How to distinguish a duck from a drake. How to distinguish a duck from a drake: characteristic features and effective ways

For those who breed birds, it is important to know the number of males and females in a duck flock. The difficulty lies in the fact that ducklings do not have pronounced sexual characteristics. In this article we will talk about how to distinguish a duck from a drake.

In order to distribute the chicks according to sex, pay attention to the following points:

• external differences;
• characteristic features in behavior;
• gender characteristics.

For some species, outwardly, it is easy to distinguish a duck from a drake. The first thing to do in order to separate females and males is to take a closer look at the birds: drakes are always larger than ducks. In addition, the males are painted in a bright color and, in comparison with the females, look quite elegant. Although the color is due to belonging to the breed. Ducks have duller and more subdued tones in their plumage. On the neck of the drake there is a spectacular crest of long beautiful feathers of bright color. Males also have a "beard".

The head of the drake is longer, with a wide forehead, expanding from the beak in the shape of a triangle. The females have a trapezoidal extension. The skin above the beak is bright red, there is a pineal growth above the beak. Already at three months, drakes can boast of tail curls (several feathers that twist into a ring).

However, all these differences can be seen already in the formed individual. The color of feathers in different breeds may vary. For example, in domestic ducks, both sexes have snow-white plumage.

Character and behavior

Regardless 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, to stay behind. But while the females are incubating the eggs, the drakes let each other pass in turn. Sometimes it also happens that males copy the behavior of females, and they, in turn, behave like males. Thus, this method, like the others, does not give a 100% guarantee.

If you carefully observe the ducklings, you will definitely notice an active little fighter and impudent one. It's definitely a drake. His brethren are also not difficult to spot, as he will not allow them to compete with him and approach food.

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

Sexual features

In males, a 3-4 mm fold can be seen, which is called the pseudopenis. To detect it, you need to make several massaging movements in the area of ​​​​the cloaca. If, after the manipulations, nothing like a pseudopenis appeared, then you have a duck in your hands. This method of distinguishing sex is suitable even for ducklings that are 24 hours old.

How to distinguish by voice

When revealing gender, you can use voice prompts. If you think that quacking is all they can do, then you are wrong. Ducks are talkative and cheerful. They can cackle and trill, laugh and even swear. In males, there is an extension in the trachea that amplifies the volume of sound. However, drakes are not as talkative as ducks. They mostly hiss and whistle.

Since the volume of sound is different between the sexes, an ultrasound method can be used for gender separation. Each gender has its own sound frequency. By placing individuals near the ultrasonic apparatus alternately, it is possible to seat individuals of different sexes in separate cells.

Determine the gender of the duck

Because external differences and behavioral features appear in ducklings upon reaching the age of three months, then determining the sex of a duckling is not an easy task. Some owners use the ultrasonic method, which we discussed above. The device, tuned to a different frequency of sound, attracts separately males, and separately females. To avoid confusion, individuals of different sexes should be marked in a certain way.

You can use gender identification, the so-called Japanese method. For this, the duckling is taken in the left hand and directed with its head towards itself, the tummy is massaged. Fingers first jewelry open the anus, and then twist it. In ducks, only flat, spherical growths can be observed, and in males, a rudimentary penis. This is a fairly accurate method, but it all depends on the experience of the poultry farmer. In addition, you need to be extremely careful not to harm the chicks.

You can still use the "grandmother's" methods. To do this, take the duckling by the legs and turn it upside down. The duck will hang motionless, while the drake breaks out and spins. When the chicks are 7 days old, then the males have a thick neck and a larger head, and small ducks have a thinner neck.

Differences in different breeds

Different breeds have their own characteristics that can be used in determining the sex.

Muscovy ducks according to external signs can be divided by gender. The male is larger, with a well-developed chest. The color is bright and attractive. Females have a more modest plumage. Unlike males, they have a thin graceful neck. Also, males have large red pronounced spots on the sides of the head, as well as a red growth on the beak. Males have a strong and muscular neck.

Peking ducks and Bashkir ducks can easily distinguish males from females by the feathers bent on the tail. In wild ducks, differences in color are very obvious - males are bright, and females are dull gray. In males of the Favorit breed, the paws (like the whole body) are larger.

There are many recommendations on how to distinguish a duck from a drake. Answers to this question can be found on the Internet, specialized magazines and experienced poultry farmers. But still, when in practice you have to decide how to distinguish a duck from a drake, it becomes clear that there are not so many differences, especially in chicks. And in general, ducks, like all birds, do not have pronounced sexual dimorphism.

Ducks differ in plumage by gender. In females, the color is most often gray, dull. Males flaunt elegant and bright plumage. Drakes have a crest on their neck, which consists of long, bright and beautiful feathers. Also, males have a “beard”, which ducks are deprived of.

The tail of ducks also indicates the gender of the bird: males have rounded feathers at the tip of the tail, while females have a straight tail.

The body weight of drakes is significantly higher than that of ducks. The "men" have a longer head and neck, a wider torso. Drakes have a wider forehead, which expands from the beak into a triangle. In ducks, the expansion from the beak to the frontal bone has a trapezoid character.

The problem is that the differences in size and proportions are sometimes minor. IN various conditions maintenance and with different feeding rations, both large females and small males are found.

Sometimes, to determine the sex of birds, it is enough to listen to them. The quacking of the female is difficult to confuse with the whistling hiss of the drake.

Behavioral differences

Another criterion for how to distinguish a duck from a drake is behavior. It should be noted that any methods give no more than 80% guarantee.

Usually drakes on the water, in flight or on a walk let the females go forward, while they themselves keep aside and a little behind. And only during the period of incubation of eggs, left without girlfriends, the males alternately let each other go forward.

Determining the gender of ducklings is more difficult. External differences appear at the age of 8-12 weeks. How can you tell the gender of a duckling?

If there is a device for generating ultrasound, then empirically you can choose a frequency that will be attractive only to individuals of the same sex. Ultrasound will scare away opposite representatives. When only same-sex birds gather near the source of ultrasonic radiation, they should be placed in a separate cage and marked in some way so as not to be confused in the future.

If the duckling, holding by the paws, is turned upside down, then the duck will hang motionless, and the little drake will try to look around.

The largest, "pugnacious" and noisy duckling is the dominant male in the flock. It is easier to "calculate" the rest of the "boys" in the pack. The future leader will constantly quarrel with them, drive them away from the feeders, keep them away from ducks, etc.

The difference in the behavior of birds is not sufficiently reliable, since ducks, when kept in groups with the wrong sex ratio, may form homosexual pairs. In this case, the dominant female behaves like a male up to the imitation of "male" behavior during mating. A similar picture is observed in drakes. If there are no external differences between males and females in the breed, sex determination by behavioral characteristics may be erroneous.

Sexual features

It is also possible to determine a male in ducklings by the presence of a pseudopenis - a fold 3-4 mm in size. To detect it, you should lightly massage the edge of the anus (cloaca) of the bird. If nothing resembling a sexual organ has appeared, you definitely have a duck in front of you. This interesting anatomical detail is only seen in ducks. In this way, already daily young animals can be divided by sex.

The duckling is taken with the left hand and held with its head towards itself. Fingers open the cloaca, turning it from the side of the abdomen, where the genital organ is located. In drakes, a rudimentary spiral-shaped penis 1.5-2 mm in size will be found. In ducks, only flat spherical growths will be visible.

This so-called Japanese method gives an accuracy of 98 - 100% in determining the sex of ducks - depending on the experience of specialists.

Knowing the gender of the ducks that are in your backyard allows you to more rationally distribute feed and plan for the future poultry population.

Proper gender selection provides the farmer with many benefits. For example:

• males are less susceptible to diseases, have more stable immunity;
• females are calmer, less conflicted, less likely to seek flight;
• if there are enough drakes in the herd (the optimal ratio of females and males is 4: 1), it will be possible to get much more eggs for offspring;
• the live weight of the male is significantly greater than that of the female. If the farm is meat-oriented, the number of males in the flock should be increased;
• in order to select the best representatives of the herd for breeding next year, it is also necessary to be able to determine the sex and link 3-4 females per drake.

There are a lot of reasons why you need to know how to distinguish a duck from a drake; it may just be the personal wishes of the owner, but nevertheless, for the proper conduct of business in the poultry yard, the farmer needs the ability to distinguish a duck from a drake.

Video “Ducks and drakes on the river”

On the video you can watch ducks and drakes on the pond; external differences are clearly visible.

The male duck - the drake - belongs to the same species as the female, but it is not difficult to distinguish them visually. This can be done by both a professional (hunter, farmer or duck breeder), and a simple layman. To determine who is female and who is male, just look at the color of the bird's plumage.

The male duck, the drake, belongs to the same species as the female.

Usually domestic ducks, which are familiar to humans, have to be distinguished, but other species can also be found in nature. For example:

• Bashkir breed;
• musky;
• mergansers;
• river;
• Indians.

In order to visually distinguish a male from a female, you should pay attention to the size of the bird. Females are somewhat smaller and can weigh up to 3.5 kg, while the male is larger, more powerful, has more weight (about 4 kg).

The male is also distinguished by a brighter color to attract and charm females in. The main task of ducks is to continue the genus, so they are distinguished by dull gray plumage, so that in conditions wildlife or in the household not to attract attention, to protect eggs and chicks. Among the others external differences, which you need to pay attention to in order to distinguish a duck from a drake, it is worth noting the following:

1. The male has a crest on his neck, in which there are bright, long feathers.
2. The presence of a beard in a drake.
3. Males have rounded feathers at the end of the tail, while females have a straight tail.
4. The long neck, head, wide body help to recognize the drake at first sight.
5. The male has a wide forehead, which begins to expand from the beak (triangular shape). In females, this part of the body looks like a trapezoid.

The male is also distinguished by a brighter color to attract and charm females during the mating season.

Attention must also be paid to the sounds that the bird makes. Quacking usually comes from the female, and only hissing from the drake. The quacking of ducks is always loud - this is how it attracts ducklings, and the voice of the male can rarely be heard.

Hunters, for example, recommend paying attention to how the male behaves among others. Drakes can let the females go forward, while they themselves stay behind. Only when the duck begins to incubate the eggs do the males let each other pass on water bodies or when flying.

Gallery: drake and duck (25 photos)

Differences between a duck and a drake (video)

Sexual characteristics at an early age

With ducklings, the situation is somewhat different. Only at 2-3 months you can see the differences. On farms, ultrasound is used to separate ducklings. Only individuals of one sex react to a certain frequency, while others are afraid of signals and try to hide. This method is used to distinguish females from males and seat them in different cages.

Attention must also be paid to the sounds that the bird makes. Quacking usually comes from the female, and only hissing from the drake.

Mallard offspring can be turned upside down. If the duckling looks around, then it will be a male, and the female will just hang without moving. Behavioral moments are very important, but it is worth considering their certain subjectivity. For example, the leader drake is already visible at an early age: he fights, does not let other males near the “girls”, makes more noise than others, that is, he tries in every possible way to stand out.

But females can also differ in dominant behavior. They can also imitate behavior during mating, which is associated with the joint keeping of ducklings. The behavior of females can also be characteristic of drakes, so you should not focus only on the behavior of chicks at an early age.

Help can be provided by examining the chick. The drake has a small penis that looks like a few folds. The organ is visible if you press a little on the anus. In ducks, this organ is not developed. Therefore, experts examine the genitals of ducklings already on the 8th day after hatching.

The drake can be defined in another way. For example, raising the tail and pointing it towards the back. Thus, in representatives of ducks, the genital organ is visible. If it is not there, then this is a female duck or indo-duck.

Mallard males and females (video)

Determining the sex of an indo

Indo-duck drake (as the large breed is called) will look different from the offspring of ordinary mallards. Boys are larger than girls, and this can be seen visually a few days after the chicks have hatched. Behaviorally, all males are the same. They are pugnacious, brisk, nimble, the male is the first to be near the drinker or feed, pushing the others. But it is worth paying attention to how other ducklings treat the male. If they listen to him, then this is a clear leader, who will then lead the pack.

In the event that a male chick is chased, then he will not become a leader. And this may not be due to the nature of the male duck, but to the underdevelopment of the genital organs or other physical features. Ducklings feel this very well and immediately identify the weak. At the age of 3-4 months, the difference between babies becomes more noticeable. Ducks weigh about 3 kg (maximum), and Indo-duck drakes can gain up to 6 kg.

Indo-duck chicks do not have a characteristic growth, which appears somewhat later. In a young drake, only a small part of the head will grow, and in an adult, almost all.

Reasons for separation:

1. Rational distribution of feed. Males need to be fed more and more often, and females on a different, individual schedule.
2. Separating birds helps protect ducklings from diseases, as drakes have stronger immunity.
3. Females in the "female" company are more calm, do not enter into conflicts, do not want to fly.
4. You can adjust the number of drakes and females on the farm to get more eggs and ducklings.
5. You can get more meat from males if the farm is focused on meat production.
6. For selection, it is necessary to select drakes and ducks, dividing them into flocks. One drake - for 3-4 females.

Thus, it is not difficult to find visible differences between a drake and a duck. You just need to look closely at the offspring. The leader of the pack is always visible. In flight, while swimming or walking, he leads both adults and kids.

If we are talking about adults, to determine the sex, it will be enough just to look at the duck and: the male will be much larger than the female, and this will immediately catch your eye. The average weight of an adult drake is about 5-6 kg, while females at the same age weigh only 1.5-3 kg. At the same time, males are not only larger, but also much more massive: they have a thick and long neck, a wide chest, and powerful wings.

Look also at the bird's head. If you see rough skin going behind the eyes, then you have a male in front of you. If the skin is more delicate, light and is located only between the eyes and the beak, we are talking about a female. Ducks also boast a graceful rather than powerful neck curve. However, their plumage is much more modest: the color of the feathers of males, as a rule, is brighter and more diverse, because drakes should attract ducks with their appearance.

How to distinguish a male indochka from a female: additional tricks

Since the genital organ in small indoo drakes is only 1-2 mm long, and it is rather difficult to see it, another option for determining the sex of ducklings can be used. Firstly, the plumage of males is several tones darker than that of females, and this can be seen if several ducklings of both sexes are placed side by side. Secondly, drakes become aggressive very quickly: already after 1- after birth, they begin to fight with other ducklings, as well as if they grow up with them. Young males often offend the birds with which they grow up, even if we are talking about larger individuals. Females, on the contrary, behave more calmly, do not start fights and rather hide in a corner or run away than accept a fight.

There is another interesting difference between females and males, and it lies in the behavioral features. As a rule, drakes always skip the indout ahead, while they themselves move a little behind. This also applies to walking on land, and, and even flying. The only exception is the situation when the duck is incubating eggs, and the drakes, left without their females, walk in small groups, alternately letting each other go forward.

Indo ducks are also called musky ducks or mute ducks. It's pretty calm Domestic bird which is easy to breed and easy to maintain. Her meat is dietary, of good taste and contains little fat. How to breed an indoo?

Instruction

Muscovy ducks are not picky about food, grow much faster than other living creatures and consume much less feed than Peking ducks.

Calculate the room for the indout at the rate of one square meter for three individuals. Remember that this is a heat-loving bird, so insulate the house. The temperature for young ducklings should be at least 20 degrees. In severe frosts, be sure to lay straw or sawdust in those places where ducks walk. Make sure that excess moisture does not accumulate in the room. In high humidity, the duck can catch aspergillosis. Therefore, before laying the litter in the house, sprinkle everything with bleach (1 kg per square meter). Lay bedding at least 5 centimeters thick and change it periodically.

When feeding a bird, use kitchen waste, beet tops, chopped grass, grain. Pre-soak the barley and give it with water. Muscovy ducks love corn. Give them a mix of grain waste with water and chopped greens. It is very useful to add vitamin and mineral supplements to the feed. To do this, use the premix "Ivan Ivanovich" or "Ryabushka". Now they produce special feed for ducks with a full range of useful mineral supplements.

If the ducks began to tear out their feathers, then they have a feather-eater, sprinkle them with sulfur, which is mixed with ash or sand. Use this tool for prevention.

Poor quality can lead to inflammation of the cloaca, when ulcers and cracks appear on the mucosa. Treat them with special disinfectant ointments and add carrots to the diet, and in the summer, let's have more fresh greens.

If your bird is fluffed up, sits in one place with a swollen goiter, a grayish liquid is released from the nostrils, it often opens its beak, then it has catarrh of the goiter. Give her a goiter, give her one water first, and then add liquid fermented milk products. And be sure to change your diet.

At first glance, it may seem that a duck is no different from a drake. But this is an erroneous assumption. If you look closely, the difference between heterosexual birds is obvious.

Instruction

In addition, male birds have a spectacular crest on the neck, consisting of long beautiful feathers. And drakes also have a “beard”. Ducks do not have a beautiful “”, and the “beard” of these female birds is not very noticeable.

Another distinguishing feature of a duck is its light weight. So, the weight of a male nutmeg duck can reach five kilograms, while the females are twice as light.

But if you think that the scales are deceiving, pay attention to another significant feature that distinguishes female ducks. These are the sounds made by the bird. The drake makes whistling and hissing sounds, and the female only quacks.

Distinguish an adult female duck easy: all the signs are clearly expressed. Difficulties in determining the sex can arise only for beginner poultry farmers, and then when meeting the chicks. Although, if you look closely, females are smaller compared to male birds of this age, and they have smaller necks.

note

Do not let ducklings into the water before two weeks of age.

Useful advice

Care for females and drakes is the same. In the morning, the birds should be fed soft food (it should be lukewarm in winter), consisting of finely chopped turnips and beets, crushed potatoes and wheat bran. In the evening, ducks are fed with grain (in the cold season they give oatmeal or wheat porridge).

Sources:

• How to distinguish a duck from a drake in 2019
• nutmeg ducks in 2019

Indians have a rather specific appearance, and thanks to the reddish head growths that secrete fat with the smell of musk, this poultry received another name - the musky duck. This breed of bird is rightfully considered the best candidate for breeding in a private household. But for growing an indo-outka, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of care and maintenance.

Indians actually eat any food. In summer, the bird feeds on pastures with great success; green grass can serve as the only food. Feed costs are reduced if there is a reservoir nearby where birds feed on insects and worms. In winter, you need to prepare wet mash for musky ducks. The diet may include: finely chopped green grass, beet tops, kitchen waste, grain, soaked barley, corn. In the cold season, the deficiency of biologically active substances is especially aggravated, add vitamin and mineral complexes to the menu. Indo-women need micro and macro elements for proper development. You can replenish calcium in the body with the help of chalk, shells, egg shells. Crush them into small crumbs and feed the bird.

Muscovy ducks begin to lay their eggs in late March - early April. It nests when it lays a couple of dozen eggs. Every day, take out the eggs, mark (put the date on the shell), turn them over. Chicks hatch at 30-35 days. The first hour you can leave them with your mother, and then transfer them to the house. Keep the chicks in a box under a light bulb with a reflector, put a heating pad. Cover the bottom with shavings or straw (do not use sawdust, as the chicks begin to eat them). Feed them finely chopped hard-boiled eggs. The next day, you can give semi-liquid porridge from milk and eggs, add a little bran. Feed the chicks should be forced.

After a couple of days, the chicks themselves will begin to drink and eat. On the third day, feed them cottage cheese, chopped spinach and herbs, beet tops, crushed grains. From the fourth day, give chopped meat waste, from the tenth day it is allowed to introduce boiled potatoes into the diet. Indians - bad moms who quickly forget about children. You can do without a hen, the chicks grow well on their own. It is important to protect them in the first weeks from cold and dampness.

In most breeds of ducks, distinctive features are not obvious, so often poultry farmers, especially beginners, cannot always determine the sex of ducklings and distinguish a duck from a drake. Having become familiar with certain outward signs and the characteristics of the nature of the bird, you can easily learn this skill.

External signs

It is very important to distinguish a drake from a young duck - this will help to correctly distribute the number of males and females in the tribe. In the future, this will increase their productivity and egg production.

You can determine that you have a drake in front of you by the following characteristic features:

• bright and saturated color;
• drakes are always larger;
• triangular forehead;
• on the neck contains a small crest of feathers;
• the beak is massive;
• there is a slight feathering on the beard.

Females can be recognized by the following features:

• unlike the drake, they do not have plumage on the beard;
• the shape of the forehead is trapezoidal;
• there are no curls on the tail;
• the plumage is plain and muted colors.

The duck almost always weighs less than the male. But, depending on feeding and conditions, sometimes drakes can be smaller than females. Therefore, this parameter is not always accurate.

Character features

It is possible to distinguish a duck from a drake by certain character traits. Males almost always keep aloof from the female and in the process of walking let her go ahead.

If you look closely at the males, you might notice that they are distinguished by greater activity - pugnacity and noise. This is especially true for a dominant individual who wants to emphasize his leadership. The male expresses this behavior in relation to other males.

Ducks have a calm character, they are not in conflict and fly much less often.

If the tribe has an incorrect distribution of drakes and ducks, then it will be difficult to determine the sex by character, because female individuals can behave in the same way as males. Ideally, there should be one female for every four males.

Sex characteristics

This is the most accurate way to distinguish a drake from a duck.

This method helps to distinguish between one-day-old ducklings. To determine the bird is placed with its back on a flat surface, then gently pull the skin away from the cloaca towards the abdomen. Male ducklings have an underdeveloped or developed sexual organ, and ducks have two small balls.

By voice

You can determine the sex of a duckling by specific sounds. In females, they look more like a loud and sharp cry - quacking, in males - whistling and hissing.

Again, you should not focus on this indicator, because each breed of females and males has a different voice.

Ultrasonic method

This is an unusual way to tell a duck from a drake. But for this you need a device to extract the sound.

It is tuned to certain frequencies, then the behavior of birds is observed. Ducks of the same sex that have clustered around this device should be moved to a separate cage or room. After separation, the groups are subject to classification.

Breed features

Each breed has its own qualities and features by which it is possible to distinguish a drake from a duck:

1. Males of the domestic Bashkir breed have curled feathers on their tails, while females have straight feathers.
2. The main differences between a duck and a wild drake are the color of the feathers and the size. In wild males, the plumage is bright with the presence of green and dark blue color, in females, the color of feathers is brown or brown. The average weight of drakes is about 2 kg, females - 1.5-2 kg.
3. Male domestic musky ducks (indo-ducks or mute ducks) contain a pronounced red growth in the form of a bump above the beak. There are red spots on both sides of the head. In females of this breed, neoplasms above the beak are smaller and orange in color. There are also small orange spots around the eyes. The female is always smaller than the male.
4. It is impossible to distinguish a young drake from a domestic Peking duck by plumage, since they have an identical, snow-white color of feathers. But there are differences in size - males weigh about 3.9 kg, and females - 3.5-3.6 kg. The most reliable sign in determining the sex will be the tail. In drakes of the Beijing breed, as well as in males of the Bashkir breed, it contains whorls, while in females they are absent.
5. Favorite. The main differences between the drakes of this breed are their large weight (about 5 kg), in females it is no more than 3 kg. There are other differences - in males, the neck is long, stocky, the paws are large, well developed and the head has an angular shape. Ducks have smooth and more delicate forms.