MHC

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I don't have Rouen ducks, but from what i know Shadow is a girl.
Six weeks old? You should definitely be able to voice-sex them: Take one of them in your hands and start to walk away from the group. The duck won't like it and will start to protest. If it quaxs or quacks it is a girl.
Plumage in domestic ducks is usually not really an indicator for the gender. Most domestic breeds have been "watered" down. For example my "Buff Orpington" drake: He should have really dark feathers on his head - he has not. A little darker but i have a female with even darker feathers.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

And for the noise: They are teenagers! I have some 7+ week old Runner and Runner/Orpington ducks, they go on everyone's nerves with their permanent »quack, quack, quack«. They are counting out loud every blade of grass they see…
But in just a couple of weeks they will calm down.

 

[Quackattack717]

I hope you’re right about Shadow being a girl. They were quacking up a storm yesterday when we walked outside then my husband picked each of them up and walked away and nothing, not one quack. Being stubborn. Hah. But I’m sure I’ll get a video of them quacking at some point this week. Maybe I’ll google females quacking. Our first two ducks are muscovies, so I’m actually not farmiliar with what males or females quacks sound like. I know males are quieter and raspy & females are loud but never had experience with what that actually sounds like since our muscovies are so quiet and hissy!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@Miss Lydia has Muscovies, i have no clue about them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here ya go http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/artquacks.htm

 

[Quackattack717]

Put my heat cave together today! Super nervous about using it because I’m such a worry wart but I did the best I could so hopefully the duck tape is done good enough (safe enough for the babies) and the heat pad heats it up enough! Only a couple more day till their here!

 

[Miss Lydia]

It looks good what are you going to use on the bottom of your brooder? I used a heat plate an my Runner ducklings spent more time on top than underneath.

 

[Quackattack717]

It looks good what are you going to use on the bottom of your brooder? I used a heat plate an my Runner ducklings spent more time on top than underneath.

Just shavings and maybe straw. The heat cave will be the only source of heat they’ll have. I’m hoping the people who told me they don’t really need very much heat after the first week or two were right and they get use to the chiller temperatures during their exploration outside in the evening & everything!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just watch they don’t chill. I took mine out everyday for outside time and being around the other ducks they are pretty tough little things. Do you have a thermometer you can put in the heat cave so you can keep tabs on the temps? I started mine 2 days before mine arrived so I’d know how steady the temps were.

 

[Quackattack717]

So it seems that my babies aren’t using their heat cave...if they were cold, would they use it? I don’t know what happens throughout the night & it’s only day 2. But I worry too much and now is when heat is important. I did end up putting a space heater over there but only using it at night time at least for the first week or two. When I walked in last night to give them fresh warm water before bed they were in the corner by the waterer. They make noise when I come and go, but do eventually quiet down so I don’t know if they are chirping for me or because they’re cold!

The day I picked them up (WED) they came to work with me and were in a large box. It had their heat cave and their food and water pretty much in front of the heat cave. They used their cave that day. They were both snuggled up with each other in the back. Do you think I need to rearrange their brooder so that their food and water are closer to the cave? I have it on the opposite side so the cave stays dry.