Rouen duckling whistling?

[BeeRex]

I have a Rouen duckling that was given to me, they are 2 weeks old. Over the past few days they have started to make this short high pitched whistle. Sometimes they’ll do two whistles in a row but it’s mostly just once.

Does the whistling mean they’re a male? Or do both male and female Rouens make that short high pitched whistle at this age? And if it doesn’t have anything to do with their gender, then what kind of whistle is it and why are they doing it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Daphne_loves_mealworms has Rouen and @Luv Ducks

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have a Rouen duckling that was given to me, they are 2 weeks old. Over the past few days they have started to make this short high pitched whistle. Sometimes they’ll do two whistles in a row but it’s mostly just once.

Does the whistling mean they’re a male? Or do both male and female Rouens make that short high pitched whistle at this age? And if it doesn’t have anything to do with their gender, then what kind of whistle is it and why are they doing it?

I had previously thought only males whistled as that was all I ever had do it until I bought my two Runner Ducklings this past spring. They were in my living room for quite a while and one would whistle its head off so I was sure that I had a male and a female as the other one made soft quacks. When they both turned out to be females I was shocked. I read online that they will whistle if they are alarmed so it does not mean that it is a male. I have two Runner ducklings right now and one has whistled. One is a Fawn and White and the other one is a Mallard Runner. I don't worry about it being a male after what has happened in the past. Time will tell the sex of them. Good luck with getting Hens as that is what I am hoping for again with these two.

 

[BeeRex]

I had previously thought only males whistled as that was all I ever had do it until I bought my two Runner Ducklings this past spring. They were in my living room for quite a while and one would whistle its head off so I was sure that I had a male and a female as the other one made soft quacks. When they both turned out to be females I was shocked. I read online that they will whistle if they are alarmed so it does not mean that it is a male. I have two Runner ducklings right now and one has whistled. One is a Fawn and White and the other one is a Mallard Runner. I don't worry about it being a male after what has happened in the past. Time will tell the sex of them. Good luck with getting Hens as that is what I am hoping for again with these two.

They never seems to be actually alarmed, in fact, she does it every time she wants to get our attention or if she is excited about something

 

[Luv Ducks]

They never seems to be actually alarmed, in fact, she does it every time she wants to get our attention or if she is excited about something

I don't think mine was alarmed when it did it either. I think excited and alarmed would both be causes for them to do this. There was nothing scaring mine when I heard it as mine are right here in my living room where I can hear every sound they make.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

@Daphne_loves_mealworms has Rouen and @Luv Ducks

All of my Rouens were adults by the time I got them, but I’m interested in what others have to say about this!

@Stxnerbee I look forward to seeing pictures as they grow. Do you have a video of them making this whistling sound?

 

[BeeRex]

All of my Rouens were adults by the time I got them, but I’m interested in what others have to say about this!

@Stxnerbee I look forward to seeing pictures as they grow. Do you have a video of them making this whistling sound?

All of my Rouens were adults by the time I got them, but I’m interested in what others have to say about this!

@Stxnerbee I look forward to seeing pictures as they grow. Do you have a video of them making this whistling sound?

@Daphne_loves_mealworms Sadly I do not, they don’t make the sound all the time, it’s just kind of random at this point. So I wouldn’t know when to record her to get the noise on video and here in the next couple weeks I’m going to be posting growth progression pictures of the little one here

 

[Luv Ducks]

@Daphne_loves_mealworms Sadly I do not, they don’t make the sound all the time, it’s just kind of random at this point. So I wouldn’t know when to record her to get the noise on video and here in the next couple weeks I’m going to be posting growth progression pictures of the little one here

That's how mine are too, just ever once in a while a loud whistle comes from the brooder and I don't even know for sure which one is doing it. I was just glad that both of my Fawn and White Runners were both females that I bought in the spring when one of them whistled loudly several times while it was in the house. Before all of my whistlers were males but this time it was a female doing it.

 

[Fenris Lupa]

So now that our Rouen is full grown...she....is a he. They always surprise you huh?

Well we have 2 female Mallards and of course with our Rouen drake "going thru it," there is a lot of.....flirting and all that going on. But one day, Babbi, our Rouen drake, the duckling that this thread is originally about.....all of a sudden stands up straight, bucks up his chest and makes this deep grunt sound. And I asked @Stxnerbee , he's my husband by the way.....I was like...what the heck was that? Did Babbi just burp?

But I noticed that the same body movement he was doing was the same he would do when he was a duckling and would make that whistle. So I wondered if that duckling whistle turned into this grunt?

Well with some quick reading, I found videos of other drakes doing the same thing, and it's the whistle-grunt that drakes do to entice females. So now with the hormones raging a bit more....he does it a lot. He bucks up his chest, makes that sound, lowers his body, sticks his neck all the way out and gets a the zoomies for a few seconds.

It's for sure a hilarious thing to see, but I guess the girls love it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My 3 Runner drakes do the very same thing it is so funny, actually when my oldest started I thought there was something seriously wrong becasue my Muscovy drake never did anything like that but I figured out it was some sort of drake thing and it is. lol
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