Ducks female and male difference. What is the difference between a drake and a duck and what does it look like? Special distinctive quality

Many breeds of ducks are difficult to separate into females and males. If you do not delve into how to distinguish a duck from a drake by specific features, it will be extremely difficult to determine. It will be especially difficult to determine the sex of small individuals. There are character traits not only in appearance, but also in behavior.

Briefly about the difference between adult ducks by external signs

It is very important to learn how to determine the sex of ducks, as this will help to select the right ratio of females and males in the flock. Of course, the required ratio depends on the purpose of the poultry: for the purpose of obtaining meat, for egg production or breeding a new generation. In any case, the correct selection will lead to increased productivity.

What are the external characteristics of male ducks:

• bright plumage, more saturated than that of females;
• large parameters;
• the frontal bone is wide and has the shape of a triangle;
• a crest is visible on the neck;
• large beak;
• feather beard.

The frontal part of the male immediately expands sharply from the beak, but the female duck has smooth features, and the frontal part has a trapezoid shape.

Note! It is also worth knowing the name of the male duck - the drake. As a rule, they have larger parameters, but due to growing at home, exceptions are possible. Sometimes drakes grow smaller than ducks. This is due to the conditions of the contents and the characteristics of the selected diet.

The main differences between musky duck drakes and females

Muscovy duck is popularly called mute duck. This breed By outward signs differs significantly from its other tribesmen: a wide chest, powerful wings and limbs.

The name of the breed did not just come from the word "musk". It is believed that members of this species adulthood begin to secrete fat with a specific musky smell through the pores.

How to distinguish a duck from a drake

Musk birds are popular among poultry farmers for a number of reasons:

• nice delicate taste meat that is considered dietary;
• the possibility of using eggs in cooking;
• the Indian does not need to equip the reservoir on the site;
• birds are homebodies, which minimizes the risk of losing a member of the flock due to a sudden departure.

External differences between drakes and ducks

Main external differences male and female individuals of this breed do not differ from other species and are as follows:

• Size. The male duck is always larger than the female. The difference in weight can range from ½ kg to 1 kg. The body of the drake is much wider, and rib cage more developed.
• Feather color. Drakes look more noticeable against the background of females. And this is no accident, because for the female the most important thing is to take care of the offspring and protect them, and a bright color can only attract ill-wishers. Males have a very bright color that attracts females.
• Features of the structure of the neck. Females have a graceful and embossed neck, and in drakes this part of the body is more developed: strong and wide.

When the musky ducks reach the age of three months, all of the listed external characteristics begin to appear, and it will be possible to determine their gender at a glance.

Important! Another very noticeable feature is the skin of birds. In the male sex, it is coarser and has a rich bright red color. It even hangs a little over the eyes of males.

How to distinguish females from drakes by behavior

When determining the gender of birds, it is worth paying attention to their behavior. The most important difference here is that the “husband” of the duck always lets his companion go ahead. This applies to both walking on water and flying. The drake is kept behind or slightly to the side. During the period when the females incubate the eggs, the males alternately let each other pass forward.

In addition, it is worth noting that drakes behave quite aggressively in a flock. They fight with other males for food or for the attention of females.

It is easy to isolate drakes during the breeding season. They acquire new plumage and treat their chosen ones with special care. New signs may appear that were previously invisible. These include a beard or mustache. To attract the attention of a female, the drake constantly revolves around them and arranges conflicts with other males. The mating season of ducks often passes with songs and dances.

Note! Not only the male can initiate the creation of a new "cell". Sometimes females push drakes to mate.

Of particular importance in determining the sex of ducks are the sounds that these birds make. Females have a loud voice, but males tend to hiss. Female ducks are not in vain endowed with a loud voice, because thanks to it they gather ducklings in a heap. But from drakes it is extremely rare to hear any sound.

Important! At wrong mode feeding and adverse conditions same-sex couples can sometimes form. In such unions, the dominant female completely repeats the behavior of any male.

Disadvantages of sex determination by the appearance of a bird

Of course, the method of determining the sex of a bird by appearance has a number of drawbacks. And this is not surprising, since each breed has its own characteristics and distinctive features. This applies to such features as the size and musculature of birds, color and plumage, behavior.

Also, do not forget that the listed features may vary depending on the conditions of the birds. For many poultry farmers, the color of the opposite sexes does not differ at all, and the size of the males is much smaller than that of the female.

To accurately determine the gender of ducks, you need to combine several signs into one. Such work can only be carried out by an experienced breeder.

Only an experienced breeder can distinguish

How to determine the gender of a duck

If everything is clear with sex determination in adult ducks, then how to determine the sex of seemingly absolutely identical ducklings is not. This is very difficult, because external differences ducklings don't.

How can you distinguish ducklings by gender by the most common method:

• You need to very carefully take the chick by the paws and place the head down. In this position, the female will hang calmly and motionlessly, but the male duck will twist its head with all its might, trying to examine the space.
• Even small males are quite aggressively trying to constantly get into a fight and generally behave very actively.
• At the youngest age (1 day), one can try to determine the sex based on anatomical features. The drake is characterized by a spherical expansion in the lower part of the larynx. It is located at the beginning of the chest.

little duckling

Thanks to the timely (early) determination of sexual characteristics, it becomes possible to fully develop and form the correct livestock. But not always the use of one method is enough. Experienced poultry farmers use 3 methods at once: the above-described palpation of the larynx, observation of the behavior of small ducklings and the Japanese method.

The latter method was developed in Japan in the 20th century. For him, the proportion of small daily ducklings, goslings and chickens is suitable. The method consists in a visual examination of the cloaca and the identification on the inner wall of the genital tubercle, which differs significantly in both shape and size in the female and male. Currently, this method is very popular all over the world and is called ventsexing.

Important! The use of this method by inexperienced farmers threatens to injure a small chick or become infected with intestinal infections.

Ventsexing is carried out in ducklings aged from 6 to 16 hours. By this time, they are already well dried out, the umbilical cord is healed. A longer period leads to a gradual smoothing of sexual characteristics.

To determine the gender of a duckling using the Japanese method, follow these steps:

1. take the chick and put in left hand, directing to itself;
2. do a tummy massage
3. very carefully with your fingers right hand open the anus and turn it out;
4. the female has spherical growths in this place, but the boy is characterized by the presence of a rudimentary penis.

This method can accurately determine the sex of a bird, but it is only suitable for experienced poultry farmers. After all, the technology requires the utmost accuracy and experience in carrying out the inspection.

Features of sex determination in different ducks

For some breeds of ducks, the listed signs of difference do not always help determine the sex. Especially it concerns external characteristics birds.

Favorite breed

Most often, ducks of the favorite breed have a dull color of feathers, while drakes are brighter and more noticeable. They are characterized by a bright color and a crest of long beautiful feathers. In addition, males have a long beard. Their size is much smaller than females. You can also distinguish the sex by the back of the bird: the twisted tail, which always catches the eye, indicates that it is a male.

When determining the sexual characteristics of the favorites, you should also pay attention to the following signs:

• behavioral features of animals: during walking, males of any breed let the duck go forward, while they themselves remain behind;
• females in the livestock behave calmly and restrained, but males are active and arrange conflicts with other males;
• female ducks are less susceptible to diseases, but males have less strong immunity;
• in flight, the female keeps ahead of the male.

Of course, the listed signs cannot exactly guarantee that a certain representative of the favorite breed belongs to one or another gender. Accurate distribution will require the experience and knowledge of the farmer.

domestic ducks

Bashkir

An adult duck of the Bashkir breed has a dense, elongated body, which is covered with feathers and down. Paws are short, strong, painted in Orange color. The chest has a concave forward shape, the head is located on a fairly short neck. The beak of the Bashkir females is flattened and has a yellowish tinge.

Little Indo-chicks have exactly the same appearance, regardless of gender: brown color for a colored breed and white-yellow color for a white breed. Therefore, at this age, it is not possible to determine the sex by external signs.

At the age of 4.5 weeks, the plumage of the drake begins to acquire a sulfur-gray hue. The female remains brown. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish a male not only by large parameters, but also by a distinctive bright color. Thanks to these characteristics, Peking ducks can also be distinguished.

By color

But how to distinguish the Bashkir duck from the drake white color, because the differences in appearance They dont have? Here you can start only from the size and voice. Adult ducks quack loudly, but the male only makes hoarse sounds in response.

mandarin duck

For mandarin ducks, sex determination is not difficult. Males can be seen even from afar, because their plumage is particularly bright. Females, on the other hand, have less bright plumage, but, despite this, they look very elegant and beautiful.

For such a significant difference there is a certain period - marriage. Upon completion, the males lose their bright color and look less defiant.

For your information! During molting, all male mandarin ducks huddle in flocks and try to hide from prying eyes.

Mallard

The difference between a mallard and any other duck is that it is able to adapt to various weather conditions. In addition, this species has the largest size.

Duck and drake are very different from each other, so many do not consider them to be representatives of the same species. It is these inexperienced poultry farmers who are looking for the answer to the question: what is the name of the male duck of this breed. Therefore, there will be no problems with determining the sex:

• The plumage of the female mallard has a discreet Brown color allowing her to disguise herself in wild nature. The tummy has a more saturated color. The beak is painted olive or dark gray, and the legs are red.
• The male mallard looks more flamboyant. The head and neck are dark green. There is also a prominent border on the neck. The breast is chestnut in color, the beak is olive, and the legs are orange.

Little ducklings are all the same and have a brown discreet color.

Determining the sex of a duck is most often carried out on the basis of external and behavioral characteristics. But this method is not always effective. After all, such data depend on the breed of birds, their living conditions and nutrition. For ducklings, this method is not at all effective, since at birth they are all the same. To distinguish a drake from a duck, you will need experience and knowledge about these birds, which are briefly presented above.

Baby animals sometimes have non-obvious names, and you may have even wondered questions like:

• What is the name of a female ferret?
• What is the name of a female deer, capercaillie, giraffe, peacock, woodpecker, wild boar?
• What is the name of a baby seal, walrus, swan, sheep, elk, badger?
• What is the name of a male duck, squirrel, cuckoo, pig, panther?
• What is the name of the baby animals? For example, elephants, eagles and so on.

In a word, in this article we have collected the names of females - mothers, males - fathers, as well as the names of animal cubs, including animals (they are also mammals), birds, fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians.

If you did not find someone, then be sure to write about it in the comments, and we will add this material in the very near future.

The collected material is presented in the form of a table with 4 columns. The first column is the name of the male, the 2nd is the name of the females, the 3rd is the name of the baby animal, and the last column is the plural name of the baby animal.

Note also that there are colloquial names , which are acceptable in speech, but use them in a scientific report, or when preparing an essay, it will not be correct .

Names of baby animals

Very often we meet different birds in the wild or in the household, but it is not always possible to determine not only their breed, but also their gender. Although it is sometimes very difficult to do this, there are still various signs that make it possible to understand whether we have a male duck or a female in front of us. And it is about the male sex of ducks that you will learn below. After all, they are beautiful birds.

First of all, you need to understand that ducks are waterfowl and are considered old relatives of swans. A few centuries ago, hunting for wild birds but not only because of sports interest, and also because of tasty meat and high quality down. If we talk about male field this bird, it is called a drake and has a number of small differences from the female.

Although drakes, like ducks, differ from their distant relatives in their smaller size. After all, their body length is no more than 35 cm, although in musky drakes this figure fluctuates around 85 cm. And all this is shown in the photo below.

Their average weight about 3 kg, but everything, of course, depends on the species. The down of ducks, and in particular drakes, is very thick and dense, so they tolerate low temperatures. Also, these birds quickly get used to their habitat, and because of the structure of the neck, they can easily dive and swim. Therefore, most drakes get food under water. Another distinguishing feature of this type of bird is that, due to their special flight, they have the opportunity to settle in places that are not accessible to others.

Appearance

It is worth noting that the difference between the female and the male is mainly represented by different plumage colors. Drakes differ from females in their brighter and more colorful feather colors, while ducks are painted in more gray and camouflage shades. It is also worth mentioning that their size is slightly larger, and the beak is not only yellow, but also red, blue and black. The male of any kind has a white necklace around his neck, while shades of feathers can be yellow and green.

Females, on the other hand, choose their future couple, based on how bright the duck's beak is and it is desirable that it be yellow. Another feature that is inherent only to male ducks is that they have a special crest, which is also designed to draw the attention of the female to this particular male and make her the future mother of his ducklings.

habits

During the period when the time comes to build a nest and have offspring, drakes attract the attention of their future females precisely with the help of their colorfully colored feathers. It is also worth noting that despite their silence throughout their lives, during the time when the drakes are looking for a female, they behave quite loudly.

Special distinctive quality

In drakes, unlike other bird species and males, one can see features not only in appearance and behavior, but also in anatomical structure birds. It is in the walls of the cloaca that the drakes have a large penis, which you don’t immediately recognize, since it is modified, but quite impressive in size.

It can also turn outward, but this happens only during nesting and in mating season. Although it is this organ that makes the flight of a bird difficult and complicates its life, because its size is sometimes equal to the length of the body of a male duck, no matter what kind it is.

Value in nature

In addition to the fact that drakes are engaged in the fertilization of their females, they practically do not carry any special significance, except for excellent and healthy meat and warm thick fluff. At what such that it is used in the manufacture of clothing. Although it is worth noting that some species of male ducks are used to make a homeopathic remedy for sick and people in need.

Ducks and geese are water birds. There are a lot of them and they live all over the world. These birds have dense plumage that helps keep them warm, and webbed feet that are well adapted for swimming.

Duck- this bird is small in size with a short neck and tarsus, covered in front with transverse shields, it comes from the order of new-palatine, order of anseriformes, family of ducks. In total, there are about 110 species of these birds in the world. The coloring of ducks can be both monotonous and several colors. The most common ducks are white or gray color.
All types of ducks have a weight of 2 to 5 kilograms, depending on age. They have short legs, on which they waddle amusingly when walking. On the paws are three webbed front toes and a free back toe. Most species of ducks live in fresh water. They feed on insects, worms and other plant food. Male ducks are called drakes. They have bright plumage that attracts females. Feathers of females are beige-brown.

Peking ducks can be found in villages and villages. Males have an impressive weight of 4 kg, and females - 3.5 kg. They can lay up to 120 eggs in a year. Young ducks gain weight in just 60 days.

One of best ways rearing ducks is duck(hen), which, together with the brood, swims in the pond, looking for natural and naturally clean food, teaches and protects the ducklings.
The most common ducks are: Mallard, Gray duck, or half-mallard, Pintail, Sviyaz, Teal cracker, Teal whistle, Broadnoska, Red-headed dive (blue black), Crested duck, White-eyed dive.

Goose belongs to the class of birds, the subclass of neopalates, the order of anseriformes, the family of ducks, the subfamily of goose and the genus of geese. Geese are usually larger than ducks and have longer necks. Geese have rather large beaks, with which they pull grass out of the ground. The beak of ducks is flatter - it is convenient for them to catch food from the water.
Geese, unlike other birds, have a beak that is colored orange or gray. The beak has great height, but its width is not large, the end of the beak is expressed by a nail with a sharp edge. Along the edges of the beak are small teeth. Geese have a neck, but it is not as long as swans, they also have high legs painted in orange or gray, and paws are a bit like flippers, which allows them to swim on the water.

geese have a large number of feathers and down. The main difference between males and females is only in the bone outgrowth (“hump”) at the beginning of the beak near the bridge of the male, as well as a slightly larger body size.

Almost all species of geese cackle or make murmuring sounds, hiss when threatened or irritated, and may bite. The most common are geese: wild geese, gray geese, goose, Canada goose, White-fronted geese, White geese, White goose, Red-breasted goose, Black goose, African geese.

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Kira Stoletova

Every person, even those who are not related to farming and breeding poultry, knows that the drake and the duck are individuals of the opposite sex belonging to the same species. Thus, the drake is a male duck, which is quite large in relation to the female. For example, a female of a common egg and meat breed domestic duck reaches a maximum of 3.5 kg, while the male is able to grow up to 5.

Ducks are very popular with poultry farmers in our country. Few people will say that he does not like large eggs with a large bright yolk or the tender meat of this bird. However, it is important for poultry farmers to be able to immediately recognize the gender of ducklings, because for good egg production and selection, the ratio between females and males must be 4:1. Anyone who has been breeding birds for more than a year will determine what gender the chick is without much effort.

Sex determination in chicks

A male bird among grown chicks can be identified even from a photo - the child can handle this. The baby drake is the owner of a colorful plumage, while the feather of the female is gray and inconspicuous. But young animals begin to look like this at about 2 months. How to distinguish a drake from a duck when they are still quite chicks?

The drake chick is more active. Anyone who lives in the village knows that if you pick up the cub by the legs and leave it upside down for a while, the female will be calm, and the male baby will turn his head and try to pull himself up to his feet. Of course, it is impossible to know for sure what gender the bird is, but there is still a certain probability.

The method that allows you to determine the sex of even a two-week-old cub with the greatest accuracy is the so-called "Japanese method". It consists in the fact that the duckling must be taken with the left hand so that the chick is turned with its head towards the person holding it, and then gently massage the anal passage of the cub. To do this, slightly pull up the edge of the cloaca. If a small pseudopenis appears, you have a male cub in front of you. In the female, a membrane-covered opening of the oviduct is found, located on the left side of the cloaca. On palpation - small rounded seals. In the same way, gender is determined in geese.

A pseudopenis is a distinctive feature of drakes, since most males of other poultry species, such as, for example, a rooster and a turkey, do not have it. This organ looks like a small fold with a size of up to 4 mm. Sometimes it can be detected in a cub by simply pulling the tail to the back. This and Japanese methods give an almost error-free result if you act carefully and correctly.

Differences in adult males

Distinguishing an adult male from a female in a duck family is not at all difficult. In addition to the fact that the drake stands out for its bright plumage, it is also much larger than a duck, weighing twice as much.

Also, drakes differ from females in the following ways:

• Triangular beak with an outgrowth at the tip, the duck has a trapezoidal beak.
• Massive and irregular shape heads with an extension from the forehead, in contrast to the rounded and small heads of females.
• The muscles of the legs are more developed, just like the muscles of the back and wings, which is why their bodies are longer and larger compared to the bodies of females.
• The feathers at the tip of the tail curl up, forming a ring in some breeds.
• Drakes, unlike ducks, do not quack, but make peculiar hissing sounds and whistles. The duck, with the help of its loud voice, calls ducklings and attracts males during the mating season.
• Stable immunity - drakes are less affected by pathogenic bacteria and viruses, stay strong and healthy longer
• Aggressive behavior. Males often they try to fly away or escape from the master's house, they fight for leadership.

The color of male ducks during the mating season

Drakes are distinguished by their bright coloration, which reaches its peak of intensity in winter and spring period- when ducks form pairs. So, for example, the male mallard, the progenitor of the domestic duck, has a remarkable dark green color with tints of the head, ending on the neck with a thin annular stripe. The back and wings are gray with brown tan, black uppertail, blue or purple mirror in the upper part of the wings. After molting, the drake differs from the gray duck only in its brown chest and yellow beak. It is better not to leave males in the same territory with laying hens also because the duck is a very shy mother, especially when the ducklings have just hatched and every chick is in her account.

Male Muscovy duck most often dark in color with light inserts, but there are also completely white individuals. hallmark The drakes of this breed are corals - abundant growths of red color on the head.

In the mandarin duck, a small woodland bird, the drake has a distinctive crest on its head, a contrasting golden-brown back, and white and purple striped wings.

The behavior of drakes during the mating season

During the mating season, ducks and drakes of ordinary breeds behave equally actively. The ratio of ducks to drakes is 4 to 1, especially in the Musk breed. Ducks sexually mature earlier, so the male should be 1-1.5 months older. In order to breed drakes, it is recommended to use them for 3 breeding cycles, after which the birds are no longer so good for procreation.

In no case should you force the process of molting in males! The drake may lose potency and will not trample ducks and fertilize eggs. As a result, he will not leave offspring - and how much effort of breeders will be wasted! In order to avoid such an unpleasant situation after oviposition, it is better to transplant it to recently molted ducks.

Gr. SLEEPOVAL - DRAKE

Drake is handsome!

Often, male Muscovy ducks are used to breed so-called mulards. To do this, it is necessary that the female and male match each other in color. That is, if a musky male is gray, then a female of an ordinary breed selected for him should also be gray. But it should be taken into account that musk drakes very indifferent to the performance of "marital duty", especially with females of other breeds, so most of the eggs may be unfertilized. There are no more than 4 ducks per one such drake.