What is the difference between a female duck and a male. How to correctly distinguish a duck from a drake: characteristic signs and effective methods. Differences between domestic and wild birds

To be able to determine the sex of ducks is necessary for both hunters and farmers. During the hunting period, shooting of drakes is allowed. Females are left so that they can later breed, increasing the number of livestock within their breed. Farmers raise ducks for both meat and eggs. Males gain weight faster. For a short period of fattening, they show the best productivity.

For meat production, it is preferable to breed males rather than females. At the same time, females are taken for the production of duck eggs. Males in poultry farms are kept to create bird families, to obtain hatching eggs. How to distinguish a duck from a drake? What do you need to pay attention to?

More than 150 species of ducks live in nature. Some of them are commercial. Drake ducks wild breeds distinguished by their bright plumage. IN mating season the color of their feathers becomes saturated, bright. Females, on the contrary, are modest in their attire. Most often it is monophonic, gray, brown, red. Feathers form an ornament on the body that is inherent in a particular breed.

In the spring, drakes shed their bright outfit and become like a female. In this case, the size of the individuals takes place. Males are always larger than females. During the winter molt, they are again covered with a beautiful feather, which persists until the mating season. Ornithologists note distinctive features in individuals of different sexes:

Breed nameCharacteristics of the drakeCharacteristics of the female
Mallard
  • body length - 62 cm;
  • weight - 1.5 kg
  • beak color - yellow, orange, with a wide black nail;
  • metatarsus bright yellow;
  • bright plumage: dark green head and neck, white collar, gray-brown back, chocolate chest; wings are light brown with a blue mirror;
  • a black curl is noted on the tail.
  • body length - 51 cm;
  • weight - 700 g;
  • a beak of an olive shade with dark spots at the base;
  • plumage - black-brown color;
gray duck
  • body length - 46 cm;
  • weight - 1000 g;
  • feathers throughout the body are light brown with a dark border;
  • the beak is light gray with a yellowish tinge.
teal whistle
  • body length - 38 cm;
  • weight - 450 g;
  • the plumage on the back is light gray with white patches;
  • a chestnut-colored head with dark green spots around the eyes; they are sickle-shaped;
  • rump yellow;
  • the chest has a pink tint;
  • the body is separated from the wing by white feathers forming a stripe;
  • the beak is dark with a greenish tint.
  • body length - 34 cm;
  • weight - 400 g;
  • plumage dark brown; feathers with a dark brown border;
  • the beak is lighter than that of the male.
Teal crackling
  • body length - 41 cm;
  • weight - 480 g;
  • head dark brown;
  • a wide white stripe goes through the eye;
  • the body is covered with dark brown feathers with black edging;
  • the sides are gray with a dark streaked pattern;
  • the abdomen is white with dark patches;
  • the beak is long, narrow, saturated gray color.
  • body length - 34 cm;
  • weight - 290 g;
  • the color of the plumage is dark brown with dark spots on the abdomen;
  • the beak is light grey.
wigeon
  • body length 51 cm;
  • weight - 1100 g;
  • the head and neck have a chestnut tint;
  • back - gray;
  • sides are black;
  • the chest is tinged with pink;
  • from the beak through the head, a white stripe stretches along the back;
  • wings grey-brown.
body 45 cm;

weight - 1000 g;

light gray body

chest and abdomen light brown.

Experienced hunters and ornithologists can recognize the drake and the female by their voice. Ducks most often quack abruptly. Males can hiss, whistle, crackle, display intricate trills. It is especially important to pay attention to the voice wild birds after the spring molt, when the drakes lose their bright feather.

Characteristics of domestic ducks

Farmers need to know how to tell males from females in a duck population. This will allow them to properly form a herd and assign an appropriate diet. To determine the sex of ducks of domestic breeds, external differences between a drake and a female.

This is especially evident in the spring, during the mating season. The male duck is bright. His behavior is active. Males begin courting females. They spread their wings, attracting ducks with their bright plumage. By the behavior of birds in a flock, one can distinguish the sex of individuals.

In some ducks of domestic breeds, there is a clear sexual dimorphism in plumage color. Gender differences are visible in the photographs provided on the Internet:

  • Muscovy ducks. The main differences of the breed are growths around the eyes and at the base of the beak. In the drake, they are bright red in color, look like large warts. In ducks, the growth is small, has a pinkish tint. The plumage of the male is black and white. Head and chest are cast in green. Females are uniformly variegated;
  • khaki campbell. The plumage of birds is light brown. The boy can be recognized by the dark feather on his head and by the light wings. Girls are uniformly brown;
  • Bashkir duck. Looking at the images of birds, it is not immediately possible to recognize domestic ducks in them. The bird pair is more like a mallard family. Individuals have an identical plumage color. Getting to know them better, clearly visible distinctive features. Domestic ducks are much larger, weighing more than 4 kg.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to determine the sex of birds by external signs, by the color of feathers. There are individuals with snow-white plumage. It is difficult to recognize a female and a male in the following breeds: Agidel, Moscow White, Beijing, Cherry Valley. How, in this case, to compose a duck meat and egg herd? Experts resort to the Japanese technique. It allows you to determine the sex of individuals from birth. On external signs are not paying attention. The down of chicks looks the same in ducks of most breeds.

According to the Japanese method of determining the sex of ducklings, it is proposed to inspect the cloaca of individuals and find the genitals. They are poorly developed, but anatomical differences in chicks can be detected. How to distinguish a duck from a drake by primary sexual characteristics? In the male, a protruding tubercle is clearly visible on the inner wall of the cloaca on the left. It is oblong. These are the beginnings of the penis. When examining females, no tubercles are visible.

The fallopian tube is closed by a membrane. It is a thin skin growth. An experienced specialist in an hour can determine the sex of 600 chicks with great accuracy. Inexperienced poultry farmers will need some time and skill to inspect the cloaca of ducklings. What actions need to be implemented by households, how to determine the sex of chicks:

  1. take the chick in your hands. Put it on the palm, back down;
  2. perform a light massage of the lower abdomen;
  3. lightly press on the stomach. The mucosa of the inner wall of the cloaca will appear;
  4. inspect the left inner wall;
  5. the male will have a process 2 mm long;
  6. the female has a fallopian tube on the left. It will show a smooth mucous wall.

You need to act carefully. Press on the stomach slightly, slightly pushing the mucous membrane. Otherwise, there is a risk of extrusion of the intestinal walls from the cloaca, which can lead to the death of the duckling. Experts advise contacting a veterinarian for help. This technique is used in determining the sex of geese, turkeys, chickens.

Palpation of the larynx

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

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

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 try to fly away or escape from the master's house, fighting 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.

The male Muscovy duck is most often dark in color with light inserts, but there are also completely white individuals. A distinctive feature of the drakes of this breed are corals - abundant red growths 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.

In some species of birds, the male from the female is quite easy to distinguish. As for ducks, such differences are not always obvious. If you do not know certain nuances, then in most cases it is impossible to determine the gender of ducklings, however, distinctive features in appearance and in character still exist. The following information will help you easily distinguish a girl duck from a boy duck.

What is the name of a male duck

A male duck is called a drake. And this is not a separate breed or subspecies, but just a term for a male duck.

They differ from females in a number of ways.

Did you know? Newly hatched ducklings take for mother the creature that they see immediately after hatching.

How to distinguish a male from a female

Today you can find a lot of tips on how to recognize a drake and a duck. But when it comes to practical application, it becomes clear that these signs are not so many.

The most difficult thing is to look for males and females among ducklings. It is necessary to distinguish between chicks by sex, since it is necessary to correctly select the sex ratio in the agricultural population.


The ideal proportions for raising birds for meat or for eggs vary somewhat. However, their correct selection will help to achieve maximum efficiency.

The most accurate methods are the following recognition methods.

By appearance

Main visual differences drakes from ducks are as follows:

  • in males, the plumage is brighter than in females, which most often have a gray, dull color;
  • males are always larger than females;
  • males usually have a wide forehead in the shape of a triangle, females have a thinner forehead with smooth outlines, more like a trapezoid in shape;
  • males have a small crest on the neck;
  • in males, the tip of the tail is rounded, the tail of ducks is almost always straight;
  • males have a larger beak;
  • drakes are decorated with a feather beard.


By voice

It is worth paying attention to the sounds that birds make. Ducks usually quack and drakes mostly hiss. Moreover, the voice of the female is always louder (this is how she attracts ducklings), and the voice of the male can be heard extremely rarely.

Important! IN wild nature drakes are much larger than ducks, but in poultry this condition is not always observed. Sometimes males are smaller than females - it all depends on the conditions of cultivation and nutrition.

For the genitals

Unlike other birds, drakes have anatomical differences from ducks. It is in males that a large penis is located in the walls of the cloaca. It may not be immediately noticeable, although it is quite impressive in size.

During nesting or during the mating season, the genital organ can turn outward, although it is this dignity that seriously complicates the life of a bird, because its length is sometimes equal to the length of the body itself.


Differences between a duck and a drake in terms of genitals

Male habits

In the duck gang, you can see that the females do not try to be leaders at all: they always keep either somewhere on the side or behind. And this rule is observed not only on a walk, but also in flight.

Often, even when breeding poultry, aggressiveness on the part of drakes is noted. They often start fights for females or food.

Important! behavioral traits, like external features, by which sex is determined, appear only 2-3 months after birth.

In order to attract a female, the drake constantly curls around her, comes into conflict with other males. Marriage games may be accompanied by serenades and dances. The duck itself can become the initiator of mating.

In addition to the fact that drakes fertilize females, they have no other meaning in nature. From a practical point of view, they have healthy, tasty meat and warm fluff, which is used to make clothes.
In Peking ducks, the drake has curls at the tip of the tail, the duck does not.

How to choose a male for a tribe

Correct Definition gender will allow you to correctly determine the feed and choose the direction of development of the house. In order to choose a good drake, you should consider its structure.

It is desirable that the bird meets the following parameters:

  • flat, wide, without curvature of the keel - it should be parallel to the ground;
  • the chick must be healthy - healthy drakes behave noisily, actively, their plumage near the cloaca is clean and dry;
  • you need to purchase only individuals over the age of 7 days - by this age the ducklings have time to get stronger.

Did you know? Some determine the sex of ducks in a funny way: they take the duckling by the paws and lower it upside down. The boys will break free and turn their heads, and the girls will remain hanging quietly.

As you can see, it is not difficult to detect the differences between a drake and a duck, you just need to look closely at the birds.

How to distinguish a drake from a duck: video

The husband of a duck is what many jokingly call drakes, but not everyone can say with certainty exactly how they look and how exactly they differ from females. In some breeds of ducks, it is quite easy to distinguish a female from a male, but not in all cases these features are obvious, so it is difficult for beginner poultry farmers to find a male among the general flock. To do this, it is necessary to study some structural features of the body of ducks and drakes - we will talk about this today.

The male is commonly called a drake. This definition should not be confused with a separate breed or subspecies of poultry. This is just a term indicating the gender of an individual.

Male duck - drake

External differences between females and males

Females and males have some differences in appearance, by which they are determined:


The complexity of determining ducks and drakes only by body weight lies in the fact that the weight of females is not always less. First of all, it depends on the type of feeding and care for birds. Some female individuals are too well-fed, and in order not to confuse them with males, all sex determination methods must be applied in combination.

Important! You can determine the sex of a duck using a special ultrasonic device. To begin with, it is tuned to certain frequencies that birds of one sex or another cannot tolerate. When you turn on the device, they will begin to get restless.

Video - How to distinguish a drake from a female

Differences in behavior

There is one more no less effective method sex determination in birds - observation of behavior. Usually males do not try to go ahead of females, more often they are missed. Some drakes can behave very aggressively - the wayward character is manifested in the dominant individuals in the general flock.

Conflict situations mostly happen only between males, because females have a calmer disposition, they do not tend to fight with other individuals. characteristic behavioral signs appear only at the age of 8-12 weeks - ducklings of either sex are also not prone to interspecific aggression.

However, even by such features, it is impossible to accurately determine the sex of a bird. In some cases, if the flock is formed incorrectly, the females can behave like drakes, and it will be most correct to determine the sex of the ducklings by sex, even before the resettlement of the birds.

Sex characteristics

Experienced farmers prefer to determine the sex of individuals precisely by gender, because this method is considered the most reliable. Thanks to obvious sexual differences, it is possible to find out the male or female identity of even daily chicks.

Table 1. detailed instructions by gender

Step, No.DescriptionPhoto
1 You need to take the bird and put it on its back on a flat surface.
2 Then you need to slightly pull the skin near the cloaca towards the sternum.
3 You need to take a close look. The drake has a small process called a vestigial penis. In females, two rounded outgrowths can be seen at this place.

This method of determining sex seems quite simple, but a poultry farmer without relevant experience will not always be able to determine the drake by the cloaca. But over time, you can master this technique, after more than a dozen birds have been examined.

Differences in voice

Not all farmers listen to the sounds that poultry makes. But it is worth noting that ducks are characterized not only by the quacking sound. Birds communicate information to each other with the following sounds:

  • cackle;
  • hiss;
  • whistle.

With such signals, individuals communicate with each other, sometimes they sort things out. Females and drakes have a different structure of the trachea, so females can only quack, and males hiss, sometimes whistle. You can notice such features already on the 30-40th day of life.

Differences between females and males of different breeds

Many ducks have individual breed characteristics that make it easy to distinguish a drake. We'll have to carefully examine the individual and observe the behavior.

Table 2. The difference between females and males of different breeds

BreedDistinctive features

The drake has rounder feathers at the ends of the tail.

Muscovy ducks (indoutok) have characteristic difference in the form of a reddish growth above the beak. In addition, spots are located on the side of the head. In females, these growths are quite light in color and the spots are barely noticeable. In addition, drakes have a larger physique.

The drakes and females of the Beijing breed have a white feather color, so they are not distinguished by this feature. In addition, there are only minimal differences in body weight between individuals - about 200-300 grams. Therefore, males are distinguished, as in the case of the Bashkir duck, by the structure of the tail feathers.

It is these individuals that can be most easily distinguished by body weight. Because the difference in weight between the female and the male is 1.5-2 kilograms. In addition, the drake has stronger paws.

recognize wild males pretty simple. Because they, unlike females, have a colorful plumage. And females, in turn, often have brown plumage.

Why should you find out the gender?

Probably, every poultry farmer knows that in order to achieve maximum productivity when growing birds, it is important to distinguish them in a timely manner by gender. It can be concluded that sex determination is necessary for the following reasons:


Males require enhanced nutrition for active growth, therefore, when compiling a diet, it will not be superfluous to know the gender of the birds. If ducks are bred for eggs, then it is females that are fed much more nutritious and varied.

Choice of breeding male

The selection of breeding males is an important event on which the health of the brood and the overall productivity of the poultry farm will depend. It is necessary to choose a breeding male even among small chicks. Usually healthy individuals are active, they are already somewhat larger than females, have a good appetite and push weaker and smaller chicks away from the feeder.

Drakes are planted in a separate poultry house, starting from the age of 150-170 days. They reach puberty closer to 7 months (some breeds a little later), so it is recommended to choose males a few months older than females.

When choosing a drake for further breeding, you should pay attention to the following criteria:

  • skeletal strength;
  • degree of muscle development;
  • uniform plumage throughout the body (there should be no bald spots);
  • the width of the sternum and the severity of the keel;
  • body weight of at least 4-5 kilograms (depending on the characteristics of the breed).

In addition, some poultry farmers, when choosing a drake for breeding, are advised to pay attention to the color of the plumage. It is believed that purebred birds have a solid color (black, white, gray, blue, brown). While variegated feathers are a sign of numerous crosses.

Use of a breeding male for breeding

Fertilized eggs can only be obtained by mating males and females, but individuals of some breeds may show little sexual activity (for example, musky ducks). The maximum fertilization of eggs is observed in the spring period of the year (more than 98%), and in summer it is significantly reduced (50%).

Usually drakes are used for breeding no more than three years in a row. After that, their sexual functions begin to decline, and the herd should be renewed.

Why is there no sexual hunting in drakes?

Usually all healthy males have clear signs sexual hunting, because of which they begin to "trample" females. The absence of such behavioral features often associated with the season ( estrus attenuated in autumn and winter). However, this process can be influenced by excessive weight gain or starvation, in which the male lacks vitamins.

Sometimes these signs are absent in females and males when forming a new herd, until they get used to each other. Therefore, you will have to wait some time for the drake to begin to show activity. If a young male is not interested in females for a long time, it is changed.

Feeding drakes

Drakes are grown for further breeding or for the purpose of obtaining meat. In both the first and second cases, birds need a balanced diet.

There are the following types of feed for males:


All these components must be present in the daily diet of birds. Their exact number will depend on the purpose of breeding individuals (for meat or for a tribe), as well as on the season (in summer, birds consume more green food).

Cereal crops

Cereals are considered the basis of the diet of any poultry, and ducks in particular. They contain valuable nutrients, and they should be included in the feathered menu regardless of the season.

The benefits of cereals for the body of birds:


Important! All grain crops are absorbed by the body of waterfowl by more than 80%, which is much higher than that of chickens.

succulent feed

Succulent feed is the main diet of poultry in the summer season. This allows you to significantly reduce the cost of grain, because often birds are released for independent walking in a clearing (it is better if it is near a reservoir).

Components of succulent feed:


Important! When feeding drakes for meat, birds should not be released too often for independent walking - this is how they waste energy and lose body weight.

Feed of animal origin

Wild ducks often feed on various insects, molluscs, and other aquatic life. Therefore, it is allowed to introduce feed of animal origin into the diet of poultry:

  1. Fish flour. Quite a popular bird feed product with a long shelf life. Proper Concentration fish meal in the diet allows you to quickly gain body weight.
  2. Meat meal. With this product, they begin to feed week-old young. Due to this, individuals are poisoned for slaughter already at the age of 60 days.

Some farmers prefer to include dairy products in the feathered menu. This includes cottage cheese (low-fat) and whey.

Mineral Supplements

Mineral supplements are necessary to normalize the work of the digestive tract in birds and to strengthen the skeleton, therefore, the following components are introduced into the diet of individuals:


Important! Mineral components must be given to individuals in limited quantities. Excess calcium will lead to problems with the digestive system.

Summing up

To increase the profitability of the farm, it is important to know some of the nuances of keeping birds, and to distinguish them by gender. For the rest, proper nutrition will ensure maximum productivity of drakes.

Video - Drake

To many poultry farmers and residents countryside it is important to be able to distinguish a drake from a duck. At first glance it seems that this is impossible. This is especially difficult to do with newly born ducklings. People who have been growing this bird for a long time can quickly and without errors determine the sex.

There are a lot of recommendations and tips on the Internet on how to distinguish a drake from a duck. When it comes to the practice itself, it becomes clear that in fact, there are not so many differences, especially when it comes to chicks. Let's find out what methods are used to identify gender in ducks.


Indians. Duck or drake?

The main advantages and difference in appearance

Why is it necessary to distinguish ducks by gender? In fact, experienced farmers do their farming by gender.

What is taken into account:

  • female ducks do not tend to fly away, unlike males, they are not in conflict;
  • males have strong immunity;
  • the male duck is more enduring than the female, more resistant to disease;
  • drakes have much more weight than females;
  • egg productivity will depend on the sex ratio (1:4) - there should be more females.

According to sexual dimorphism, ducks differ in their plumage. Like many animals, the female does not have a bright color, most often it is a gray and dull color of feathers. The male, on the contrary, is gifted by nature with bright and colorful colors to attract the opposite sex. The drake on the neck has a long and bright crest. One of the differences is the beard, which female ducks are deprived of.

The tail is also slightly different. If you look closely at the very tip, you will notice that in males the feathers are twisted up (usually such a tail is in the Peking and Bashkir breeds), while in females the tail is straight. Feathers in males are already twisted from 3 months. The drake weighs almost twice as much as the female. So, if the male has a weight of about 5 kg, then the female is up to 3 kg. The forehead of the drake is wider, and the beak resembles a triangle. Females, on the other hand, have an extension of a trapezoidal character.

Additional external differences females from males:

  • the beak of the drakes has a growth located upwards;
  • forehead bones are more massive in males, widening from the beak;
  • the head of females is rounder than that of males;
  • the neck of females is shorter and thinner;
  • body of females narrower;
  • leg muscles are not as developed as in males.

It so happens that external differences are practically not noticeable. This will depend on the conditions of the birds and the diet. It even happens that females are larger than males. It is also not always possible to indicate the exact gender of ducks by plumage. The color depends on the species and breed. For example, domestic ducks are characterized by the same color, both for males and for females - white.

The behavior of males and females: what is the difference

In a flock of ducks, you can see that the weaker sex is not a leader and always goes somewhere on the side or behind. This happens both in flight and on a walk. Poultry farmers often notice aggression from drakes. Dominants often fight for food or females with other males. Experienced farmers have learned to distinguish a drake from a duck by its voice: the loud quacking of the female is difficult to confuse with the hiss and whistle of a duck.

Muscovy ducks (drake - top)


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During the breeding season, it is quite easy to identify the male. He is all feathered, becomes attentive to his chosen one. Additional sexual characteristics may appear that were not previously noticeable. For example, if earlier he did not have a beard or mustache, all this appears during the mating season. By such methods, birds attract the opposite sex. In order for the female to pay attention to him, he constantly curls around her, conflicts with other applicants. Marriage games can be accompanied by dances and songs. It is worth noting that not only the drake can take the first step towards “acquaintance”, but also the female can become the initiator of mating.

In young chicks, sex is more difficult to determine. Usually only at the age of 10-12 weeks does sexual dimorphism begin to appear. For many poultry farmers, gender is an important consideration when buying poultry. Therefore, many have adapted to use a special ultrasonic device that can attract individuals of only one sex.

If you hold the duckling upside down by the legs, the female will be motionless, and the young drake will make attempts to look around. Of course, this does not give a guarantee in determining the sex, but it's worth a try.

If ducks are not properly fed and kept in inappropriate conditions, same-sex pairs can form. The dominant female can even completely copy the behavior of the drake. Males can also form pairs with each other. That is why the behavioral method of difference is unreliable.

Differences in gender

It turns out that if you really want to, you can even distinguish the sex of daily chicks. To do this, you need to take the duckling with your left hand (with your head towards you) and massage his anal passage. If a small pseudo-penis appears (about 3 mm in size), then you probably have a young drake in your hands. If nothing like this appeared, then this is a female. For female representatives, small balls (like growths) will be visible.

Duck or drake - sex determination

This method is called Japanese. It gives a 98% guarantee. But everything will depend on the correctness of doing the process. Only an experienced specialist will be able to determine the gender with this method with 100% accuracy.

When a farmer knows how to distinguish ducks by various characteristics, he begins to rationally plan nutrition, feed distribution, and egg productivity. All this knowledge affects the reproduction of birds, it is on them that development depends. meat direction or egg.

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Video: Determination of the sex of goslings (similarly with ducklings)

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