There are many recommendations on how to distinguish a duck from a drake. Answers to this question can be found on the Internet, specialized magazines and experienced poultry farmers. But still, when in practice you have to decide how to distinguish a duck from a drake, it becomes clear that there are not so many differences, especially in chicks. And in general, ducks, like all birds, do not have pronounced sexual dimorphism.
Ducks differ in plumage by gender. In females, the color is most often gray color, dim. Males flaunt elegant and bright plumage. Drakes have a crest on their neck, which consists of long, bright and beautiful feathers. Also, males have a “beard”, which ducks are deprived of.
The tail of ducks also indicates the gender of the bird: males have rounded feathers at the tip of the tail, while females have a straight tail.
The body weight of drakes is significantly higher than that of ducks. The "men" have a longer head and neck, a wider torso. Drakes have a wider forehead, which expands from the beak into a triangle. In ducks, the expansion from the beak to the frontal bone has a trapezoid character.
The problem is that the differences in size and proportions are sometimes minor. AT various conditions maintenance and with different feeding rations, both large females and small males are found.
Sometimes, to determine the sex of birds, it is enough to listen to them. The quacking of the female is difficult to confuse with the whistling hiss of the drake.
Behavioral differences
Another criterion for how to distinguish a duck from a drake is behavior. It should be noted that any methods give no more than 80% guarantee.
Usually drakes on the water, in flight or on a walk let the females go forward, while they themselves keep aside and a little behind. And only during the period of incubation of eggs, left without girlfriends, the males alternately let each other go forward.
Determining the gender of ducklings is more difficult. External differences appear at the age of 8-12 weeks. How can you tell the gender of a duckling?
If there is a device for generating ultrasound, then empirically you can choose a frequency that will be attractive only to individuals of the same sex. Ultrasound will scare away opposite representatives. When only same-sex birds gather near the source of ultrasonic radiation, they should be placed in a separate cage and marked in some way so as not to be confused in the future.
If the duckling, holding by the paws, is turned upside down, then the duck will hang motionless, and the little drake will try to look around.
The largest, "pugnacious" and noisy duckling is the dominant male in the flock. It is easier to "calculate" the rest of the "boys" in the pack. The future leader will constantly quarrel with them, drive them away from the feeders, keep them away from ducks, etc.
The difference in the behavior of birds is not sufficiently reliable, since ducks, when kept in groups with the wrong sex ratio, may form homosexual pairs. In this case, the dominant female behaves like a male up to the imitation of "male" behavior during mating. A similar picture is observed in drakes. If there are no external differences between males and females in the breed, sex determination by behavioral characteristics may be erroneous.
Sexual features
It is also possible to determine a male in ducklings by the presence of a pseudopenis - a fold 3-4 mm in size. To detect it, you should lightly massage the edge of the anus (cloaca) of the bird. If nothing resembling a sexual organ has appeared, you definitely have a duck in front of you. This interesting anatomical detail is only seen in ducks. In this way, already daily young animals can be divided by sex.
The duckling is taken with the left hand and held with its head towards itself. Fingers open the cloaca, turning it from the side of the abdomen, where the genital organ is located. In drakes, a rudimentary spiral-shaped penis 1.5-2 mm in size will be found. In ducks, only flat spherical growths will be visible.
This so-called Japanese method gives an accuracy of 98 - 100% in determining the sex of ducks - depending on the experience of specialists.
Knowing the gender of the ducks that are in your backyard allows you to more rationally distribute feed and plan future livestock poultry.
Proper gender selection provides the farmer with many benefits. For example:
- males are less susceptible to diseases, have more stable immunity;
- females are calmer, less conflicted, less likely to seek flight;
- if there are enough drakes in the herd (the optimal ratio of females and males is 4: 1), it will be possible to get much more eggs for offspring;
- the live weight of the male is significantly greater than that of the female. If the farm is meat-oriented, the number of males in the flock should be increased;
- in order to select the best representatives of the herd for breeding next year, it is also necessary to be able to determine the sex and link 3-4 females per drake.
There are a lot of reasons why you need to know how to distinguish a duck from a drake; it may just be the personal wishes of the owner, but nevertheless, for the proper conduct of business in the poultry yard, the farmer needs the ability to distinguish a duck from a drake.
Video “Ducks and drakes on the river”
On the video you can watch ducks and drakes on the pond; external differences are clearly visible.
Many people at least once in their lives have seen ducks and drakes on lakes, ponds and other bodies of water.
At the same time, you can meet both nondescript birds with brown feathers, and beautiful representatives with gray-white plumage and a green head.
Due to the different colors, males and females can be distinguished, but this is far from the only difference.
General information
The duck family includes more than a hundred various kinds, of which more than thirty genera are easy to find on the territory of Russia.
Among these species is the subfamily of true ducks. It is further divided into 5-8 subgroups, whose representatives have the most characteristic features.
These include ducks:
- Earthy.
- Diving.
- River.
- Brilliant.
- Stream.
- Marine.
- Steamboat ducks.
- Savki.
Domestic ducks are descended from the mallard or mallard wild duck. They are bred in many countries and are traditionally divided into:
- meat;
- egg;
- meat-egg.
Important: only females are called ducks - males are called drakes.
Ducks are small birds with a short neck and membranes. They have a variety of feather colors, many have a so-called “mirror” on their wings - a spot of blue color, which helps to recognize "your" species.
Coloration depends on gender and is expressed during the breeding season, when males become brighter than females and attract attention. In summer and autumn, molting occurs, during the latter, due to the change of flight wings, ducks cannot fly for some time.
They feed on aquatic plants and seeds, do not mind eating mollusks and insects. The weight of poultry is up to 3-4 kg in drakes and about 3-3.5 kg in females. The latter are able to bring up to 250 eggs per year, wild species are more “modest”. Mostly females incubate eggs, they also raise children.
Why you need to know the differences
For correct counting of birds in household the owner needs to know exactly the difference between females and males.
This will help not only to establish their number, but also to choose a farming model and form the most optimal ratio of individuals. It is important to remember that:
- Males are more aggressive and conflict, more likely to fly away and have good disease tolerance.
- Males weigh more than females - this is important when trading duck meat.
- For good reproduction, there should be 3-4 females per male.
Differences between two individuals may lie in external signs and behavior. Some difficulty is the recognition of gender in ducklings, since they do not yet have clear signs.
Gender (click to enlarge)
There are 4 ways to recognize the gender of ducks:
- External differences
External differences include:
- Plumage: in males it is brighter, especially in spring, during the mating season, and drakes also have a small “beard”;
Note: in the household, identical white birds are often found, which cannot be distinguished.
- Females look smaller and more elegant than males: they have a round head, a shorter neck, and less developed paws. Their weight reaches 3 kg, the weight of males reaches 5 kg - such data is given for the Favorit breed;
- The tail of drakes is round, in ducks it is sharp;
- The drake's beak has a small outgrowth on top;
- The forehead of a duck is narrow, the entire head with a beak resembles a trapezoid in shape, in a drake the shape looks more like a triangle (expands from the beak);
- differ in growths on their heads: in the drake they are larger in size.
It is important to remember that this method is not reliable, since external structure birds can change a lot due to diet and other reasons. 
For example, a lack of nutrition can lead to a decrease in the male, and its excess - to the enlargement of the female.
- Japanese method
The Japanese version of medical recognition, based on differences in the reproductive system, is recognized as more truthful. Drakes have a so-called pseudopenis - a small fold about 3-4 mm in size. To find it, you need to take the bird to left hand, turn her head towards you and open the anus with your right fingers, then turn. In females, it will be possible to detect flat spherical growths, in males - a rudiment of a spiral member.
- Differences in behavior
This method is more suitable for experienced poultry farmers who can distinguish the behavioral characteristics of their pets. These include:
- Aggressiveness of dominant males: it manifests itself in frequent fights for females and food;
- When a flock gathers together, the females usually walk in front, while the males are located on the side to the side;
- Drakes hiss and whistle more often, and ducks quack.
It is important to remember that due to improper maintenance or care, the bird may develop homosexuality, and it will begin to copy someone else's behavior. For example, a dominant female will start to fight or run away to the drakes, and a passive male will cling to the opposite sex.
- Differences in ducklings
While the ducklings are small, it is rather difficult to distinguish females and males in them: the first external signs will begin to appear only at the age of 2-3 months. The Japanese method described above remains the most reliable method.
In second place is the ultrasonic method. To do this, you need to purchase an ultrasonic device and, choosing the frequency, track when ducks come running, when drakes come running.
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- Folk way
Folk remedies offer to follow the behavior of ducklings in a flock: like adults, drakes are more pugnacious. An interesting option is the following method: you need to grab the duckling by the paws and lower it upside down. The boy will start to break free, the girl will remain hanging.
Accurate determination of the sex of birds will help to properly distribute food and choose the direction of development of the economy. It is important to remember that each breed of bird has its own differences, which may not coincide with the general ones. You can learn about them from the video or by comparing photos of drakes and ducks.
How to distinguish a duck from a drake, see the following video for expert advice:
Who doesn't love tasty and large homemade eggs? Or dietary meat that does not contain GMOs and other chemicals? Nowadays, many people began to strive to maintain themselves in excellent physical form, compliance proper nutrition and the use of only environmentally friendly products. Also, the majority comes to the decision to engage in farming instead of work or just for fun.
Today, more and more people are striving to breed ducks at home. And this is quite understandable, since many people want not only to receive homemade eggs and meat, but also to be sure that they have an environmentally friendly product in front of them. And then the question arises before them, how can you distinguish a female from a male? How much do you need to know before you start breeding?
Since the duck and drake are representatives of the same species, it is quite difficult to distinguish them. By what principles can one distinguish between a female and a male? For a person with experience in hunting them or for someone who breeds them, it will not be difficult to find differences. But what about someone who is still a novice in this regard and has only recently started breeding or hunting? Let's start by learning more about birds.
A little about the duck family
The duck includes many different types of birds from a huge family. They have many different names:
- river;
- diving;
- shelducks;
- ducks;
- musky;
- mergansers;
- steamer ducks, etc.
In Russia alone, there are about 30 species. Ducks are mostly medium-sized birds with a short neck and plumage of various colors. A typical representative of the duck class is the domestic duck. Birds "girls" can gain up to three and a half kilograms of total weight. By the number of eggs brought, they not far behind chickens, bringing almost 250 eggs annually.
Domestic breeds of ducks include meat, egg and meat-egg. They are bred not only by Russian farmers, but also by farmers from other countries. Every day they become no less popular than, for example, chickens. They have nearby positive qualities: they have excellent egg quality and size, and meat is considered even lower in calories and is in high demand among people with diseases gastrointestinal tract. For a number of reasons, some people have to follow a diet, someone just wants to dump excess weight, and the attending physician prescribed a strict diet for someone, and duck meat is a real salvation for them.
Differences in adults
The main differences, of course, appearance. The sizes of birds are different depending on the sex. The drake is slightly larger compared to the duck, it has a wider body. In weight, they can reach about four kilograms. They are also distinguished from females by the brightest color, which is quite understandable. Since the task of a duck is to continue the genus, incubate eggs, and for this you need to hide in the reeds so that hunters or predators cannot notice it. As for males, they can attract attention with their bright appearance, this helps in seducing ducks. Very noticeable in the "boys" are the tufts on the head of a mother-of-pearl green color.
The neck of a drake is wider, while that of a duck looks much more elegant, because it has a thinner and long view. The head of the female is rather rounded, while that of the male is oblong. It is also interesting to consider the tail of the “boy”, here you can notice a funny feature: he has a few feathers growing in this place, which are connected in a kind of ringlet. But the "girl" does not have such a distinctive feature. In addition, you should pay attention to the beak. At the drake there is a growth on the top of the beak which the female representative does not have.
The next point is the character, which is expressed in many ways. When flying, as well as swimming, the duck is in front of the male, and the drake, like a true gentleman, lets the lady go ahead, while he remains behind. From a security point of view, everything is quite understandable, since the male covers the duck with his body and carefully monitors that the enemy does not appear on the horizon. But don't rely solely on this principle. Since, if the offspring season is in the yard, then the female will incubate the testicles. And it is likely that two birds that fly or swim are two drakes.
It is not always necessary to see the bird in order to determine what gender the bird is, sometimes it is enough just to listen. You just need to perform some action that will make her make a cry. The duck quacks loudly, not afraid of anything and not embarrassed, but the drake only hisses and whistles. An experienced hunter, having heard these sounds, will immediately understand who is hiding from him in the reeds.
Differences between chicks
With adults, everything is simple, but for chicks less than 2–3 months old, all these differences are not typical. They appear much later than this age. What to do if the bird is still small and outward signs until there is a difference?
Everyone knows that kittens can be distinguished by looking under their tails. The drake has one rare feature that many birds do not have - it's a pseudopenis. He has the ability to turn outward. It is necessary to stretch the anus with the thumb on the left hand and the index finger on the right; thumb put on the end of the cloaca and point it up. The penis should then appear outward, it looks like a fold four millimeters in size. The absence of all of the above means that it is a duck. For those who are afraid of this procedure, there is a simpler way, just point the tail to the back and, in most cases, everything becomes clear.
You can take note of another way. It is necessary to take a duckling and carefully feel its chest. To do this, follow the diagram below.
- Tilt the head slightly, point the beak up, but keep the neck straight.
- Put your thumb on the cervical vertebrae.
- Using your index finger, press lightly on the bird's chest.
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After performing these manipulations, you can feel the triangle that is formed by the bones of the collarbone. You need to try and feel in the center of the triangle a tubercle of four millimeters, which begins to move when you work with your beak. The male has this tubercle, but the female does not.
Following these tips, people at the initial level of breeding or hunting will be able to easily determine the sex of a bird. This is very useful in life when buying and choosing a bird. All the above tips on how to distinguish a duck from a drake are quite simple and can be easily used at any time.
It seems to many novice poultry farmers that a drake, a male duck, is almost impossible to distinguish from a female. It is especially difficult to determine this when you have recently hatched ducklings in front of you. However, it may seem so only to inexperienced farmers and only at first glance. People who have been breeding and raising this bird for a long time can quickly and accurately recognize (determine) the sex of a duck. But how they do it, we will learn in this article.
Both in domestic ducks and in their wild relatives, sexual characteristics begin to appear only by the second or third month of life. But what if the gender of the duck needs to be determined earlier?
Appearance
The first and perhaps the most important hallmark the male duck from the female is its brighter and, one might even say, elegant plumage. Of course, the color largely depends on the type of duck and its breed. So, for example, the plumage of wild drakes has more pronounced dark shades- they have black wings and a head, the upper part of the body is also dark. In females, the plumage is more modest - light and muted shades predominate in it.
In addition to color, distinctive features include elongated feathers on the neck of males, very spectacular crests, beards, the color and shape of the beak, and, of course, body size - males are always noticeably larger than females. But it's all about wild ducks, but what if we want to determine the sex of domestic relatives, whose color is pure white?
Behavior
Regardless of the color of the plumage, it is possible to reveal the sex and distinguish the drake from the duck by their behavior, but even here one caveat should be made: any method by which we distinguish a male from a female duck cannot give a 100% guarantee - a maximum of 80 percent.
As a rule, both on the water, and in flight, and on a walk, the drakes let the ducks go forward, while they themselves try to stay aside and a little behind. An exception is the period of incubation of eggs - left for some time without girlfriends, the drakes begin to alternately let each other go forward.
Sexual features
Usually, the drake is much heavier than the duck. Also, the male has a larger head, a long neck and a wide body. Another characteristic distinguishing feature by gender is the shape of the head: the drakes have a wider forehead and it expands quite sharply from the beak itself in the shape of a triangle. In ducks, such an extension has smoother shapes, and is more like a trapezoid.
The problem is that, depending on the conditions in which the ducks are kept, such differences in size and proportions are barely noticeable. Sometimes in farmsteads there are females that are noticeably larger than males.
Sometimes, to understand the gender of a duck, just listen to the sounds that birds make. The quacking of the female cannot be confused with the hissing of the drake. Females, as a rule, make perky quacking and slightly nervous sounds, but drakes, on the contrary, are more modest in showing their emotions. Most often, the male simply hisses or makes a whistling sound.
How to distinguish ducklings by gender
Interestingly, if you take the duckling by the legs and turn it upside down, then in this position the duck will hang calmly and motionless, and the drake will definitely try to look around. Another behavioral factor by which you can easily recognize a small drake is the noise and the constant desire to start a fight. If you find such a duckling in the herd, you should know that the future leader is in front of you. Well, you can easily find the rest of the boys in the duck family when the dominant male tries to keep them away from the ducks and restrict their access to the feeders.
Things to remember and know
We examined the main sexual differences of ducks.
But there are some other less significant signs that a novice poultry farmer will not hurt to know about:
- females have a rounded head in profile, while males have an oblong one;
- in drakes, the feathers on the tail fold into a kind of ring, in ducks you will not see this;
- the neck of ducks looks more elegant, its bend is more pronounced, while in males the neck is straight and wide.
Here, perhaps, are all the signs by which the sex of ducks can be distinguished. We hope that after reading this article, it will become much easier for you to understand this issue and you will already know for sure how to distinguish a drake from a duck.
For poultry farmers, determining the sex of representatives of the duck population is an important task. Without it, planning is impossible. economic activity in this direction. The task can be complicated by the fact that in a number of duck breeds, the differences between ducks and drakes are outwardly very weakly expressed. Fortunately, there are a number of signs by which the identification of the gender of ducks is possible, including at an early age.
According to the structure of the reproductive system (Japanese method)
This identification method is considered the most reliable, and it is applicable to both immature young and adults - it is more difficult to apply to them due to the weight and activity of the bird. To determine the gender in this way, you must perform the following steps:
- the bird is placed in the palm, with the belly up;
- fingers free hand slightly open the cloaca of the bird and turn it from the side of the tail;
- the drake has a spiral penis, the female has flat round growths.
According to outward appearances
External signs by which a drake can be distinguished from a duck are as follows:
- the plumage of males is often noticeably brighter than that of females, but this is not typical for all breeds;
- the forehead of the drake is wider, more massive, its frontal bone expands in the form of a triangle (the female has a trapezoid expansion);
- the male has a growth on its beak (this is not observed in all breeds);
- in the tail of the drake there are feathers twisted into a ring, ducks are deprived of such feathers;
- the neck of drakes is longer than that of females, in addition, males usually have a tuft of feathers on the neck;
- males are about 1.5-2 times heavier than ducks.
By behavior
Another way to identify the sex of representatives of the duck population is to determine the behavior of drakes and ducks. So, when a duck flock moves, the ducks move in front, the males stay behind and slightly to the side. In addition, males are distinguished by pugnacity, they may conflict with other males for access to the feeder or for the female.
grandfather method
Determination of gender by voice is not a very reliable method. However, usually females often quack, their quacking is sharp and loud. Drakes make sounds noticeably less often, mostly prefer to hiss, sometimes turning to a low whistle. 
There is another folk method sex determination. To do this, the duckling is gently taken by the paws and lowered upside down. If he begins to actively break out, then it is considered that this is a drake. If it hangs quietly, it is assumed to be a duck. There are different opinions about the reliability of this method, but it clearly does not provide 100% reliable identification.
Gender identification of ducklings
It is advisable to determine the sex of the bird early, when it is still a duckling. To do this, use the following methods:
- according to the structure of the reproductive system (the method is described above, it can be applied already to one-day-old chicks and it is the most reliable);
- by the behavior of a duckling held upside down by its paws (see description above);
- according to the characteristic behavior of males (this method is also described above);
- ultrasonic method - by selecting the frequency of the ultrasound generated by the ultrasonic unit, it is determined which ultrasound the males run to and which the females run to.
It is very important to determine the gender of the duck in a timely manner - this allows you to optimize the maintenance of this poultry, increase its productivity, and plan the further development of the economy. There are a number of ways to determine sex, some of them are quite reliable and at the same time are simple. But at the same time, it must be remembered that there are breeds of ducks for which not all identification methods are suitable.
