When can you tell a ducks gender and how?

[ciarasowers]

we recently got three cayuga ducks? They are around a month old now. And starting to get feathers. How can we tell gender?

 

[TLWR]

In another month, you should be able to voice sex them. True quacks are girls, raspy attempts at quacking are boys.

 

[jools2014]

I'm wondering the same thing. Mine are the same age. They have all started quacking so I'm really stumped! Only had 2 girl ducks before so I know they quack but not heard what the males sound like. They all sound like girls to me with their constant chatting but I think it's meant to be too soon to tell yet.

 

[dotknott]

I'm wondering the same thing. Mine are the same age. They have all started quacking so I'm really stumped! Only had 2 girl ducks before so I know they quack but not heard what the males sound like. They all sound like girls to me with their constant chatting but I think it's meant to be too soon to tell yet.

Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck.. It's a hen.

 

[Duck Drover]

Vent sexing is the surest way to tell at that age but you may start hearing quacks from the hens.

 

[Ren2014]

Girls are more vocal. Even before they get their true quacking sound.

Males will develop a curled tail feather, "drake feather" as early as 12 weeks.

http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/artquacks.htm

You can hurt them by trying to vent sex if you have not been trained properly how to do it.

 

[jools2014]

Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck.. It's a hen.

Haha. Just realised they are older than i thought-almost 8 weeks, so yeah they are probably all girls-what a racket! Haha, was hoping for a nice boy. Is there no size difference? One duck seems quite a bit bigger than the other-they are supposed to be the same type and age (got them at a couple of days old and popped them under a broody hen).

 

[dotknott]

Some ducks even within the same breed vary in size not because of gender. It's all in their genetics. Some may grow faster, others slower.

I keep Saxonies, and I've got big hens and little hens. Big drakes and smaller drakes. I breed the largest and best conforming to standard birds since they're a meet breed.

 

[jools2014]

Some ducks even within the same breed vary in size not because of gender. It's all in their genetics. Some may grow faster, others slower.

I keep Saxonies, and I've got big hens and little hens. Big drakes and smaller drakes. I breed the largest and best conforming to standard birds since they're a meet breed.

Ah ok, thank you. Going to listen out for their quacking in the next few days. At the moment they all walk around together making a racket so hard to tell if they are all quacking or just 2 of them. need to separate them to tell.

 

[jools2014]

Ah ok, thank you. Going to listen out for their quacking in the next few days. At the moment they all walk around together making a racket so hard to tell if they are all quacking or just 2 of them. need to separate them to tell.

I have a boy! Picked one up and could definitely tell-guess the other two were chattering away so much I thought they were all girls whereas actually the boy was being quiet. Picked him up and he made the raspy sound different to the others-happy to have a boy! I think he is the bigger one as well but that is probably just a coincidence.