If they are by themselves, they can get very depressed easily for not having another mate to play with. There is a great amount of variation in duck coloration so be sure to research your particular duck species to find any breed-specific distinguishing colors. Aside from the slight physical characteristics between the male and female Pekin ducks, you can also observe some very different behaviors. Approved. When Its OK & When Its Not, Barred Rock Chickens Ultimate Egg Laying Guide, Pekin Ducks: Male Or Female & How To Tell The Difference. This same vocal difference can be observed in many other duck breeds including Khaki Campbell ducks which share the difficulty in male-female identification. If you have more than one male, plan on keeping them separated for most of the year to prevent fights and injuries. You might also note that female Pekins appear shorter than males when their walking or standing. In fact, they look like miniature adults after about six weeks. You can use a table to be more steady if you think the duckling will sit still. The male's gleaming green head, gray flanks, and black tail-curl arguably make it the most easily identified duck. The American Pekin duck lays about 200 eggs per year and is rarely broody; the eggs generally need to be incubated by keepers. In saying all of this, the easiest way to tell if youve got a male or female Pekin duck is by listening to its quack! That transitional period is a tough age in which to accurately sex ducklings/ducks. Were sure looking forward to warmer weather, too. They are easily recognizable by their dark black coloration. The American Wigeon lacks any white in its chest area and also has a white crown. Pekin ducks' white feathers and orange beaks give them a classic and easily recognizable appearance. Knowing the sex of a duck is a very important consideration for anyone considering raising ducklings or adopting mature ducks. One pekin has a drake feather, other one not quite yet, 2 harlequins are completely different colours and cant tell from feathering. Huge Multi Retweeted. When you feel pushback, let go for a few seconds, then press in once more. Given the similarities, this breed seems to have been inspired by the Chinese Pekin. This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS and by wikiHow staff writer, Luke Smith, MFA. Pekins are dabbling ducks, which means they get their food from land and the water's surface rather than by diving underwater. Granted they actually have a far more varied and nuanced vocabulary than quack. When a female duck wants to be heard, your entire neighborhood will know about it. No penis = female. Francis now visits retirement homes as pet therapy with my dog. Before we dive into the how tos of vent sexing, we need to issue a very clear warning. Indian runner drakes have a paler, pinker bill and usually paler feet as well. Use the table of contents below to jump right to the section youre interested in or read the whole article for a deeper dive. There are too many breeds and too much variability (or lack of variability) to list here. During this time, they need to leave their nest unattended to feed themselves for up to an hour twice a day. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. And they're often calm and pleasant in nature. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. In males this feather will become noticeable in male ducks when they are aged between 2 and 4 months, and remains after molting. In some duck breeds, there are subtle differences in down coloration between male and female ducklings. God bless you! You can also look at the colors of the duckling's feathers. These ducks get their name from the town they originated inAylesbury, England. Now comes the harder part: sexing those adorable little duckling fuzzballs that all look nearly identical. Check out our Google web story, how to sex ducks and ducklings! For example, in Mallards the male has a bright yellow bill and the female has a brown and orange bill. How to Identify a Male or Female Duck using Appearance and Behavior. Free-ranging ducks are great at finding food, so supplementing meals with chicken scratch or corn is usually sufficient. How to Sex Muscovy Ducks Hi Jude. It has a lot of good advice. If done incorrectly, venting can cause serious injury or death in ducks that are this young. For backyard or pet duck parents interested in egg production, we recommend either not having any drakes or having no more than 1 drake per every 3-4 females. By doing so, you are inverting the cloaca (the animal's urinary tract). Female Muscovy Ducks are about half the size of males. Last Updated: February 23, 2023 Whether youre spying them through binoculars or pairing them up to brood, sorting the males ducks (or drakes) from the females (often called hens) takes a little training. Aylesbury is the preferred duck meat choice in the UK to this day. Aylesbury ducks, although extremely similar in appearance, arent actually Pekins. Pekin ducks are a type of large-breed, white-feathered, dabbling duck that was domesticated over 2000 years ago. Identifying Sex Through A Duckling's Voice, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/14\/Tell-the-Sex-of-a-Baby-Duck-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Tell-the-Sex-of-a-Baby-Duck-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/14\/Tell-the-Sex-of-a-Baby-Duck-Step-1.jpg\/aid10187810-v4-728px-Tell-the-Sex-of-a-Baby-Duck-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"