Sexing mallards

Sunshineliz

In the Brooder
Jun 5, 2021
32
49
46
I've got 3 ducks, a Pekin and two mallards. They're nearly 8 weeks old so I SHOULD be able to voice sex, right? But I have no idea if the mallards are boys or girls.
The Pekin is very obviously a girl. She started honking (my husband thought I'd accidentally got a goose!) and then quacking around 3-4 weeks.
The mallards still sounds like peeping to me... they're softer, but they don't sound like adult males. Occasionally a squeaking noise but they're generally quieter. They both have a green sheen to their heads but one also had a green sheen on the tail feathers and the other doesn't.
I've had ducks before but that was 20 years ago and I had runners, a rouen, and a Pekin. Do mallards take longer to figure out by voice? Are these late bloomers or am I just sucking at sexing them?
The video has the very obvious female being quite chatty, and only one mallard talking. The other one sounds similar but "squeaks" more often.
When will I hear a definitive male or female quack?
 

Attachments

  • 20210605_075019.jpg
    20210605_075019.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 80
Sorry I think I got the video in now.
It doesn't really show their squeakier sound they make, but it does show some of their sounds.
 
I've got 3 ducks, a Pekin and two mallards. They're nearly 8 weeks old so I SHOULD be able to voice sex, right? But I have no idea if the mallards are boys or girls.
The Pekin is very obviously a girl. She started honking (my husband thought I'd accidentally got a goose!) and then quacking around 3-4 weeks.
The mallards still sounds like peeping to me... they're softer, but they don't sound like adult males. Occasionally a squeaking noise but they're generally quieter. They both have a green sheen to their heads but one also had a green sheen on the tail feathers and the other doesn't.
I've had ducks before but that was 20 years ago and I had runners, a rouen, and a Pekin. Do mallards take longer to figure out by voice? Are these late bloomers or am I just sucking at sexing them?
The video has the very obvious female being quite chatty, and only one mallard talking. The other one sounds similar but "squeaks" more often.
When will I hear a definitive male or female quack?
I've got 3 ducks, a Pekin and two mallards. They're nearly 8 weeks old so I SHOULD be able to voice sex, right? But I have no idea if the mallards are boys or girls.
The Pekin is very obviously a girl. She started honking (my husband thought I'd accidentally got a goose!) and then quacking around 3-4 weeks.
The mallards still sounds like peeping to me... they're softer, but they don't sound like adult males. Occasionally a squeaking noise but they're generally quieter. They both have a green sheen to their heads but one also had a green sheen on the tail feathers and the other doesn't.
I've had ducks before but that was 20 years ago and I had runners, a rouen, and a Pekin. Do mallards take longer to figure out by voice? Are these late bloomers or am I just sucking at sexing them?
The video has the very obvious female being quite chatty, and only one mallard talking. The other one sounds similar but "squeaks" more often.
When will I hear a definitive male or female quack?
the green sheen
I've got 3 ducks, a Pekin and two mallards. They're nearly 8 weeks old so I SHOULD be able to voice sex, right? But I have no idea if the mallards are boys or girls.
The Pekin is very obviously a girl. She started honking (my husband thought I'd accidentally got a goose!) and then quacking around 3-4 weeks.
The mallards still sounds like peeping to me... they're softer, but they don't sound like adult males. Occasionally a squeaking noise but they're generally quieter. They both have a green sheen to their heads but one also had a green sheen on the tail feathers and the other doesn't.
I've had ducks before but that was 20 years ago and I had runners, a rouen, and a Pekin. Do mallards take longer to figure out by voice? Are these late bloomers or am I just sucking at sexing them?
The video has the very obvious female being quite chatty, and only one mallard talking. The other one sounds similar but "squeaks" more often.
When will I hear a definitive male or female quack?
In the video it looks and sounds like the mallard chirping is a male. It looks like some of the feathers coming in are grayish. Typically the green sheen doesn’t determine male or female at that young of an age, as I’ve had females with the green. Sometimes if they see something new or are happy and that young, they’ll start honking loudly if they’re female. They could just be late bloomers, and it isn’t a bad thing. I’d say just wait a while and listen! Or look for their adult feathers. The curled feather usually doesn’t come in to the have their adult feathers for males, so that’s unreliable when they’re that young. Best of luck!
 
Well shoot. That sounds like they might be both drakes. I was hoping at least one would be female.
 
If they're both drakes is that going to be a big problem? The pekin is much bigger than them, so does that mean she'll be able to handle two drakes vying for her affections?
 
Well shoot. That sounds like they might be both drakes. I was hoping at least one would be female.
Ah I’m sorry. Yeah its super difficult to tell and its a shame there’s not an easier way to tell earlier. Are they mallards or rouens and where did you get them? Just curious!
 
If they're both drakes is that going to be a big problem? The pekin is much bigger than them, so does that mean she'll be able to handle two drakes vying for her affections?
Ah I’m sorry. Yeah its super difficult to tell and its a shame there’s not an easier way to tell earlier. Are they mallards or rouens and where did you get them? Just curious!
If they're both drakes is that going to be a big problem? The pekin is much bigger than them, so does that mean she'll be able to handle two drakes vying for her affections?
It’s kind of hard to say. Usually I think if they grow up together it should be fine, but it always depends. I usually see all males or all females or more females then males, I’m unsure about the opposite. You would always get more females, probably 2 or 3 more would be good for 2 males. I don’t know about the males being smaller, but my male mallard try’s to chase the big rouens without success, so maybe it’ll be fine. Typically if they grew up together, I doubt they’ll fight. (I had 2 males that grew together, never fought at all, and even now I got a new drake with my older one, and they don’t fight.)
 
They're both mallards and I got them at less than a week old at the local co-op. I raised them in my room (to the chagrin of my husband lol) until a few weeks ago. They've got a little house outside now inside a run under our weeping birch tree.
They're all getting along really nicely in general right now. They get pretty upset if they're separated.
That's Marshmallow (the Pekin), Puddles, and Whiffles. Puddles was the one talking in the video. He's definitely the leader and bravest one. Whiffles is more cautious but very smart--always figures things out before the other two. And Marshmallow is sweet and just tries to keep up with them.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom