What is the name of a male duck. External differences between a drake and a duck. The behavior of males and females: what is the difference

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 during the mating season. the main task ducks are a continuation of the genus, so they are distinguished by dull gray plumage, so as not to attract attention in the wild or in the household, to protect eggs and chicks. Among other external differences that 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.

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.

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 in 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.

So, the drake is not a separate breed of bird, not a subspecies of the duck family, but just a word that is called a male duck. It differs from the female in a number of ways, which we will tell you about in this article. In addition, it makes sense to consider the basic requirements that must be observed when breeding ducks at home.

Main differences:

1. Coloring. Drakes have a colorful and bright "outfit", thanks to which they attract individuals of the opposite sex. Ducks, on the other hand, cannot boast of their beauty - their plumage is unsightly, gray, but it is excellent for camouflage somewhere in the reeds. For example, the male Indo-duck (musky duck) has rough red skin (growth) around the beak, which extends over the eyes, while in the female Indo-duck, the color of this skin is usually pale pink and is located between the beak and the eyes.
2. Birds can be distinguished by their size. Drakes of any breed are always one and a half to two times larger than ducks and weigh, respectively, more. They also have a noticeably more powerful bend of the neck, head, wider body.
3. Tail feathers. In females, the feathers on the tail are straight, while in males they curl up (this is especially clearly seen in the Bashkir breed of ducks).
4. An obvious difference in the behavior of individuals: drakes already at an early age behave aggressively, they can attack other male ducks, bully each other. Females, on the contrary, are completely conflict-free and, at any hint of a fight, tend to hide in a corner and not take part in it. More males always let the ducks go forward, while they themselves keep a little behind.
5. The sounds made different sexes, are different. Only a duck can quack. Drakes make hissing and whistling sounds.

According to these features, you can learn how to distinguish an Indochka from a drake, or Moscow, or Bashkir - any other breeds.

How to determine the gender of a duckling?

Let's let's figure it out how to distinguish ducklings of different sexes from each other.

Poultry farmers with sufficient experience can do this already a day after the chick hatches according to the following signs:

1. Small drakes have larger heads than ducks.
2. The neck of females is more graceful, thinner and shorter than the neck of males.
3. The lower larynx of drakes is slightly expanded and shifted to the left; ducks do not have this.

Grown up ducklings can already be distinguished by the signs of adults - voice, mannerisms, appearance, and so on.

Useful information about breeding ducks

Since we are talking about the duck family, let's delve into this topic and talk about breeding ducks how about the opportunity to start your own economic activity and earn good money from it without spending a lot of resources.

This is a pretty profitable business, because it has several undeniable advantages:

• Birds such as ducks are completely unpretentious in terms of living conditions and do not require special care.
• Zero waste production- You can sell not only meat and eggs, but also feathers, down, as well as young birds for breeding. The manure is used as a natural fertilizer for beds and plants.
• Ducks are very prolific, on average, a female can incubate about a hundred eggs in six months.
• Finally, these birds are relatively inexpensive, and with proper housekeeping, you can reap great benefits from this.

Do not forget, of course, that for a good start, an enterprise needs initial resources, such as a vast territory (always with at least a small body of water), room with a certain temperature (each breed and age has its own) and good ventilation, the availability of the necessary food for birds (except pasture, ducks need three meals a day in the form of finely chopped grass, tops, vegetables, grains, useful mineral supplements and water).

Also, if you want to establish your own production, you will have to run around the authorities and collect the necessary certificates and documents.

As best breeds for breeding, Bashkir, musky (Indo-datka), Saxon, Beijing and black white-breasted are distinguished. They possess good qualities both in terms of egg production and the taste of meat, as well as the ease of keeping and caring for them.

How to properly raise ducklings?

To begin with, the issue of hatching eggs. You can purchase a special incubator or go the natural way, leaving the care of the offspring to the mother hen.

In the first case, considerable equipment costs will go away, you will also have to constantly adjust the temperature and turn the eggs over after a certain period of time (usually several hours).

In the second case, there are much fewer problems - the ducks have a developed maternal instinct, the temperature under the hen is always necessary, plus the female will take care of the newborn ducklings herself, dragging them insects and other pasture.

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. During the 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:

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 the drake and the female matter.

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:

• muscle 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 outward signs, according to the color of the 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. They do not pay attention to external signs. 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.

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 in appearance, it differs significantly from its other compatriots: 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

The main external differences between 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.

Upon reaching Muscovy ducks at 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. mating season 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.