What kind of a duckling is this??

[Sanna]

Can anyone tell what kind of a duck this is? And how do I tell how old it is? Or what gender?



I live on a non-profit rescue farm, so we get all sorts of animals here.
Today, a gentleman brought this duckling to us. He found "Lucky" out in the last snow storm we had. Mom was nowhere to be seen. So Lucky has lived the last few weeks in the house with the man, sitting on his shoulder watching TV and such. And of course, now Lucky is very attached to humans. I know nothing about ducks, but I'm thinking Lucky needs a duck friend? Right now, he/she is sitting in my lap as happy as can be. Leave the room and you'll never hear the end of it!

I guess I will spend my evening reading about ducks and how to care for a duckling because I do not have a clue.

 

[Rosie42892]

I sent you a PM. Cute baby! I am horrible with the identification, but he/she sure looks to be a happy thing. Here is a website with great info! http://www.metzerfarms.com/

 

[jonhpdx]

Looks like you've got a black or blue swedish duckling on your hands! The reason I'm not sure which exact breed it is is mostly because the color of Lucky's coat in the picture your gave us could either be black or dark blue. I'm leaning towards black, but I'm not 100% sure.

Here's what my Black Swedish duckling looked like for reference:

 

[Rosie42892]

Woo hoo! That was my silent guess! I don't like to give anyone false info. Thanks, jonhpdx

 

[Miss Lydia]

Looks like blue is it blue or blk?

 

[ACDKMT]

I'd say blue swedish definitely. It has the black feet and bill and the feathers are almost a grey color. I've seen many blue swedish ducklings/ducks and have no doubt about that one.
some pics of them here http://www.cacklehatchery.com/swedish.html
http://www.metzerfarms.com/BlueSwed...ue Swedish&BirdType=Duck&ID=BS&CustID=1466653

For age I'd say this one looks like 4 - 5 weeks old. (just an assumption im use to raising muscovy way different breed)

And you can try sexing it
or wait another month or two and see what it sounds like
or if it grows a drake feather.

 

[jonhpdx]

I'd say blue swedish definitely. It has the black feet and bill and the feathers are almost a grey color. I've seen many blue swedish ducklings/ducks and have no doubt about that one.
some pics of them here http://www.cacklehatchery.com/swedish.html
http://www.metzerfarms.com/BlueSwed...ue Swedish&BirdType=Duck&ID=BS&CustID=1466653

For age I'd say this one looks like 4 - 5 weeks old. (just an assumption im use to raising muscovy way different breed)

And you can try sexing it
or wait another month or two and see what it sounds like
or if it grows a drake feather.

It is most certainly NOT 4-5 weeks old. My guess would be that Lucky is probably closer to 2-3 weeks old. My Black Swedish duckling is 4-5 weeks old right now and this is what she looks like:




Notice that she's feathered a ton and her chest is almost completely white. There's absolutely no way Lucky is as old as mine.

 

[Rosie42892]

It is most certainly NOT 4-5 weeks old. My guess would be that Lucky is probably closer to 2-3 weeks old. My Black Swedish duckling is 4-5 weeks old right now and this is what she looks like:




Notice that she's feathered a ton and her chest is almost completely white. There's absolutely no way Lucky is as old as mine.

Agreed! Lucky looks to be right around my Cayuga's ages and they are 2-3 weeks right now.

 

[ACDKMT]

Yea i wasn't sure my scovies looked like that at 5 weeks old so i guessed

 

[TruBluCG]

That cutie looks like a Blue Swedish. I say Blue Swedish (instead of black) because it looks a bit more smoky grey than black. He looks to be about 2-3 weeks old in the photo. Ducks generally start to feather out a little around 4 weeks.

It also sounds like he is already imprinted. That can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing at the same time. Imprinted babies will not do well without a human.

The best way to sex ducklings at this age is vent sexing. There are some good articles on this, and Metzer Farms has a video on it.

Also, when they get older you can sex them by voice. Females have a loud "quack" sound and males have more of a muffled "wongh" sound. You can also sex them by feathers. males will generally have what is called a "sex feather." A couple of curled feathers on their tail. Some people say that you can also sex by bill color, but I don't do this.

I hope that this helped you!