Runner Ducks - Is she a he????

[pips&peeps]

I supposedly had five blue female runner ducks last spring. I also had 8 chocolate females.

Well, yesterday I was outside watching the little buggers march around and I saw one of the blue ones jump on top of one of the chocolate.....

I know they can do a dominance type ritual where they would mount and get off the other duck, but this seemed to look like actual mating. Rear to rear contact was trying to be made.

This duck has no curl in the tail and does not seem to have any dark or green sheen about the head like my chocolate male runners do.

Do you think it is a boy? Oh, and I have been getting 12 eggs per day for the last 3-4 days, not 13 like I should if he were a she were a he. Oh I'm so confused!!!!

Thanks,

 

[DrakeMaiden]

If you have no drake then dominant females will do this. We thought for a long time we had one runner drake and one runner duck, but we finally started getting 2 eggs per day. I think they are just really frustrated ducks!

The only way to be sure is to watch and see if you see any corkscrew-like organs. Sorry for the visual.

 

[pips&peeps]

I have two drakes now and I can tell them apart by the green sheen on the necks, the curly feather on the tail and the nice quiet voices they have.

My girl runners could wake the dead!

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

So does your 'odd' duck have a whisper or a quack? It could just be a dominance thing.

 

[snugglepup]

I have to tell you, my runners are the most bohemian critters I've ever seen. We get boy on girl, boy on boy, girl on boy, and girl on girl. There is one female in particular that always seems to be starting it.

 

[Dodgegal79]

I did have a runner that I thought was a girl but then it got a drake feather, and it was about 1 1/2 old. So I'm not sure what it was, but I never seen it get mounted by another drake, and I had 3 runner drakes already.

 

[pips&peeps]

I guess I will have to go out and spend alot of time with them and listen to their voices. It is so obvious on the males.

 

[coloradochick]

At what age do ducks get the "drake curl"?