What does a drake and a duck look like? What is important to remember for a debut poultry farmer?

To maintain productive poultry stock, you should control how many ducks there are per male. But, for this you need to find out what differences exist between a male and a female. A successful poultry farmer simply needs to know how to distinguish a duck from a drake.

How to distinguish a duck from a drake - appearance

A male can be distinguished from a female by appearance, namely:

• plumage color;
• size;
• head shape;
• beak;
• tail.

Drakes have brighter colors than ducks. Their elegant colors are dominated by rich colors. The plumage of ducks has a faded, non-provocative color. Also, the characteristics of plumage colors depend on the breed and type of bird. Males are significantly larger than females. Drakes grow up to 5 kg, and ducks up to 3 kg. Pay attention to the birds' necks. In females it is gracefully curved, thinner and shorter than in males. Ducks have a rounder head. Males have a longer and thicker neck, and an oblong head. Drakes have growths on their noses. If you carefully look at the tails of birds, you can see with the naked eye the differences between a male and a female. The drake has curled feathers at the end of the tail, which create a ring, while the females have a straight tail. But, it is worth remembering that drakes and ducks can really be distinguished by external signs from 2-3 months of age. And the accuracy of the determination is approximately 80%.

How to distinguish a duck from a drake - behavior

Drakes and ducks also differ in behavior. Males, like true gentlemen, let the females go ahead, and they themselves walk, swim or fly behind her, protecting her. Only during the period of incubation of eggs, males can accompany and let each other pass. More often than not, the most pugnacious bird is the dominant male. Skirmishes can be over the female or food. For successful breeding of livestock, it is necessary to adhere to the correct layout; it is advisable to select 3-4 females for 1 male. Even an inexperienced birder will be able to distinguish a duck from a drake by their voice. Ducks make quack sounds, and males hiss and whistle. Due to improper diet or inappropriate maintenance, birds can turn into homosexuals. A duck can adopt the behavior of a male, and he can adopt the behavior of a female.

How to distinguish a duck from a drake - sexual characteristics

Drakes have a pseudopenis, the presence of which can be verified by dilating the cloaca. To determine the sex of a bird, it is necessary to slightly widen the anus; if there is a rudimentary spiral-shaped penis measuring 1.5-2 mm, then it is a drake. If you see flat, spherical growths, then this is a duck. You can also lift the bird's tail and the cloaca will open, or massage it. This method can determine the sex of even day-old ducks with high probability.

How to distinguish a duck from a drake - other methods

There are other methods for distinguishing males from females such as:

• ultrasound;
• turning over.

Using ultrasound, you can separate females from males. To do this, you should adjust, using the selection method, the ultrasound frequency, which will attract individuals of one sex and drive away the other. The owner needs to seat the selected birds as he needs. The inversion method is also used. To do this, pick up the duckling, holding it by the legs, and turn it over. At this moment, the bird’s action is recorded. If she hangs calmly upside down, then she is a female. When the duckling begins to turn its head, look around, and struggle, it is definitely a male.

It is extremely important to distinguish a duck from a drake, because the success of keeping these birds depends on it. There is a correct distribution of food, planning of breeding, and also with an increase in the number of males, meat income increases, etc.

Who doesn't love tasty and large homemade eggs? Or dietary meat that does not contain GMOs and other chemicals? Nowadays, many people have begun to strive to maintain themselves in excellent physical shape, maintain proper nutrition and eat only environmentally friendly products. Also, most people decide to farm instead of work or just for fun.

Today, more and more people are striving to breed ducks at home. And this is quite understandable, since many people want not only to receive home-made eggs and meat, but also to be sure that this is an environmentally friendly product. And then the question arises before them: how can one distinguish a female from a male? How much do you need to know before you start breeding?

Since duck and drake are representatives of the same species, it is quite difficult to distinguish them. By what principles can one distinguish between a female and a male? For a person with experience in hunting them or for someone who breeds them, it will not be difficult to find the differences. But what about someone who is still new in this regard and has only recently started breeding or hunting? Let's start by learning more about birds.

A little about the duck family

The duck includes many different species of birds from a huge family. They have many different names:

• river;
• diving;
• shelducks;
• warblers;
• musky;
• mergansers;
• steamer ducks, etc.

In Russia alone there are about 30 species. Ducks for the most part are medium-sized birds with short necks and plumage of different colors. A typical representative of the duck class is the domestic duck. “Girl” birds can gain up to three and a half kilograms of total weight. According to the number of eggs they lay, they not far behind chickens, bringing almost 250 eggs annually.

Domestic duck breeds include meat, egg and meat-egg. Not only Russian farmers, but also farmers from other countries are engaged in their breeding. Every day they become no less popular than, for example, chickens. They have a number of positive qualities: they have excellent quality and size eggs, and the meat is considered even lower in calories and is in great demand among people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For a number of reasons, some people are required to follow a diet, some just want to lose weight, while others were prescribed a strict diet by their attending physician and for them duck meat is a real salvation.

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 the brightest color, which is quite 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 tufts on the heads of “boys” are very noticeable and have a pearly green color.

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 rounded 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. At the drake there is a growth on the top of the beak, which the female representative 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 security 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.

Differences between chicks

With adults everything is simple, but for chicks less than 2–3 months old all these differences are not typical. They appear much later than this age. What to do if the bird is still small and there are no differences in appearance yet?

Everyone knows that you can tell kittens apart by looking under their tails. The drake has one rare difference that many birds do not have - a pseudopenis. It has the ability to turn outward. You need to tighten the anus using the thumb on your left hand and the index finger on your right; Place your thumb on the end of the cloaca and point it upward. The penis should appear outward, it looks like a fold four millimeters in size. The absence of all of the above means that it is a duck. For those who are afraid of this procedure, there is a simpler way; just point the tail towards the back and, in most cases, everything becomes clear.

You can take note of one more method. It is necessary to take the duckling and thoroughly palpate its chest. To do this, follow the diagram below.

1. Tilt the head slightly, point the beak upward, but keep the neck straight.
2. Place your thumb on the cervical vertebrae.
3. Using your index finger, press lightly on the bird's chest.

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After performing these manipulations, you can feel the triangle that is formed by the bones of the collarbone. You need to try and feel a four-millimeter tubercle in the center of the triangle, which begins to move when you work with the beak. The male has this tubercle, but the female does not.

By following these tips, people at the initial level of breeding or hunting will be able to easily determine the sex of a bird. This will be very useful in life when buying and choosing a bird. All the tips given on how to distinguish a duck from a drake are quite simple and can be easily used at any time.

A domestic duck is a bird that people keep on their personal plots or farmlands. Unlike its ancestors, wild ducks, poultry is a poor flyer and cannot travel long distances.

The duck was domesticated a very long time ago, according to Wikipedia, a thousand years BC, from an ordinary wild mallard duck. Through the process of domestication, people developed many breeds of ducks. So, today it is known that ducks are bred to obtain meat, eggs, and also to obtain a delicacy in the form of liver (foie gras). Among other things, ducks are kept for down and feathers.

It is known that keeping ducks is not at all expensive, and given that the bird is also hardy, there is practically no hassle with it. Farms that engage in industrial-scale breeding and rearing of ducks usually try to locate their farms near water bodies. Since long-term presence of ducks on the water has a very beneficial effect on their general condition and behavior. Some farms that raise ducks for meat use the technique of raising poultry without walking, indoors. Ducklings from one day old to the age of 55 days, with proper feeding and care, already reach a weight of 2.5 kg and are ready for slaughter.

But in order to raise livestock for meat, it is necessary to keep ducks and drakes separately. Since drakes grow faster and gain weight faster than females, it will be necessary to divide the herd at a very early age.

By what characteristics are male and female ducks distinguished?

To identify ducks by sex, you can use the following common methods:

• External signs;
• Behavior of adolescents and adults;
• Features of the structure of the genital organs;
• Traditional methods of determination.

You can take a closer look at each of the methods.

No matter what color the ducks are, in any case, the drake is always larger than the duck. The drake has a longer neck and legs. He is growing faster and gaining weight.

Females have a rounder head and a shorter neck than the drake.

Males have a small growth on the top of their nose, which is a distinctive feature of the drake.

You can also distinguish a female from a male by the tail feathers. Drakes have rounded feathers at the end of their tail, but females have tail feathers that are even and straight.

Well, the most striking distinguishing point is the general plumage of the birds. In the drake of dark colors it is very bright, attracting attention. In addition, the drake has a “beard”; females do not have such a “beard”.

Females have very modest gray plumage. But they are very attractive and charming.

But only gray ducks can be distinguished by their plumage. If white individuals grow on your farm, then this method will not be effective.

Behavior of adolescents and adults

It is possible to distinguish a duck from a drake by behavior, but only at the age of 1-1.5 months. Young teenagers are already beginning to show aggression towards other individuals. As a rule, the most pugnacious duckling will be the best male. He usually fights with males, protecting females. By these signs you can also determine where the male is and where the female is.

You can also distinguish a duck from a drake by the sounds they make. Already at 2 months, the birds' voice begins to change. And the ducks usually begin to quack, and the males hiss and whistle.

Features of the structure of the genital organs

The most proven method for determining the sex of a duckling at a very early age is the sex determination method. When using this technique, it is better for inexperienced poultry farmers to invite a specialist and, in his presence, try to determine what gender your ducklings are growing.

Take the duckling in your hands, turn it over on its back and place it in your palm with its head facing you. Gently stretch the distance around the anus towards the abdomen. If there is a drake in front of you, you will see a small spiral-shaped penis. A duck has no such surprises. It will be possible to notice spherical flat tubercles on her.

Traditional methods for determining the sex of ducklings

Folk methods include the traditional lowering of small ducklings upside down. It is believed that if the upside-down chick is male, it will spin around and look around. And if it’s a female, then she will just hang there and not worry.

Another method involves observing chicks in a flock. If a duckling behaves cockily, drives others away from the feeder and does not give other ducklings peace, then it is a future leader.

It is believed that already at a week of age it is possible to visually distinguish a male from a female. In males, the neck is already becoming thicker and longer. The drake's head is also larger in size.

But no methods can determine one hundred percent where the female is and where the male is at a very early age. Still, some percentage of error will occur. Therefore, as your duck population grows, you need to inspect and cull them.

If you can separate the males from the females within reasonable limits, this will give you the opportunity to plan your feed consumption and improve bird productivity. You can get strong offspring from good parents and thereby increase your profits.

Often, to distinguish a duck from a drake, you can use breed characteristics, since ducks have sexual dimorphism, which makes it possible to separate birds by gender. And if there is no such separation, then you can use the following methods.

Sexual characteristics

A day after hatching, you can determine whether the one in front of you is a drake or a duck. The duckling is taken into the hand with its head towards itself, after which the skin around the cloaca is pushed back with the finger of the other hand towards the stomach. In the drake you can see a rudimentary spiral-shaped penis measuring 1.5 and 2 mm. The duck has spherical growths. But, if you have not previously determined gender in this way, it will be difficult to discern sexual characteristics due to their small size. They will become more noticeable after a while, then the farmer will be able to easily distinguish the birds by gender.

External signs

As a rule, males gain muscle mass in adulthood one and a half to two times more than ducks. Their plumage will also be different from that of the female. Ducks have a simpler appearance than males. This is because the dull and dull color of the feather is necessary for the female to remain safe. An elegant appearance is necessary during the mating season. Another distinguishing feature of a male from a female is the fact that the feathers on the tail of males can be wrapped, for example, like in Peking and Bashkir ducks. This sign appears at the age of three to four months. To distinguish a drake from a duck, you need to look at the birds' heads. In males, the skin moves over the eyes and under the beak to a greater extent than in females. There is a bright color and a peculiar growth above the beak.

By behavior

The same behavior may indicate what gender the bird belongs to. If we consider small ducklings, the most active and possibly aggressive one will be the male. You can also watch and observe how he shows his character at the time of feeding, with whom he fights, and to whom he pays attention. But this method has its own nuances. Since the sex ratio is 4/1, it may happen that females may exhibit an aggressive nature, which can lead to confusion with males. Therefore, this method of distinguishing by gender is considered unreliable.

Many farmers use a simple method of determining the sex of young ducks by their voice. When a drake makes a sound, it hisses and whistles, and the ducks quack. Therefore, from the age of one month, you can use this method to determine gender.

Kira Stoletova

Every poultry farmer who raises ducks should know about the number of males and females that he keeps at home. But not everyone knows about the features of the difference itself. Every poultry farmer should understand the question of how to distinguish a duck from a drake, because without knowledge of these basic rules of bird breeding it will be impossible to calculate the reproductive potential. This information is especially important for beginners who are just starting their farming activities.

Why should you know the gender of ducks?

Determining the sex of ducks allows the poultry farmer to correctly form a flock. Separation and accounting are carried out based on a large number of factors and rules that are followed to achieve high egg production rates in the future. The male sex is more resilient, but always strives to fly. Ducks are always calm and spend all their time on the ground. Their ratio of 1 to 4 gives the best forecasts for further breeding and receiving benefits in the form of eggs.

If the main task of the farm is related to the production of meat, the calculation is carried out strictly based on the mass of individuals. Thus, boys are larger in size, and, accordingly, their weight is larger, so on such lands, farmers prefer to keep more drakes than ducks. But all this activity must bring benefits constantly. To this end, sex determination skills again become necessary. For consistency of reproduction, the number of girls should be 4 times greater than males.

Gender of young animals

For all novice poultry farmers who create a duck flock at home, you should know how to distinguish ducklings by gender. One-day old ducklings can be distinguished using this method:

• take the chick in your hand;
• lightly press on the cloaca;
• move your finger towards the breast.

From the first day of its existence, the male has a small point near the anus. This method makes it visible to the human eye. The presence of a bump on the body indicates that it is a boy. The absence of a pseudopenis is a sign that the bird in front of the person is a girl.

There is another popular way to determine the sex of a duckling. It is connected with the behavior of the bird. Determining the sex of ducklings occurs in this way:

• the duckling is taken by the legs;
• turn upside down;
• look at the behavior of the bird: ducklings that behave calmly are ducks, the male immediately has a desire to look back, and he turns his head.

Determining the sex of ducklings by their behavior is used by both beginners and farming professionals. You can distinguish a drake from a duck even at a young age by their noise in a flock. The boy's voice is loud. Male ducklings always get into a fight first. Ducks are calm and try to avoid conflicts. This will be noticeable even during feeding. Male ducklings already 2-3 weeks from birth show their qualities as a leader and try in every possible way to keep other ducklings away from 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 physiological age does not allow this to be done.

Differences between adults according to external characteristics

It is not difficult to learn how to distinguish a drake from a duck if you understand the external characteristics of the individuals. So, you can determine the sex of a bird by its size. The male has a larger body (sometimes 2 times larger). In addition to size, the bird has other features, which are not so difficult to distinguish. The easiest way to determine the sex of a duck is by its plumage:

• The male's plumage is bright and colorful. The duck's color is inexpressive, sometimes monochromatic.
• Among the Indian duck breed, the skin of the drake on the head is stretched, covering the eyes and beak. In a duck, the main difference is the size of the hanging skin.
• In the Peking and Bashkir breeds of ducks, several feathers stand out on the tail of the drake. Female ducks do not have this feature.

It is also easy to distinguish the sex of a bird by the presence or absence of a growth on the beak and by 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 ducks is short and graceful. The male's differences in these characteristics are shown in the PHOTO. Little ducklings do not have such differences. These methods are only suitable for adult ducks.

What distinguishes drakes from ducks is also their tail. The plumage at its end has a rounded shape. It is not difficult to identify a female among the entire flock: the feathers on her tail create straight lines.

Disadvantages of determining sex by the appearance of a bird

The main disadvantage of how to distinguish a drake from a duck by appearance is the dependence on the breeds of the birds themselves. This applies to muscles, plumage, color, and sometimes even character. Each species has a different appearance, and it largely depends on the care of the entire flock, as well as on its feeding. In one host, the color of the male is the same as that of the female. In another, the size of the drake becomes smaller than that of the duck. For a beginner in farming, the appearance of the birds will not be the main criterion for distinguishing a young duck from a drake. It is possible to accurately determine the sex only using complex characteristics, which can only be used correctly by poultry professionals.

Differences in gender behavior

The behavior of a drake during walks also has its own characteristics, and they will help to distinguish a drake from a young duck. For example, males always try to stay behind females. They can show aggression towards other males, especially if conflicts arise over females. They prefer to stay behind whenever the opposite sex is nearby. If the ducks are hiding or hatching eggs, the males move freely, allowing each other to pass ahead.

There are also exceptions in behavior caused by improper keeping of birds or feeding habits.

Determining gender in such conditions is difficult, because representatives of both sexes begin to copy each other’s behavior. Among the females there are also dominants who often show aggression towards members of the pack. They also let the rest of the “women” go ahead and fight with the males for food and supremacy in the pack. This phenomenon is also noticed in males. Copying the behavior of the female makes them timid and avoids conflicts. Among males, signs of homosexuality may also appear. Most often this is observed when the ratio of females and males is incorrect.

Accurately identifying the sex of a duck and understanding how to correctly distinguish a drake from a female duck is not an easy task, but it is necessary to do it, as this can affect the reproduction of birds. This is especially true for novice poultry farmers who have difficulty solving this problem. Experienced farmers know how to distinguish a drake from a duck; in such cases, they advise hanging special marks on the birds indicating their gender. A special video will show you how to make marks. Their use will save a person from confusion in the future and will help maintain the correct sex ratio.