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Post by Backwood Barns on Jun 14, 2011 16:35:18 GMT -6
Can anybody tell me about how old my ducks have to be before I can tell if they are drakes or hens? I thought it was when they feathered but somebody said those were juvenile feathers and is have to wait til the molted....
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allie
Junior Member
Posts: 206
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Post by allie on Jun 14, 2011 19:27:08 GMT -6
You can tell by their voice. Girls are loud and boys have a muted voice. Also boys will start to get a curl on their tail when they start getting their feathers in.
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on Jun 14, 2011 21:41:10 GMT -6
Seems I have 2 girls then. They are loud and always sound like their laughing and no curl. Thats fine with me. I have 6 more i'm waiting to feather out. I may have to hatch out some more to get some boys. OH DARN!
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Post by Backwood Barns on Jun 15, 2011 5:46:52 GMT -6
I'm in the same boat. My hearing isn't good enough to tell if any are louder than others but none of my 3 have curls. 2 of them are about 3 months and the other is about 2 months. I have another about 2 months with no feathers at all so I'm holding out a little hope for that one but I got 4 more last week just encased. If I can't get a drake out of 8 chicks I may consider myself jinxed and give up!
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Post by Backwood Barns on Jun 15, 2011 5:50:06 GMT -6
Geez, forgive my spelling. I don't always catch the auto correct on my phone.... That should be 'incase'
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allie
Junior Member
Posts: 206
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Post by allie on Jun 15, 2011 8:47:45 GMT -6
Tdhenges-Oh, you'd be able to tell the difference. The girls are really loud, like they are yelling or calling for someone. The boys just kind of quack under their breath, kind of like a whisper. Just keep an eye on them for the curls. I don't remember how old ours were when their tail curls started to come in. Also, after their feathers come in a boys head will eventually start to turn green or darker than the rest of his body. Ours did this before their first molt (our boy we got from TSC last year is just now starting his first molt at a year old). If you end up having many boys you will probably have to get rid of some. We have one female and we ended up with 2 males and had to get rid of one because they wouldn't give the female a break. Now the male is attacking our baby goose (only a few months old). That poor goose is going to have a complex.
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