Is this a drake or hen?

[Shawn1994]

This is my first time keeping ducks. I'm not sure if he /she is a mallard or rouen. But I noticed today he /she head has green coming in. I know the makes have green but I didn't know if females did some weird color change. I hope you can see it in the picture.

 

[Shawn1994]

Also, if there is a way to tell which breed that'd be great.

 

[KuroKitsune]

can you get another picture? this ones angle is odd and makes it hard to tell.


i cant judge its size but it looks to be a rouen but if it tiny it could a mallard and maybe a drake as i think(odd angle of pic messes with me) i see green coming in on its head

 

[IdasChickens]

All our boys, Flying Mallard, Khaki Campbell, even my Blue Swedish, had specks of green show up on their heads way before they got their drake curls.

On the other hand, we don't have any hens that age yet, for comparison either.

Personally, I'm guessing you have a drake. BUT…the type of breed, being it a Rouen or Mallard, could make a difference. I only know that our Mallard started getting green like that around his first(?) molt.

I'll see if I can find a picture for you...

Well, I cant find a picture (I really need to start taking more!)

I'll just add that, I was certain our Mallard was a hen. He remained mostly brown for months with the exception of small flecks of green here and there on his neck. And then sometimes, you could really only see the green in the sun.

What really gave it away for us (in terms of coloring) was, his chest started to get darker while his sides started to lighten up (around his second (?) molt). He also started to get the slightest hint of a ring around his neck. Again, this is for a flying mallard. Rouens are different, I think.

Anyway, lots of people said I would be able to tell by the quack. I.e, boy ducks don't really quack, or quack AS much, per se....but having no real life comparison (and ALL drakes...) lemme tell you, THEY ALL QUACKED!

They still quack, actually! But now that I have girls too, I can definitely see the difference!

The girls will start to make a HONK sound around 2-4 weeks (depending on the breed). It will literally sound like, "beep...beep...beep...HONK!" You will think you have a baby goose!

The boys are sort of a..."beep...beep....(quiet) quack/hiss". In fact, it is so much quieter (at least my guys) that I can almost hear thier little beaks smak open and close.

No way would I have ever been able to tell the difference though, until I got a bin full of female ducks...the difference in loudness, frequency, and voice is apparent. They do more of all of those things!

I also heard that the males voices don't change until they are a little older. From my experience so far, this seems true.

Hope all this helps!

Idas Chickens

 

[Going Quackers]

I ran across a good video of the sound difference between drake and duck .. i'll see if i can find it.

This is not in English but is a good example of the voices regardless..

 

[IdasChickens]

I ran across a good video of the sound difference between drake and duck .. i'll see if i can find it.

This is not in English but is a good example of the voices regardless..

The first one (adult) is a boy, right? That's what mine sound like....I think!

Also, Shawn1994, you can tell the Mallard from the Rouen by looking at the side of its head. If he/she still has stripes, that is....

One stripe across eye (each side) sometimes with a little dot below the stripe= Mallard

Two stripes, one through eye, one slightly lower (doesn't need to be solid stripe)= Rouen

Mallard:http://10000birds.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/mallard-duckling.jpg

Rouen:http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Rouens/BabyRouenHead.JPEG

 

[Shawn1994]

This was the best picture I could get of him /her. Let me know if yall need anther

 

[Shawn1994]

 

[fishin_dad]

I have 2 of each color variations. Question is which is a drake and which is a hen?

 

[Isaac 0]

Males sound raspy and females quack.