Not a good morning.

[hendrix25]

So I was all excited about having one boy and two girls, well this morning I went out to do the "duck" duties and there it was...Axel has a tail feather.

Not what I was wanting. I only have three ducks in total and I have a feeling that Schaeffer is also a boy, there seems to be a tail feather forming higher up on her/his back. But I'm not sure, bc I don't know if the feather is always in the same area or if it varies. This means, no eggs and no babies.

. Not how I wanted it to be. I was almost positive that I had one boy and two girls. Axel and Schaeffer could pass as twins, except for the white feathers on Axel's chest. Racer has more of a "boy" look to him. He has way more green, bigger legs and feet and he's taller. However, I should have know because they all sound exactly the same. Dang it. And I've already tried the "Honey, they're all boys, I have to get more so I'll have a girl. I mean, you wanted eggs right?" and it didn't work. "Be happy with what you have. We're not getting anymore ducks."

I just had to rant a little...

Just a question
Can the tail feather (drake feather) appear higher on the back? or is it always closer to the end of the tail?

 

[froggie71]

Can you post pics? The tail feather curl is in the same location on drakes, but their "quack" is also a tell tale sign. I know the feeling though. Out of the 16 ducklings we just hatched, we kept 4 and just found out 3 are drakes.

 

[hendrix25]

I will when I get home. I know for sure that I have two now, their feathers are very pronounced. I would almost rather the third one to be a boy now, just so I don't have a breeding problem. I will get some pics of Schaeffer later and post them...

 

[Dances with Ducks]

At least an all male flock can be a happy flock because they don't necessarily fight over the girls.
But there are a few hatcheries where you could buy just a couple of girls, if you just could bear to sell two boys!

 

[hendrix25]

If I do decide to get rid of any of the boys, I will get rid of all of them. The breeder I got them from said, if I ever didn't want them anymore, she would take them back. She lives on a 20+ acres llama farm. I told her that I would agree to that. I just feel like they have bonded as a flock and splitting them wouldn't be right. I would rather not have any of them and know they are all together than separate them. If I end up with all boys, I'll just deal with that. Maybe when we finish building our new house, I will have a better set up to add more to their flock. We'll see. Yes, I would rather have all boys than two boys and one girl. We'll see how the next few days develop.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

you dont say how old they are. I've read that the males don't get the curly tail feather till after their first moult. I got lucky and ended up with 3 hens out of the five that were bought at the feed store. Sorry you weren't so lucky.

 

[hendrix25]

Henry'schickens :

you dont say how old they are. I've read that the males don't get the curly tail feather till after their first moult. I got lucky and ended up with 3 hens out of the five that were bought at the feed store. Sorry you weren't so lucky.

They are 4 months old...it's time.

thats a tail feather... and my other one has the same thing appearing.​

 

[Patchesnposies]

DH and I love the look of runner ducks, they are just so comical!

We ordered six fawn and white and six chocolate runner's this past winter and I just noticed that all six chocolates are male!!! (Curly tail feather and raspy quack) There are at least two female F & W's, but we certainly don't need four males......

Metzer Farm's only sells them as straight run, but somehow I feel that the odds were stacked against us some how, LOL.

 

[hendrix25]

Quote:
yeah i want runners but, not right now. too much going on. its a bummer to think you have one thing and end up with the other. oh well i still love them the same.