Sexing Runner ducks

[Lazys]

Here is a video of them talking....

 

[Amiga]

Good looking flock!!

By now, the ducks (females) would be quacking, and the drakes would be making more mumbly, whispery sounds. Actually, there are a small number of cases in which voices are really difficult to be sure about. And my Vier - a female - developed a drake feather after Bean, our first drake, arrived. Einz has a high-pitched, hoarse, atypical voice also. It's from yelling at Bean so much.

 

[Amiga]

I think you have some of each.

 

[2907 Chicken]

I have Indian runners myself and when the drakes get old enough they get a little curl on there tail on one of there feathers that's the only way I know how to distinguish them

 

[Lazys]

First I want to say thanks to everyone for all the help. I removed the shallow pans this afternoon and put in a one gallon bucket of water and the ducks had more fun in it dunking their heads. I do think that they will stay cleaner. The nice thing about that is that this winter I can put a heated bucket in there for them to dunk in, I was really worried about how I was going to do that. I can put a bucket heater in the nipple water buckets, so that was covered. And thanks for the compliments, I think they are very pretty myself!!
Now another question? Do you have any idea about the age they should get this curled feather? These are just over 6 weeks. They look so mature, I had to go back and count the weeks.

 

[Amiga]

Probably about 7 months

 

[apricotvalleywf]

Sex feathers can start to be seen when the drakes get their adult plumage anywhere from 15-16 weeks +.

 

[Lazys]

It is funny but I think that out of the 8 ducks I have only one drake. I hear a lot more quacking right now too. They are 8 weeks old and only one has the drake feather,none of the others even look like they are going to get one,
So I may have lucked out.

 

[apricotvalleywf]

I wouldn't count on the drake feather to be the only distinguishing factor.. we only seldom see the curl in our drakes. If you pick each one up you will have your answer , they will tell you what their sex is.

Unfortunately with fawn/whites, standard pencilleds you cannot really tell drake vs. duck until 15+ weeks from colours alone. Some other varieties of colour you can tell by their bill colour relatively early on.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

hi everyone, im hatching out duck eggs soon for the first time and ive never had duck before, so in really excited!!

im just curious I drakes have a noise they make, like rooster how they crow to attract the females?