The Duck Thread

[Alice28]

Hey folks, hopefully you can help me. I have a trio of mallards (maybe rouen. I got them from TSC) that are 11 weeks old today. I BELIEVE I have a drake and two ducks, but I have little to go by. They are fully feathered, and their speculum growth is just about done. I know for sure one is a drake, because he has finally started turning green on his head, right by his bill. I have a few questions. I heard speculum color can be used to sex them? I remember one having purple and another blue, just not which ones had it. I read it somewhere after the fact. Also, I thought that drakes had yellow bills with a black tip, and the ducks had yellow bills with black saddles, but my ducks don't have that at all. The assumed drake has a green bill, and the other two have orangish black bills. Thanks in advance.

I know you can do the quack test. Drakes have a raspy quack and ducks have a quack. I don't know about colors though. Others will. You should post some pics! Would love to see them

 

[forgetful]

I'll make sure to get some photos tomorrow for you guys! I've raised pekins, but am new to mallards and love them! I have a confirmed duck by her quack, and a drake by his head coloring, but the third is sort of a mystery. I try to compare it to my pekin drake's rasp and it isn't really the same, but I wouldn't call it a quack. I'd love for it to be a duck so it could make things easier.

 

[Alice28]

I'll make sure to get some photos tomorrow for you guys! I've raised pekins, but am new to mallards and love them! I have a confirmed duck by her quack, and a drake by his head coloring, but the third is sort of a mystery. I try to compare it to my pekin drake's rasp and it isn't really the same, but I wouldn't call it a quack. I'd love for it to be a duck so it could make things easier.

We took all our ducks to the farm store to get sexed (the lady there knows everything about ducks! It's crazy! She's like the miss Lydia of are area. Lol) and said they all look to be girls, but ones quack isn't like a super solid quack, but also not really raspy. Just different, so I know what you mean about the quack thing!

 

[DuckDodgers]

Aminga do you have any male runners? If so have you ever let your females hatch out eggs? I am thinking about getting a male runner for my girls and would like babies but storey's guide says runners are bad parents. So I don't know how it would go letting them have babies.

 

[Amiga]

Aminga do you have any male runners? If so have you ever let your females hatch out eggs? I am thinking about getting a male runner for my girls and would like babies but storey's guide says runners are bad parents. So I don't know how it would go letting them have babies.

Hi, DuckDodgers!

I am waiting about ducklings. They are a handful, and I feel that even though letting the runners hatch and rear their own, which is a fine idea, I must be ready to take over should they be unable to do the job. And I am not ready to raise grand-ducks!

As far as being good or bad parents, Storey's Guide makes an important point, or rather implies what I think is an important point. The way many, maybe most domestic ducks are raised nowadays, there is no need for parenting. We have hatcheries. So the good parenting genes, or perhaps good parenting environment, is lacking for these ducks.

Then there is the other side of it. Sepp Holzer, an Austrian farmer (I think he is a very bright and creative guy) has Runners who are very good parents. This is no accident. He observed which Runners were good broodies, and those were the ones whose eggs he let them hatch. Over a few generations, he now has a flock of runners that are good parents.

Fünf is a reliable broody. If I were to hatch eggs, they would be hers. Bean, our Buff drake, is a mellow guy (still has hormonal urges, but hey, he's a drake). So I would want his offspring, too. I know that means they would be mixes, but they would have some good genetics. And Buffs were derived from four other breeds that included Runners.

That's about what I can offer you this morning.

 

[holm25]

Good info Amiga .

 

[Zombified]

So today I got a call from a friend saying that he found a wild mallard duckling. I went over to see it and ask him how he found it. Once I got there the poor little thing was absolutely terrified and shaking really bad. After further interrogation he told me that while he was fishing he saw 2 baby mallards sitting on some rocks. He said there was no mother around.  He wanted some ducks so he went over to get them. One of them took of first and got away, he said the other took off after he got closer so he chased it for a while and caught it.  I took the duck and made him show me where he found it and then I released it. The other baby was no where to be seen. Why do people think it is ok to just do stuff like that?! 

Anyways sorry for the length post I just needed to rant.

Oh man. He chased it? Sheesh. =/ I actually did find a baby Mallard, and I know exactly who her mom was. We helped her last year go through our backyard into the field behind our house last year. But when we found the duckling(about two or three hours after we helped her mom), we looked for over an hour trying to find her mom. I even tried to get my friend to take her because I knew nothing about ducks. Pyrrhos and I were so bonded. I took her EVERYWHERE with me. Sadly, she, along with one of her companions Thoth, was eaten by a bobcat over a month ago. Both were sitting on nests. I didn't even realize a bobcat was able to come into our backyard. =/

 

[Onlyducks]

Zombified: Thank you. Most people completely ignore that law against possessing wild mallards. Those laws exist for a reason. You can buy domestically raised mallards. Animals and birds know a lot more about raising their offspring than humans, though that seems to be a hard concept for many people.

 

[DuckDodgers]

Hi, DuckDodgers!

I am waiting about ducklings. They are a handful, and I feel that even though letting the runners hatch and rear their own, which is a fine idea, I must be ready to take over should they be unable to do the job. And I am not ready to raise grand-ducks!

As far as being good or bad parents, Storey's Guide makes an important point, or rather implies what I think is an important point. The way many, maybe most domestic ducks are raised nowadays, there is no need for parenting. We have hatcheries. So the good parenting genes, or perhaps good parenting environment, is lacking for these ducks.

Then there is the other side of it. Sepp Holzer, an Austrian farmer (I think he is a very bright and creative guy) has Runners who are very good parents. This is no accident. He observed which Runners were good broodies, and those were the ones whose eggs he let them hatch. Over a few generations, he now has a flock of runners that are good parents.

Fünf is a reliable broody. If I were to hatch eggs, they would be hers. Bean, our Buff drake, is a mellow guy (still has hormonal urges, but hey, he's a drake). So I would want his offspring, too. I know that means they would be mixes, but they would have some good genetics. And Buffs were derived from four other breeds that included Runners.

That's about what I can offer you this morning.

Thanks for the info it was very helpful. So does your drake Bean do a good job of watching out for his ladies?

 

[Amiga]

Thanks for the info it was very helpful. So does your drake Bean do a good job of watching out for his ladies?

He is a good watch-drake. He keeps up an almost constant chatter while they are foraging. I noticed that when they are feeling nervous, the two ducks (the girls) actually shield Bean!!!

Hazel, Bean, Carmella, two duckies and their fella . . . .