sexing swedish blue's

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BarneyChick97

BarneyChick97

Songster
9 Years
Nov 8, 2011
185
14
146
Mt. Vernon, Washington
We were given 2 swedish blue's from a friend. He got them in April, and so they are 3 months old. We have a rouen and a pekin. We know their sex, pekin drakes rasp with drake feathers, and the rouen is a hen, due to the lack of green head and collar... plus, the drake mates with her like mad, and she lays eggs. So anyways..... these ducks have a different quacks than the other 2. They seem to be more like a horn? One, I'm pretty sure is a hen. She's very loud, but the other, I can't tell? Sounds loud, but the other one kind of drowns it out. The one in question, also has a "puff" of feathers on its head. Are the males "showy"? Like mallards, rouens, and mandarins? I kind of hope not (yeah, if only THAT could change my outcome!), I really only wanted hens. We already have trouble with our pekin drake. He's kind of cocky!!!
 
I think you need more posts in order to put up pics. Used to be 10.

Hard to tell since pic is little. They look more white than blue in the pic. ??? I know that blues are "weird" to breed and don't breed true so who knows.

The poof just means its crested, nothing to do with sex. It looks like the one on the left has angel wing. Search for that because you will want to correct it if thats what it is.

To my knowledge, swedish drakes will have a darker head than hens. If they are quacking, most likely female but they can make some odd noises when they are little. Eggs and drake curls are for sure signs of sex.
lau.gif
 
Your two ducks look like they are 'splash' or 'silver' Swedish, meaning they have two doses of the blue gene (black Swedish have none and Blue Swedish have 1).

There are no major differences in the appearance of male and female Swedish. In the blacks, the drakes have a greenish head. In the blues, the drakes have a darker blue head (sometimes with green on the ear coverings). In the silvers/splashes the feather colouring is basically identical in both sexes, all year round. For all colours, the drakes have a lighter coloured bill than the females of the same colour and it can have a greenish tinge. Feet are usually more orange in the males (edit to fix this - originally I said females - oops!) and bibs are usually bigger in the males but that's not reliable. And of course the males will eventually grow a drake curl on their tails. At this stage, voice is the best indicator. If both your birds are loud, then I'd say that they are both females. Swedish can (and should have) deep, full chests and the deeper the chest = the deeper the quack. So they are likely to sound different to ducks that are lighter in build.

I hope you are enjoying your Swedish - they are a great breed :) You chose well! :)
 
Last edited:
THanks! Kevin565! :)




I don't think it's a bad wing. The people who had them clipped their wings. I'm hoping that's the only reason why it looks funny. They do everything that my other ducks do. Yes, they are mostly white, with grey feathers mixed in. I thought I noticed the crested one acting like it was going to "mount" the other. It was going for the back of the neck...typical. Just hoping there was a clearer sign.


I think they are both girls.....?? I took them separately (and put the other one in a box, with a lid, to quiet the noise), and listened to them both. They both got louder. I don't think that our pekin drake gets that loud when he is picked up...? Actually, I don't even think he quacks at all?

So far, these are very sweet ducks. They are in a "quarantine" from our other birds right now. I hope everyone gets along good!
 
Well bred Swedish drakes don't have different coloring from the hens' coloring. Nuptial and eclipse plumage are also identical.

Drake feather can sometimes be used to sex ducks, but it can be pulled out and many drakes don't have a drake feather when they are in their eclipse plumage. If the bird has a drake feather it is male, but absence of a drake feather does not necessarily mean it is female.

Voice sexing is it for Swedish, unless you want to pay for DNA sexing. Ducks quack and drakes have a rachet sound. Drakes can be quite loud in Swedish, but it is a different sound than what the ducks make.

Seriously, I raise Swedish and I can not look at my flock and tell you who is a duck and who is a drake without hearing them.
 

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