rouen drake or hen

MommaBugg

Chirping
8 Years
Mar 19, 2011
193
5
99
NE MICHIGAN
OK these were TSC ducklings sold as rouen. I thought they were both female because they both ha LOUD quacks. Do rouens follow the same loudness rules like pekins or runners? Or do both genders have loud quacks?

One I thought may be a drake because it started getting a black stripe down the back of its head. Then I thought it was a hen again because the pekins (which Iknow to be drakes) started to mount it. But THEN I noticed the drakes were trying to mount EVERYTHING including eachother. So them being only 3 months old I can now assume my pekins are just confused and I am back to thinking ths rouen is still a drake. It is much darker than the other one and I noticed (maybe you can tell in the pic) that the 'black stripe' has a hint of green to it in the sunlight.


Please someone tell me what you think, because if it is a drake I need to find him a new home as I have 5 drakes and one hen as it is
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This is a close up
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This is a pic of the front of the one in question, standing next to the one I know is a hen
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How old do they have to be before they get the white ring on their neck?

Thanks to anyone who can help
 
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Do the voice test. If it has a softer raspy voice it's a male. If it has a loud strong more quacking or even honking it's a girl. You can also look at the bill color. Almost all male ducks have dark green bills. Girls can have black, yellow and black or brownish bills. If it's old enough, around 4 or 5 months, you can look at the tail feathers, if any of the top feathers are curling or have slight curls that's a good way to tell also. Hope this helps.
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It's hard to tell in the pictures.
 
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If you look straight down at the top of it's head, the dark brown may have a green "sheen". If so, it's a drake. Unfortunately to be real sure, you may need to keep it a while to be absolutely sure.

I got what I thought was a female Rouen for my lonely mallard drake and guess what? Drake!
 
can anyone else help? The voice test is not too accurite with this duck
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one minute its loud then raspy. Would a 3 month old rouen drake still look like this one?

Please anyone with knowledge of rouens help me out, I need to downsize my flock very soon, and I only have one known hen, so I dont want to cull this duck if its a hen.
 
You would have to keep him about another month to see about the feathers. My Rouen drake got his head feathers last. He was identical to my hen until he started to get his adult feathers. The only thing that I noticed different was really raspy sound he had. He never had a loud voice even when he tried. His bill started to turn a really pretty olive green before anything else on him changed, hence the name Oliver. Good luck and hopefully it's a girl
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I think it is a hen. The orange bill with the black patch on it sure tells me its a hen. I have 3 month old Rouens and the drakes heads are turning green, they are getting the white neck ring and they are putting out the gray feathers on their bodies. I see none of that on the duck you are holding.
 
well I can tell you that my drakes hatched in December and started getting green on their heads at about maybe March or April, however if you pick it up and it is loud quack then it is a girl and if it is still raspy then I would say male, otherwise you may have to wait a few more weeks for green head color
 
I've been studying these ducks a lot. I have never seen a Rouen hen with a yellow or orange bill. Those are drakes every time I've seen them. If someone has a photo of a hen with a yellow or orange bill I would be very interested in seeing it.
 
I have one about the same age I can't tell either. My drake will grab him/her by the back of the neck and ride but I can't tell if it is displaying dominance or trying to breed.
 

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