My 2nd duck hen getting drake curl?

[LilyLoo]

How is it possible my other khaki campbell hen Lily is getting a drake curl? Loo my darker girl stopped laying and got her drake curl last year. Loos feet turned bright orange and her head has a green sheen color in the sunlight. Then her and her sister Lily started fighting horribly about a month ago and now I see a slight feather on Lilys tail turning into a drake curl. She fully molted this winter. How likely is this that both of my girls are doing this? Lily's is my silly girly girl and Loo has always been my little Tom boy girl. Trying to get a picture of this new curl here for you to see. Not so good with technology lol. Lily is lighter with the feather crest hat Both girls just turned 6 years old in February. This duck adventure has been quite an experience lol I love them both so much

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are gorgeous. I wonder if this is hormonal? I'm not seeing the drake curl on the one your talking about. When we get older and hormones start waning things like this can happen just like in us women we can start having facial hair. Any eggs?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Your dark head one has laid eggs in the past ?
I would have guessed you had a drake and a hen not 2 girls by looking at them

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree with @Miss Lydia that your ducks are essentially going through menopause. Females have testosterone, but since females in most cases have high levels of estrogen the effects of testosterone is minimal. As females age, estrogen levels get lower and again in most cases usually not enough to notice the effects of testosterone at a significant level, but in some cases the estrogen levels do become lower than the testosterone levels. Which is when you see females start to exhibit more masculine features and tendencies.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I agree with @Miss Lydia that your ducks are essentially going through menopause. Females have testosterone, but since females in most cases have high levels of estrogen the effects of testosterone is minimal. As females age, estrogen levels get lower and again in most cases usually not enough to notice the effects of testosterone at a significant level, but in some cases the estrogen levels do become lower than the testosterone levels. Which is when you see females start to exhibit more masculine features and tendencies.

That is neat
Mine are all 2 years and under so I have not gone through this yet
But now I won’t panic when I do

 

[Canadian Wind]

Interesting! And I have heard of birds of various species changing genders when the ratios are uneven.

How old are they?

 

[LilyLoo]

Interesting! And I have heard of birds of various species changing genders when the ratios are uneven.

How old are they?

They are 6 years old now Just had their birthday in February. Loo my darker girl has had her drake curls since December 2021. I save them when they fall out, lol I think they are cute. I have a jar full if her curly feathers. My daughter thinks I'm duck crazy lol. Loo is so pretty/handsome now with her dark chocolate head and in sunlight she has the pretty green sheen color. It's been getting greener slowly. She is a little tomboy and my little brat lol.

 

[LilyLoo]

That is neat
Mine are all 2 years and under so I have not gone through this yet
But now I won’t panic when I do

I had been told that it may be possible that because my duck was of a wild breed having some mallard blood line (wild breed) could be why this happened to Loo originally. However I'm kind of shocked it looks like Lily is starting to get the curl now. It just started so I can update pictures as this happens. Kind of amazing to watch. But the menopause theory makes sense as well.

 

[LilyLoo]

Your dark head one has laid eggs in the past ?
I would have guessed you had a drake and a hen not 2 girls by looking at them

Yes Loo and Lily both laid eggs. However Loo never was very motherly like her sister Lily. Lily would make nests and sit half the day. Loo would just drop an egg and be on her way. She did struggle with her eggs as she would sit in her water tub and lay also. Then one day I found this weird grey glop on the sidewalk and Loo never laid again, this was also 2021.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I had been told that it may be possible that because my duck was of a wild breed having some mallard blood line (wild breed) could be why this happened to Loo originally. However I'm kind of shocked it looks like Lily is starting to get the curl now. It just started so I can update pictures as this happens. Kind of amazing to watch. But the menopause theory makes sense as well.

I have pekin x khaki and khaki ducks carry the mallard , Rouen and runner genes
So I’ll be watching as my girls get older to see
I have one girl that the mom is pekin and dad is pekin x khaki. She is darker then all my other girls as they are usually chocolate and she has a green sheen to her head
She has had this since 6-7 weeks
I thought she was a boy at first cause of her green head and darker feathers but she quacks and lays eggs
The girl beside her is my usual brown I get form this mix and her dad is in pic 3