How to distinguish a duck? from the drake: true and proven methods

Author's rating

Author of the article

Smirnov Anton Egorovich

Poultry farmer with 20 years of experience

Articles written

In order for duck breeding to bring results, you need not only to feed the bird on time and correctly, but also to create good conditions for it. Another factor of high productivity: there should not be many males in the flock. To do this, you need to be able to determine the sex of ducks. There are many ways - folk and scientific - that help to distinguish a female from a male.

Why is it important to find out your gender in advance?

Poultry keepers who have embarked on the exciting path of breeding birds of the duck family know that timely gender recognition is the key to the successful development of the future flock and gives poultry keepers the opportunity to increase the productivity of the livestock.

Determining the sex of a chick provides the following food for thought:

the optimal ratio of females to males in the herd should be 4:1 - if there is a goal to increase the number of eggs, you should get as close as possible to these indicators;
when breeding meat ducks, it is necessary to increase the number of males, since they produce more meat at the end - accordingly, it is possible to make adjustments in the early stages to the percentage of females and drakes;
males have a good immune system and get sick less - again, this is a reason to think about increasing the male part of the duck offspring population;
females are characterized by a soft, calm character, they are assiduous and rarely fly - if a large number of ducks are found, you should begin to competently arrange enclosures for their maintenance.

Knowing the sex allows you to draw up a detailed feeding schedule in advance and purchase the necessary feed.

Folk way

It also tests fairly simple ways to distinguish ducks from chicks, which were used by our ancestors and modern farmers.

Men have a large larynx. To test this, shuffle the chicken's breasts. Move the head to the side, raising the beak so that the neck is just. Place your left thumb on the top circle and use your index finger to find and enter the bridge triangle. It should contain a tube, a hard wallet combined with a bridge, scapula and collarbone. Only men have this feature.
They say that male Ducklings get into fights and conflicts. And it doesn't matter what the reason is. The reason may also be the desire to dominate near Karmnik, and shows signs of gender interest at the age of 1 month and older. If you see them in a herd, you can be sure they are male.

External differences between drakes and ducks

Despite the fact that drakes are characterized by larger sizes, when kept at home this rule is not always followed. Sometimes the male may be smaller than the female; this largely depends on the conditions of detention and diet. The drake's forehead expands sharply upward from the beak, while in females its outline is smoother, and its shape is closer to a trapezoid.

Care

These birds do not like the heat too much, so if ducks are kept in the warm season, then portable bird houses should be used.

During the cold period, it is necessary to create warm conditions in the poultry house, since initially this type of duck lived in a warm climate, which is why fat did not accumulate under the skin, and to this day the ducks are freezing.

In winter, a solid, strong, permanent poultry house is needed, which will allow the birds to shelter from the sudden onset of cold. The inside should be light and dry, and other animals and birds should not be able to get inside the house. It should belong only to these birds.

Birds need to be walked. Not in the sense that applies to dogs and sometimes cats, but still necessary. You need a medium-sized courtyard in which the Indian ducks will spend enough time. The yard must be fenced with a fence or mesh.

Twitch in pigeons: symptoms and treatment

If it is not possible to organize a proper poultry house, then Muscovy ducks can be kept in cages.

If possible, the poultry house should be divided into parts. One of them should be covered with a mesh with two-millimeter rods at a height of 25 centimeters. In addition, it is necessary to lay good permanent bedding.

The house should contain items that will provide comfort to the birds. Such items include:

Feeders. Wooden or metal. Dry food goes well with wood, and wet food goes well with metal.
Drinking bowls. Must have a large volume and free access to them at any time. Indian ducks need a lot of water.
Nests. Nests must be arranged on the floor, lined with fresh straw. The straw must be changed in a timely manner. You can make a nest in the form of a house with an entrance at a level of 10 centimeters above the floor.

The temperature inside the poultry house should be about 18–20 degrees Celsius, however, it should not fall below 15, as the ducks will begin to freeze, which can lead to illness.

Differences in character

Regardless of external features and color, you can try to distinguish females from males by behavior. The males have clearly gentlemanly habits; they always try to let the ducks go ahead and stay behind. But while the females are incubating the eggs, the drakes let each other through in turns.

Sometimes it happens that males copy the behavior of females, and they, in turn, behave like males. Thus, this method, like the others, does not provide a 100% guarantee.

Males always let females go ahead.

If you carefully watch the ducklings, you will definitely notice an active little fighter and impudent one. This is definitely a drake. His brethren are also not difficult to spot, as he will not allow them to compete with him and get close to the food.

The male is also easy to spot during the mating season, when he transforms: his plumage acquires a brighter color and becomes lush. He makes every effort to win the heart of a beautiful lady and becomes a very attentive, caring and gallant partner. He will always be close to the duck, not allowing anyone to get close to it.

Ultrasound method

This is an unusual, but quite effective way of determining gender. You will need special equipment in which you can adjust the ultrasound frequencies. Certain waves will only attract “boys”, while others will only attract “girls”. This approach is very convenient for a large number of birds, so as not to study each individual separately, but to immediately group birds of the same sex.

Advice! Each duckling should be marked so that in the future it is easy to distinguish their gender.

Differences in ducklings

While the ducklings are small, it is quite difficult to distinguish between females and males: the first external signs will begin to appear only at the age of 2-3 months. The most reliable method remains the Japanese method described above. In second place is the ultrasonic method. To do this, you need to purchase an ultrasonic device and, selecting the frequency, monitor when the ducks come running and when the drakes come running.

Sex of ducklings

Determining the sex of day-old or week-old ducklings:

It is necessary to take the chicks by the paws, turn them upside down and observe their behavior. Ducklings that hang calmly are female. If the chicks behave anxiously, turning their heads in different directions, rest assured that these are males.
You can distinguish young drakes from ducks by their behavior - they constantly get into fights, pull out feathers of other ducklings and often behave aggressively.
The sex of chicks at the age of one day can be determined by the anatomical features of the body - in males, a spherical neoplasm can be felt in the lower part of the larynx, which is located at the very beginning of the chest.

If you observe the young, you can easily notice the most active and energetic chick. He will fight often and act in the most impudent manner.

It is better to determine the sex of ducklings by the cloaca

The obstinate baby definitely belongs to the category of drakes. The remaining males are quite easy to recognize: you just need to take a closer look at which of the chicks he does not allow to touch the feeders with food. They will be the competitive representatives of the male part of the livestock.

Features of behavior

The behavior of male and female individuals differs from each other, but this will become noticeable only by the age of 1-1.5 months. By this time, teenage drakes will begin to show aggression towards each other. The most cocky male will most likely become the leader of the pack and will be popular among the ladies. Drakes always let the ducks go ahead and try to protect them.

Important! The behavior of birds of different sexes will be typical only if the ratio of “boys” and “girls” is correct. Otherwise, the ducks may attack each other, and the drake, on the contrary, may behave very quietly and unnoticed.

Another way to identify a duckling by its behavior is to turn the chick upside down. In this case, the female will obediently hang, not trying to interfere. The male, on the contrary, will begin to become active, turn his head in all directions and try to get out. There are also differences in the voice. At about 2 months, the ducklings will begin to make certain sounds. The females' squeaking will change to a distinct quack, and the males will begin to hiss and whistle.

Female mallard with ducklings

Advice from experienced farmers

One of the most accurate ways to determine the sex of a duck is to recognize them by voice, but this is only suitable for adult individuals; only age can show how to distinguish a young drake. All ducklings make the same sounds until they are two months old.
If the duck hisses with a slight whistle, it is a male in front of the person. This is characterized by an expansion of the tracheal cavity, which is characteristic of the male sex. Females only produce quacks, which are clearly different from the hissing of males.
Accurately identifying the sex of a duck and understanding how to correctly distinguish a drake from a female duck is not an easy task, but it is necessary to do it, as this can affect the reproduction of birds. This is especially true for novice poultry farmers who have difficulty solving this problem.
Experienced farmers know how to distinguish a drake from a duck; in such cases, they advise hanging special marks on the birds indicating their gender. A special video will show you how to make marks. Their use will save a person from confusion in the future and will help maintain the correct sex ratio.

Why know gender?

For professional breeding of any birds, including waterfowl, it is imperative to understand the difference between female and male birds. This is necessary to calculate the future offspring and the correct formation of the herd. Drakes are always stronger and more resilient than ducks, and their desire to fly is difficult to hinder. The female part of birds, on the contrary, leads a quiet lifestyle, spending most of their time on the ground.

Female duck with offspring

In order for breeding to be as efficient as possible, and for birds to regularly lay eggs, it is recommended to keep 25% of males from the entire flock. If the farmer’s goal is to produce duck meat, it is necessary to distinguish between the sexes, since males are always larger, and accordingly, they have more mass. But on the other hand, for the owner to make a profit from this, the birds must actively reproduce. Therefore, for the best result, the number of “girls” should exceed the number of “boys” by approximately 4 times.

Conditions of detention

Bashkir ducks live in cages and pens and quickly adapt to new conditions. Under comfortable conditions, the rate of egg production and meat productivity increases. A prerequisite is to maintain a constant temperature in the duck house, especially in winter. Poultry do not tolerate drafts and need constant access to water.

Ducks do not need artificial or natural ponds to swim regularly. Water is necessary for wetting and cleaning feathers and drinking. Birds' wings do not get wet after bathing.

Feeding the Bashkir duck

Poultry are unpretentious eaters. They have a shortened stomach and accelerated metabolism, so they should have three meals a day. 2-3 kg of feed is needed per 1 kg of growth. By 2-3 months, birds weigh 2.5-3 kg and are ready for slaughter.

The basis of the diet is a grain mixture, silage, hay, dried grass, chopped vegetables, boiled root vegetables. To avoid vitamin deficiency, include feed and mineral supplements in your menu. The presence of crushed chalk, gravel or sand is required.

Be sure to control birds' access to water. A duck drinks up to 2 liters per day. The water should be fresh, update the drinking bowls regularly. If mold or algae appears, clean and disinfect it.

The bird needs a regime:

before lunch – wet mash of cereals and mixed feed;
after lunch - dry food, silage and hay.

Give the ducks a fresh portion of food each time. Stagnant and sour feed causes digestive problems, dysbacteriosis, intestinal infections, and can lead to the death of poultry.

Poultry house arrangement

When arranging a poultry house, avoid dampness and drafts. Install the structure at a height of 0.3 m above the ground. This way the floor in the poultry house will be warmer, and rodents and harmful insects will not get to the poultry.

Basic requirements for the housing of Bashkir ducks:

Place the nests away from the entrance, since the bird is very afraid of drafts and gets sick more often.
To make nests, use wooden crates and boxes; avoid plastic structures.
Place feeders in the poultry yard, otherwise sloppy ducks will spill food indoors. In this case, the wet mash becomes moldy and can cause illness in the poultry house inhabitants.
To prevent ducks from spilling water, firmly fix the drinking bowls. Make sure each bird has its own drinking container.
For high fertility, adjust the lighting. For a room of 10 sq. m required power – 50 W. For high egg production, the daylight hours should be 14 hours.
Ensure high-quality ventilation of the room, otherwise bacteria multiply in stale air and the fertility of ducks decreases.

Features of care

Clean the house daily. In a dirty room, birds get sick more often. Each time, give the ducks a fresh portion of food and update the drinking bowls. Cleanliness is the key to the health and fertility of poultry.

Set up a walking and feeding aviary near the poultry house. Sow it with clover and alfalfa, and arrange an artificial pond nearby with fresh grass on the shore. Graze your birds daily to help them gain weight faster.

In winter, lay a bedding of straw, sawdust or peat on the floor to prevent the birds from freezing. Keep the bedding clean and dry, otherwise the Bashkir duck becomes lethargic, eats poorly, and gets sick more often.

How to distinguish by voice

When identifying gender, you can use voice prompts. If you think that quacking is all they can do, you are wrong. Ducks are talkative and cheerful. They can cackle and trill, laugh and even swear. Males have an expansion in the trachea that increases the volume of sound. However, drakes are not as talkative as ducks. They mostly hiss and whistle.

Since the volume of sound differs between the sexes, the ultrasound method can be used to separate genders. Each floor has its own sound frequency. By placing individuals near the ultrasound machine alternately, it is possible to seat individuals of different sexes in separate cells.

Regulation of egg laying

As soon as a mature duck begins to lay eggs, it is necessary to ensure constant control over the intensity of egg laying. If the increase in egg production is insufficient when compared with standard indicators, it is recommended to sharply increase the duration of the photoperiod. If it is noticed that egg production has become extremely fast, which can lead to weakening of the duck, it is necessary to very slowly lengthen the duration of illumination.

Typically, the duck house uses not very powerful light bulbs of 75 W, the number of which is calculated based on the need to provide approximately 5 W of illumination per square meter. Such an artificial extension of daylight hours will be necessary until natural illumination reaches 15–16 hours.

How to determine the sex of ducks of different breed groups

Muscovy ducks are called musk ducks. Thanks to the exterior features of these birds, they are easy to distinguish from other representatives of the Anatidae. They have a wide chest, powerful wings and strong limbs.

Muscovy duck with ducklings

If we talk about the main differences between drakes and ducks, they practically coincide with those that have already been described in the article:

Drakes are large in size compared to ducks. Males have a more developed thoracic region, and the difference in weight can reach one kilogram;
Females have a more modest feather color, which facilitates convenient camouflage in natural conditions when the duck is hatching. Drakes have bright feathers that attract the attention of individuals of the opposite sex;
The neck region of drakes is wide and strong, while that of ducks is more graceful.

All these signs appear in young animals that have reached the age of 90 days. It is enough to carry out a visual inspection to find out the gender of the bird.

We invite you to join our Zen channel and group on VKontakte or Odnoklassniki, where new articles are published, as well as news for gardeners and livestock breeders.

Indo-duck laying eggs and incubating chicks

When do Indian ducks start laying eggs? As soon as it gets warm, in March-April. Female Indian ducks, ready to lay eggs, are very nervous. Therefore, during this period you should not make loud noise near the poultry house.

A good idea is to build a house for each duck in the house out of thin plywood with a hole so that she can climb in and build a nest.

Female Indian ducks are very curious. There are times when they occupy someone else's nest and begin to lay eggs there. Or they sit on other people’s eggs in order to hatch them, but forget about their own.

In the house, the female will not have much visibility and will only take care of her offspring. If it is not possible to build houses, plastic lattice vegetable boxes with a high side are suitable for nests.

It is imperative to place a small basin of water next to the laying female Indian duck. It will have to be changed frequently. The duck will drink this water and splash it on itself, wetting its feathers. This is how she gets rid of the parasites that appear during the laying period on dry feathers.

Egg collection must be suspended if you want the turkey to begin hatching chicks. Gradually, the female can lay up to 20 eggs. We take 10 pieces, don’t touch the rest - then she starts hatching. Indoor chickens hatch for a long time - more than a month.

Indian duck eggs in a nest, photo

Important - the quality of meat, eggs and fertility of turkey ducks drops sharply from closely related contacts. Therefore, drakes need to be updated regularly, preferably every season.

If you strive to eat healthy and tasty and love to breed poultry, indo-ducks will be the best option.

Indo-duck meat is now in high demand in prestigious restaurants. So there will be no problems with selling surplus meat if the number of turkey ducks on the farm is large. Watch a video about Indian ducks.

This is interesting!

You don't know how to determine the gender of a budgerigar? Then this is the place for you! It turns out that many people still have no idea how to distinguish a male from a female. Not every professional can do this until 3-4 months of age. But it is still possible!

About the article