Male duck: how to determine sex and how a drake and a duck differ

• February 19, 2020
• Miscellaneous
• Igitkhanyan Alevtina

Determining the sex of a bird can be quite difficult, especially if the hunter does not have special knowledge, much less experience in this area. This recommendation also applies to waterfowl. Many varieties of ducks do not have sufficiently pronounced features that can quickly and accurately indicate their gender. Therefore, to help all novice poultry farmers, experts offer several important characteristics. It is thanks to them that you can easily distinguish a male from a female. For example, the photos of a drake and a duck included in this article allow you to clearly see the differences in the colors of the birds from each other. Appearance is the main feature by which you can distinguish them from each other.

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.

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.

Basic methods

There are several ways in which you can distinguish a duck from a drake.

• Sexual characteristics. Using this technique, you can determine the sex of a one-day-old bird as accurately as possible. To separate the girls from the boys, you need to place the birds on a flat surface with their backs down. Next, you should carefully push back the skin near the cloaca, lifting it towards the stomach. Females have two small balls in this area, while drakes have developed or underdeveloped organs.
• Ultrasound. Modern equipment is used to determine gender. Special devices that produce a sound of a certain frequency will help separate birds by gender. When using this technique, the device is turned on at a certain frequency, after which the behavior of the birds is carefully observed. Birds of the same sex gathered near the device are collected and placed in a separate cage.
• Voice. Another way to help understand the floor is special sounds. They are different for representatives of both sexes. Males often make hissing and whistling sounds, while females are distinguished by loud sounds. A common sound (quack) is produced by females. This is the simplest method, but it cannot boast of reliability. Bird calls may vary depending on the breed.

Differences between adults

The main differences, naturally, are in appearance. The size of birds varies depending on gender. The drake is slightly larger than the duck and has a wider body. They can weigh about four kilograms. They are also distinguished from females by their brightest color, which is understandable. Since the duck’s task is procreation, hatching eggs, and for this it needs to hide in the reeds so that hunters or predators cannot notice it

As for males, they can attract attention with their bright appearance, this helps in seducing ducks. The pearl-green tufts on the head of “boys” are very noticeable

The neck of a drake is wider, while that of a duck looks much more graceful because it has a thinner and longer appearance. The female head has a rather round shape, while the male head is oblong. It is also interesting to look at the tail of the “boy”; here you can notice a funny feature: in this place he has a few feathers growing, which are connected in a kind of ring. But the “girl” does not have such a distinctive feature

In addition, it is worth paying attention to the beak. The drake has a growth on the upper part of its beak, which the female does not have

The next point is character, which is expressed in many ways. When flying, as well as swimming, the duck is in front of the male, and the drake, like a true gentleman, lets the lady go ahead, while he himself remains behind. From a safety point of view, everything is quite understandable, since the male covers the duck with his body

and carefully monitors that the enemy does not appear on the horizon. But you shouldn’t rely only on this principle. Because if it’s breeding season, the female will incubate the eggs. And it is likely that the two birds that are flying or swimming are two drakes.

To determine what gender a bird is, it is not always necessary to see it; sometimes it is enough just to listen. You just need to perform some action that will make her scream. The duck quacks loudly, without fear or embarrassment, but the drake only hisses

and whistles. An experienced hunter, having heard these sounds, will immediately understand who is hiding from him in the reeds.

Appearance

It is worth noting that for poultry breeding it is very important to identify the differences between ducks and drakes. This knowledge is necessary for proper distribution of the flock and the number of birds of both sexes in it. This indicator will affect egg production and productivity in the future.

The differences between males and females can be either significant or minimal. Males have the following external characteristics:

• The dimensions of males are larger, compared to females, they have a large and massive beak;
• forehead shape - triangle;
• plumage of expressive and bright color;
• a little feathering is collected in the area of ​​the beard;
• the neck is decorated with a miniature tuft of feathers.

Wild ducks have the following external features:

• the plumage is monotonous and monochrome, in dull and muted tones;
• there are no voluminous curls on the tail of birds;
• forehead shape - trapezoid.

According to experts, in rare cases, ducks can be larger than drakes. It depends on the food and certain conditions of detention. Due to this fact, it is not worth determining gender only on this basis. This is not a reliable option.

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.

Character

Another parameter that should be adhered to when distributing waterfowl by sex is their character. As experienced ornithologists have noticed, males almost always stay away from females. They let the ducks pass ahead as they move.

As for activity, drakes show more activity than ducks. Males are noisy, active and pugnacious. In nature, males often start fights among themselves. These are common character traits that are necessary to demonstrate strength and dominance. Drakes demonstrate their superiority in the flock to attract the attention of females and secure their position. The characteristics of a drake leader are demonstrated in relation to all other males.

Ducks are calmer and friendlier. Conflicts between females are quite rare. In addition to their peaceful disposition, ducks are less active and fly much less often.

In some flocks, sex distribution may be disrupted, and therefore females may behave like males, demonstrating strength and activity. The following ratio is considered normal: one female per 4 drakes.

Behavior

Aggressiveness of male representatives in a pack is a common occurrence. Males try to demonstrate leadership qualities as early as two weeks of age. They attack not only other drakes, but also birds nearby. At the same time, males treat females with care, often letting girls go first. Drakes show increased care during the egg-laying period.

A duck only shows aggression if it believes its brood is in danger. In general, females are calm and peaceful. They will not get into a fight with their relatives or other inhabitants of the poultry yard.

Before sitting on the eggs, the duck covers the nest. The drake is nearby at this time, monitoring the surrounding situation. He will protect the hen during the entire period of incubation of eggs. When ducks hatch eggs, drakes become calmer. They move in small groups, alternately passing each other forward, not far from the poultry house.

Sex determination using the Japanese method

Using this method, you can calculate gender with an accuracy of 98% to 100%, and even one-day-old babies can be sorted by gender. You should be extremely careful when using this method, since gender recognition manipulations can be dangerous for young animals. To achieve accurate data, you only need time and a trained eye!

External sexual characteristics of ducklings

What manipulations need to be done:

1. Gently place the duckling in the palm of your left hand, tummy up, and massage for a few seconds.
2. With the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, you should carefully open the cloaca and turn the wall of the anus out from the side where the genital organ is located.
3. If a spiral-shaped penis measuring 1.5 - 2 mm appears in the folds of the mucous membrane, the baby can be considered a drake with 100% certainty. In females, only flat spherical growths are visible.

Ventsexing method for determining the sex of birds

How to distinguish a musky duck from a drake?

The Muscovy duck or Indo duck is popularly called musk duck. In its appearance, it differs from its fellow tribesmen: it has a wide chest, powerful wings and limbs.

The name of the breed is borrowed from the word “musk”: it is believed that the oldest representatives of this species have the ability to secrete oil through the pores of the scalp with a specific odor.

Muscovy duck: female and drake

This breed is quite popular in breeding due to the following factors:

• Indian duck meat has a very delicate, pleasant taste and is dietary;
• eggs are also used in cooking;
• birds of this breed do not need a pond located near the walking area;
• birds belong to the category of homebodies, which significantly reduces the risk of losing their livestock due to its sudden departure.

There are both wild representatives of the breed and domesticated individuals.

An Indian drake flaunts its plumage in the courtyard

The main differences between musk duck drakes and females

The main differences between females and males of Indian ducks in terms of external characteristics are almost the same as those that apply to the entire duck family as a whole:

• size of birds: the drake will always be larger than the female, the maximum difference in weight ranges from 0.5 to 1 kg, in addition, the male’s body is wider with a well-developed chest;
• feather color: females look simpler and more modest compared to drakes. All efforts of females are aimed at caring and protecting their offspring. Bright plumage will only attract unwanted guests and endanger the lives of the chicks. Drakes, on the contrary, must be bright and attract the attention of female individuals in order to procreate;
• bend of the neck: in females, as befits ladies, the neck is more prominent and graceful, in males it is stronger and wider.

External differences in indo-ducks begin to form only after reaching 3 months.

Starting from 3 months of age, the listed external signs begin to appear, and to determine the gender of the birds, just a few seconds of a cursory visual examination is enough.

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.

Folk way

There are proven and quite simple ways to distinguish ducks from drakes, which were used by our ancestors and modern farmers.

• In males, the lower part of the larynx has an expanded shape. To check, you need to palpate the chick's chest. Move your head to the side, raise your beak so that your neck is level. Place the thumb of your left hand on the upper vertebrae, and use your index finger to find and enter the triangle in the brisket. A tubercle should be formed in it - a hard sac connected to the bones of the chest, scapula and collarbone. This feature is found only in males.
• People say that male ducklings love to get involved in fights and conflicts. And it doesn't matter for what reason. The reason may be either the desire to dominate near the feeder, or the display of signs of attention towards the “fair” sex aged 1 month and older. If you notice that there are some in the herd, you can be sure that these are males.

How to determine the sex of a duckling

The basic proven and scientific methods for distinguishing a drake from a duck are an excellent help for a novice and inexperienced farmer to raise a high-quality and productive poultry flock. These include the following determination methods:

• by external signs;
• the character of the bird;
• sexual characteristics;
• vocal data of the duck family;
• using an ultrasound machine.

When purchasing at the poultry market, the buyer may have problems. After all, for a farmer, the main task is to sell all the chicks, and not to keep the remains of one sex or another. In these situations, in order to determine the sex of the duckling unnoticed, you have to use a trick - ask to transfer the ducklings into the box yourself and use the folk method - turn them upside down, holding them by the paws. The boys are indignant and spin, the girls hang without resistance.

How to find out the sex of chicks that are a day or a week old is described below.

• The first technique is behavior. This is a very simple and widespread method. You need to take the duckling by the paws and observe its behavior, turning the bird head down. Concern and nervousness indicate that you are male. They begin to spin and turn their heads, but the females hang calmly and motionless.
• There is another variation in behavior. Boys of many breeds have a pugnacious disposition and often get into fights with each other. Starting from a young age, ducklings pluck feathers and peck each other.
• The body structure and certain anatomical features are accurate signs in determining the sex of a bird. Special markings can be found near the larynx. Males have ball-shaped formations in this area, at the top of the chest. They are easily palpable.

Palpation of the larynx

There is another way to determine sex in birds. Anatomical differences in the structure of the larynx are noticeable between ducklings of different sexes. The duck drake has an expansion on the larynx. It has the shape of a ball. Females do not have this feature. The spherical expansion can be detected by palpation:

1. The duckling is picked up. Place the stomach on the palm;
2. with one hand they stretch his neck;
3. with the other hand they feel the expansion in the upper part of the chest;
4. the procedure is painless and safe.

There are traditional methods for determining the sex of ducklings, but they are ineffective. Some farmsteaders suggest lowering the specimen upside down. If she struggles and raises her head, then it’s a male. It is believed that drakes have a capricious, fighting character. Females will hang upside down motionless.

This folk method is hardly true. In addition, it is dangerous for ducklings. You shouldn't hold them upside down for long. It is better to resort to palpation of the larynx and examination of the cloaca. Experts say that these methods are highly effective. The accuracy is 98%.

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 between ducks and drakes of different breeds

The males and females of each breed have characteristic features that make them easy to distinguish from each other.

Characteristics of subspecies:

1. Muscovy duck (Indoutka). Drakes are distinguished by their appearance. On the head above the beak there is a “growth” of burgundy or red color. Near the eyes you can see spots of the same color. Ducks also have minor “growths”, but they are light in color, as are the small spots near the eyes. The male is larger than the female.
2. Pekingese breed. The appearance of the birds is similar; they have light plumage. Representatives of the breed are distinguished by their tail. In drakes it is twisted into a small ring.
3. Favorite. The male has a larger head, an elongated neck, and larger paws. The weight of the drake is 5 kg, the duck – 3.5 kg.
4. Wild ducks. Gender is easy to determine by the appearance of the bird. The drake has bright plumage; the color of the feathers on the head and tail differs from the color of the body. Wild ducks have a discreet, monochromatic dark brown color.

Important! If the poultry farmer does not control the ratio of males and females in the population, it is difficult to determine the maturity of the duck. Ducks behave like drakes and vice versa.

Sources:

• https://fermeru.site/utki/otlichie-ot-seleznya
• https://stroy-podskazka.ru/utki/otlichit-ot-seleznya/
• https://selo-exp.com/utki/kak-otlichit-utku-ot-seleznya.html
• https://4ptic.com/utki/otlichie-ot-seleznya/
• https://GoFerma.ru/ptitsevodstvo/utki/kak-otlichit-utku-ot-seleznya.html
• https://DomaFerma.com/utki/razvedenie-utok/kak-otlicit-utku-ot-selezna.html

The post Male duck: how to determine the sex and how a drake and a duck differ first appeared on SeloMoe.

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!

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