Telling Pekin Ducks Apart

[Ninjadawn]

Ducks of the same breed, whether they are all white or not, can definitely be difficult to tell apart unless they have random markings like pied. The coloured tie wraps are probably the best way once they are older, and in the meantime something like what @nuthatched suggested might work. How many ducklings do you have?

I'm sure you've done some research beforehand (after all, you're here, lol!) but just in case you didn't find that info, please be aware that Pekin will need extra EXTRA niacin for their lifetimes, as they are a super heavy breed and can develop joint problems. Also, if you haven't yet, find info on the care of crested ducks. It's caused by a hole in the skull, so you'll need to make sure this one remains protected from injury and not to breed it to avoid furthering this damaging defect.

 

[Ninjadawn]

Crested ducks have holes in their heads? I did not know this but did read it was a lethal gene so breeding had to be done carefully.
Is a crested Pekin's life span the same as a Pekin?

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I’ve got 2 pekins right now, I had a 3rd (she died ), and even when I had 3 I could always tell them apart as adults. When they’re babies it’s super hard! My boy obviously has the drake feather (his head is also shaped different) and my girls I could tell apart because they had different color bills, one was bright orange, the other was lighter.

That won’t always be the case though, some will look identical. I have 2 Cayugas and for the life of me cannot tell them apart! So for now they’re just a package deal, we just always refer to them as olive AND sage As babies I used colored zip ties but stopped once I could sex them.

Here is the Florida thread if you haven’t already found it
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/florida-always-sunny-side-up.305793/

I have a few pekin x khaki girls I find hard to tell apart as well
We had a theme going for the younger group and the two chocolate girls got called treasure and chest lol
Now that they are adults I can
tell them apart as one girl is a bit bigger then the other so if side by side I can tell but if apart I have no idea

 

[CoriM]

I bet as they grow and you spend a lot of time with them you'll be able to tell them apart. I had three pekin ducklings and they did have subtle differences that we picked up on and never had trouble as they grew up knowing who was who.

 

[ruthhope]

I had two rescued Pekin drakes that had been badly abused. As they healed and settled in rehab, they became physically very similar. I had a great deal of difficulty telling which was Huey and which Dewey!! They were different in temperament and so the way I could be certain which was which was spending time hanging out with them and noting which was slightly more dominant!