Each duck breeder must know the number of males and girls that he has at home. But not everyone knows about the features of the difference itself. Every poultry farmer should understand how to distinguish a duck from a drake, because without knowledge of these basic rules of breeding birds it will be impossible to calculate the reproductive potential. This information is especially important for beginners who are just starting their farming activities.
If the main task of the farm is to obtain meat, the calculation is carried out strictly according to the mass of individuals. So, the sizes of the boys are larger, as well as their weight, therefore, on such lands, farmers prefer to keep more drakes than ducks. But all this activity should be beneficial all the time.To this end, gender determination skills again become necessary. For consistent reproduction, the number of girls should be 4 times more than males.
Sex of the young
For all beginner poultry farmers who create a duck herd at home, you should know how to distinguish ducklings by gender. Daily ducklings can be distinguished by this method:
- take the chick in your hand;
- slightly press on the cloaca;
- move your finger towards the breast.
From the first day of its existence, the male has a small dot near the anus. This method makes it visible to the human eye. The presence of a tubercle on the body indicates that it is a boy. The absence of a pseudopenis is a sign that a bird is a girl in front of a person.
There is another way that people walk about how to determine the sex of a duckling. It is associated with the behavior of the bird. The sex of ducklings is determined in this way:
- the duckling is taken by the paws;
- is turned upside down;
- they look at the behavior of the bird: ducklings who behave calmly – ducks, the male immediately has a desire to look around, and he turns his head.
The sex of ducklings by their behavior is used by both beginners and farm professionals. To distinguish the drake from the duck even at a young age allows their noise in the pack. The boy has a loud voice. Male ducklings always get into a fight first.The ducks are calm and try to avoid conflicts. This will be noticeable even during feeding. Male ducklings already after 2-3 weeks from birth show their qualities as a leader and try their best to keep the remaining individuals out of the feeder.
There are no other methods to distinguish a duck from a drake. Sex determination in young animals is limited due to the fact that their age does not allow this to be done according to physiological characteristics.
Differences between adults in external signs
Learn how it is not difficult to distinguish a drake from a duck if you look at the external characteristics of individuals. So, you can determine the gender of the bird by their size. The male has a larger body (sometimes 2 times). In addition to size, the bird has other features, which are not so difficult to distinguish. It is easiest to determine the sex of a duck by the plumage:
- The plumage of the male is bright and colorful. The duck has a colorless, sometimes monotonous color.
- Among the Indochka breed, the drake skin on his head is stretched, covers his eyes and beak. In the duck, the main difference is the size of the drooping skin.
- In the Peking and Bashkir duck breeds, several feathers stand out on the tail of the drake. A female duck has no such sign.
It is also easy to distinguish the gender of a bird by the presence or absence of a growth on its beak and the size of the head itself. Several rules are known. The main difference from drakes is the rounded shape of the head. The neck of the ducks is short and graceful. Differences of the male in these characteristics are shown in the PHOTO.Little ducklings do not possess such differences. These methods are suitable only for adult ducks.
A distinctive feature of the difference between drakes and ducks is their tail. The plumage at its end has a rounded shape. Identifying a female among the whole flock is not difficult: feathers create straight lines on her tail.
Disadvantages of determining sex by the appearance of a bird
The main disadvantage of how to distinguish a drake from a duck by appearance, – dependence on the species of birds themselves. This applies to muscles, plumage, color, and sometimes even character. Each species has a different appearance, in addition, it largely depends on the care of the entire flock, as well as on its feeding. One owner has the same male color as the female. In another, the dimensions of the drake become smaller than that of a duck. For a beginner in farming, the appearance of birds will not be the main criterion for how to distinguish a young duck from a drake. It will be possible to accurately determine the sex only by complex criteria that only poultry professionals can use correctly.
The difference in the behavior of the sexes
The behavior of the drake during walks also has its own characteristics, and they will help distinguish a drake from a young duck. For example, males always try to stay behind females. They can be aggressive towards other males, especially if there are conflicts over females. They always prefer to stay behind when there is an opposite floor nearby.If the ducks hide or hatch eggs, the males move freely, skipping each other forward.
There are exceptions to the behavior caused by improper bird keeping or eating patterns.
It is difficult to determine gender in such conditions, because representatives of both sexes begin to copy each other’s behavior. Among females, there are also dominants, which often show aggression towards members of the pack. They also let the rest of the “women” go forward and fight with the males for food and excellence in the pack. In males, this phenomenon is also noticed. Copying the behavior of the female makes them fearful, avoiding conflicts. Among males, signs of homosexuality are also possible. Most often this is observed with the wrong ratio of females and males.
Tips from experienced farmers
One of the most accurate ways to determine the sex of a duck is their recognition by voice, but it is suitable only for adults, only age is able to show how to distinguish a young drake. When the duck makes a hiss with a slight whistling sound, the male is in front of the person, characterized by the expansion of the tracheal cavity, which is characteristic of the male sex. The females make only quacking, which is distinctly different from the hiss of males.
Accurately identifying the sex of the duck and understanding how to correctly distinguish the drake from the duck’s girl is not an easy task, but it is necessary to perform it, as this can affect the reproduction of birds. This is especially true for beginner poultry farmers who have difficulty in solving this problem. Experienced farmers know how to distinguish a drake from a duck, they advise in such cases to hang special marks on birds indicating sex.How to make marks, a special video will tell you. Their use will save a person from confusion in the future and help maintain the correct sex ratio.
