Only one duck quacks

Rammy

Crowing
15 Years
Oct 20, 2008
1,803
2,473
497
Tennessee
I have two Rouen females. I know thier both girls because U bought them sexed. I have one Pekin Im pretty sure is a make I got from Cackle in a Suprise box.
Only one duck quacks constantly, one of the Rouens. The other two never make a sound if any at all. Does this mean shes the dominant one? Ive never had ducks before so Im not familiar with thier behaviour.

20190612_175740.jpg
 

Beautiful birds! I'm going to attempt to dip my toes into this answer, but I may be corrected by someone with more experience like @WVduckchick, @Miss Lydia

So, from what I've gathered through this site and other articles I've read through Google, ducks can actually change their sex, due to environment, or need. With that, I'm thinking either one of your ducks voice just has not changed yet, or it is quite possible that one will start to develop into a drake. I'm not the one to explain how all this works...just the ducks way of making sure everyone has a mate and can reproduce.

Does the non-quacker have a raspy, almost hoarse sound? Noticing any curled tail feathers yet? These are all good indicators of a drake.
 
Beautiful birds! I'm going to attempt to dip my toes into this answer, but I may be corrected by someone with more experience like @WVduckchick, @Miss Lydia

So, from what I've gathered through this site and other articles I've read through Google, ducks can actually change their sex, due to environment, or need. With that, I'm thinking either one of your ducks voice just has not changed yet, or it is quite possible that one will start to develop into a drake. I'm not the one to explain how all this works...just the ducks way of making sure everyone has a mate and can reproduce.

Does the non-quacker have a raspy, almost hoarse sound? Noticing any curled tail feathers yet? These are all good indicators of a drake.
Im pretty sure the Pekin is male. Thats why I posted pics so you could see the feathers. Here is a video I just uploaded showing the quacker.

 
Yes, the quacker is definitely female! Not sure about the other one though...sorry I can't be more help!
I havent heard the other Rouen quack at all. The Pekin did before the Rouen started finding her voice, but havent heard him do alot since then. His voice sounded raspy to me and I THINK I see the tail feathers curling but Im not sure.
 
It's really sweet to see a drake with his lady. Mine is such a gentleman...always clears the way to food and water for her. Will stand watch when she's taking naps...human men could learn a lot from the gentleman drakes!!
 
Some ducks are just more quiet than others. If yours will let you hold them, if you extend them out away from your body, they will usually quack like a hen, or have the raspy peep of a drake.

How old are they?
The Pekin is 4 months, the Rouens are three months. They wont let me hold them let alone get near them.:hit Ive tried everything. Mostly I just sit out there and watch them dig holes in the mud or waffle thru the grass if they find bugs. :confused: Dont think they'll ever be lap ducks.:hit
 
Don’t feel bad, most ducks are not lap ducks. Those that have ones that like to be held are few and far between. Especially if several ducks are involved. It’s not personal, it’s just their nature to be wary of humans.

3-4 months is usually when drake feathers start emerging. Girls are usually easier to identify before that, like 6-8 weeks I think.

The hard part for me is usually identifying which bird is making which noise, unless they are away from each other. You could try walking between them, splitting them up usually makes them cry for each other, so maybe their voices will come out.
By the way, voice is the most accurate method of sexing (besides egg laying and seeing a penis, of course lol). Drake feathers do occasionally develop on females, and there are times of the year when a drake will lose his curls. But voice is almost always right.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom