coloring, it sounds like you have a pair, not two females. Can you post a pic of them?

As stated, they do sound different but it can be difficult to determine if you aren't used to the sounds.

Mating behavior usually starts at 4-6 months, depending on breed and time of year. He may be perfectly happy with a single hen but keep an eye on him with your chickens. None of my males bother my chickens, except occassional tail feather grabbing to get them away from the feeder. I did have a problem in the past when I ducklings ended up being 4-M and 1-F. Then, the other drakes started harrassing my chickens. Once the extras were gone, my single pair were happy to be together.

For the feed, a general grower for chickens or turkeys will be fine. Many on here use Flock Raiser so they can give the same feed to all of their birds of all ages. There is a list of appropriate treats in the stickies section, located at the very top of the duck forum in the blue banner. I'd avoid the canned corn because it is so processed and usually very high in salt and opt for frozen corn. That way you don't need to worry about a whole can being used and you can just toss it into a bucket or pool on a warm day.

 

[firehog]

Thanks, I'll look for the curly feather and listen carefully to their quacking.

 

[firehog]

OK, I'll switch to frozen corn. It just seemed the canned corn on special at Winco was cheaper than the frozen by weight but since there is a lot of water in the can maybe not so. Really don't want to spend too much on a pair of foster ducks but you get attached to them. When i am on my knees chopping up veggies for the chickens, they come up behind be and nibble/vibrate their beaks on my legs, feet and back for some love and attention (read food!!)

 

[Going Quackers]

Pictures would be best, and definitely go for frozen, i was reading canned one day and realized, wait it has what in it? lol you tried peas? ducks LOVE peas!