Duck and drake are representatives of the same species. How to distinguish them

Today, more and more people adhere to proper nutrition, preferring environmentally friendly products. Many are engaged in breeding ducks for the purpose of obtaining dietary meat, domestic eggs that do not contain GMOs and many other chemicals. It is very important to be able to determine the sex of the bird. Given that the duck and drake are representatives of the same species, not every novice in poultry farming can distinguish them. In fact, it's quite easy to do this if you know about the sex differences between birds. Poultry farmers and hunters decide this question very quickly and unmistakably.

Why distinguish a duck

All experienced farmers conduct their farming, necessarily dividing the bird by sex. This takes into account a number of points:

• Female ducks are completely non-controversial, unlike drakes.
• Males are endowed with strong immunity and are more resistant to various diseases.
• Male individuals gain weight much more quickly, and it is larger than females.
• When breeding a bird, it is necessary to maintain the ratio of-four ducks must necessarily be one drake. This is a very important condition for the productivity of eggs.

Differences in appearance

First of all, you can distinguish ducks from their plumage. Like many other birds, the female does not have a pronounced bright color, feathers are gray and dull in color. But males are gifted by nature with a very beautiful outfit, which helps them attract individuals of the opposite sex. A fairly long crest on the drake's head can be seen even from afar. For some domestic breeds, one-color color is characteristic - the male and female specimens can be completely white.

Another way to tell how to distinguish a drake is a bright wart on the beak, which is absent in females. It can also be recognized from the neck - it is wide in males, and ducks are more delicate and tender.

The head of the female is smaller and has a rounded shape, but in the drakes it is oblong.

The tail also has significant differences. If you look closely, you can see that the drake on it a few feathers are twisted up, and in females it is completely straight. This feature manifests itself since the third month.

The size of birds is also of great importance. The male is almost twice as large. If the female weighs about three kilograms, then even 5 kg is not the limit that the drake can achieve with good care. The photo below, this difference demonstrates very clearly.

However, it also happens that because of the diet or the conditions of detention, it is not always possible to determine the sex of ducks according to the characteristics listed above. It happens that females grow much more drakes.

How to distinguish females from drakes by behavior

There are some features in the actions of birds, directly dependent on their sex. In the pack there must be a dominant male. After watching him, you can easily identify the rest of the male, because they will not allow them to the feeder and constantly fight with them. And the women, on the contrary, pay special attention, skips ahead. Regardless of whether the ducks are in the air or on the water, the female is always in front, and the drake at a short distance ensures its safety.

Male difference in voice

It is not necessary to see a bird to determine its gender. It's enough to just listen. An experienced hunter knows how to distinguish a duck from a drake, even if you can not see the birds hiding in the reeds. The female quacks loudly, not embarrassed. The drake only emits a dull hiss and whistles.

Difference in genitals

On all the above signs it is possible to recognize the female from the male after reaching the chicks at least three months old. For daily ducklings, they are uncharacteristic. They can determine the male from the genitals. A very rare difference, which is absent in most other birds, is the drake - it is a pseudo-penis, capable of turning outward. On it it is possible to know the sex of the bird already a day after hatching. It is enough to stretch the skin around the cloaca a little, and direct it towards the tummy. If a spiral penis appears only two millimeters in length, then it's a drake, and the female will only see globular growths.

If you do this procedure at a very early date, and even for the first time, it is not always possible to distinguish, since the genitalia of chicks are very small. After a few weeks, they become larger, and then you can determine the sex with confidence.

How to select ducks for the tribe

Both drakes and females should have a good state of health, meet all norms of a certain kind: size, weight and color of feathers. Not allowed in breeding ducks are different deformations of the body.

In most breeds, puberty occurs only at six months of age. They begin to carry eggs, then sit them out and grow ducklings.

Not only the conditions of the maintenance of ducks, the quality of feed, but also the ratio of females and males affects the quality of eggs. Therefore, the ability to distinguish between a duck and a drake is one of the most important, which a beginner poultry breeder should acquire.