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This article was co-written by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott is a veterinarian with over thirty years of experience. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 and worked as a veterinary surgeon for 7 years. Then, Dr. Elliott worked as a veterinarian in a clinic for over a decade.
There are 15 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 31,710 times.
The duck is a waterfowl that usually lives near rivers, lakes, and swamps. [1] X Sources of study Depending on the species, the differences between male and female ducks may not be obvious. However, your ability to distinguish male and female ducks will be better if you know what to watch and listen for.
Steps
Color, vocalization and gender feather recognition
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Observe duck feathers. During the mating season, the male ducks will have more vibrant feathers to seduce a mate. [2] X Source of Research[3] X Source of Research After the mating season, the male ducks lose their feathers and lose their brilliance, looking like a hen. [4] X Research Sources
- The Mallard Duck is sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females have different appearances. The female has brown and rather dull plumage, while the male has a colorful purple band on the wings and iridescent multicolored plumage.
- In the Canvasback, the male has white or light gray plumage. The female is gray-brown. [5] X Research Sources
- In Wood Duck, the male has gray feathers with blue streaks on the wings during mating season. The female’s plumage is usually grayish brown. [6] X Research Sources
- Both male and female Mottled Ducks have the same coat color, so it is difficult to tell the difference based on feather color alone. [7] X Research Sources
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Observe the color of the speculum. The color of the beak is another feature that distinguishes male and female ducks. In many duck species, their beaks do not usually change color during the mating season, so this feature remains the same throughout the year.
- In blue-necked ducks, the male’s beak is bright yellow, and the female’s beak is brown and orange. [8] X Trusted Source The Cornell Lab of Ornithpogy Go to Source[9] X Research Source
- The empty Mottled Duck’s bill ranges from olive green to yellow. The female’s beak is brown to orange with dark spots. [10] X Research Source
- The Wood Duck has a red bill with a yellow patch underneath. [11] X Research Source
- During the mating season, the Ruddy Duck’s beak turns light blue. [12] X Research Source
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Look at the size of the duck. In all duck species, the male is usually larger than the female. In addition to their larger size, males of the Blue-necked Duck, Rouen, and Welsh Harlequin also have larger heads and thicker necks than females. [13] X Research Source
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Observe the feather curl near the duck’s tail. Male ducks will have a feather that curls up near the tail, called a ‘sex feather.’ This feather is clearly visible in male ducks from 2-4 months of age and remains after they shed their feathers. [14] X Research Source[15] X Research Source
- Female ducks have no sex feathers. [16] X Research Source
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Hear the sound of ducks. Female ducks often squawk loudly. Male ducks are usually low-pitched and hoarse. If you have a duck as a pet and can easily touch it, you can gently grasp the duck’s tail until it squeaks. [17] X Research Source
- The sound of ducks can help you distinguish male and female ducks from 1 month old. [18] X Research Sources
- In the Muscovy duck, the female has a vibrato or hum, and the male makes a very low sound and breathes (sounds like ‘huch-uch-uch’). [19] X Research Source
- The female Gray Teal duck makes a cluck sound, a distinguishing feature from the male. [20] X Research Source
Observe the duck’s acupoint
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Place the duck upside down on the table. Acupoint testing is another method to determine the sex of ducks. This method is used to distinguish the sex of ducks in which the male and female have similar plumage, but is also used to distinguish 12 day old ducklings. [21] X Research Sources Acupressure testing is a difficult technique to perform; If you find it difficult, you can ask someone more experienced to check for you. [22] X Research Source
- When placing the duck on the table, keep the breast up and the feet facing you. The duck’s tail should protrude from the edge of the table so that the duck can fold its tail down for you to examine. [23] X Trusted Source Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Go to Source[24] X Research Source
- If you don’t have a firm surface on which to place the duck, you can kneel down and place the duck on your leg so that its tail can fold over your knee. [25] X Trusted Source Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Go to source
- This method is more difficult when testing ducklings, so you should have a professional do it.
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Identify the duck’s cloaca. The acupoint is a small outer hole near the duck’s tail. The duck’s reproductive and reproductive tract ends at the vent. Use your finger to dig through the duck’s feathers to locate the external cloaca. [26] X Research Sources
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Mark the cloaca and genitals. Use your index finger to bend the duck’s tail down, the middle and ring fingers push the other part of the duck’s tail up in the opposite direction, then place two thumbs on either side of the cloaca and slowly separate the two thumbs from each other. [27] X Research Source
- Be gentle when trying to point out the duck’s cloaca and genitals. The duck can be seriously injured if you press too hard.
- Another way to expose the cloaca and genitals is to insert your finger about 1cm deep into the cloaca and rotate the finger to relax the sphincter that closes the cloaca. [28] X Trusted Source Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Go to the source When the sphincter relaxes, you can use two thumbs to separate the walls of the cloaca.
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Identify the reproductive organs in the cloaca. By tracing a duck’s cloaca and genitals, you can determine whether it’s a male or a female. The male duck has a penis sticking out of the cloaca. [29] X Research Source Female ducks will have oviduct openings in the cloaca. [30] X Research Source
- Immature male ducks have a small and uncovered penis, adult male ducks have a larger and covered penis. [31] X Research Source
Advice
- A duck’s color will change from infancy to adulthood, so it’s easier to determine the sex of a duck by feather color once it’s fully grown. [32] X Research Source
- Both males and females have a blue patch on the wing (called the wing eye) and a white border. [33] X Trusted Source The Cornell Lab of Ornithpogy Go to source
- In some duck species such as the South American duck, the female has the same coloration as the male. [34] X Research Sources
Warning
- The point test method is not applicable to newly hatched or 1-day-old ducks. Failure to do so can result in serious injury to the duck or death of the duck. [35] X Research Source
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This article was co-written by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott is a veterinarian with over thirty years of experience. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 and worked as a veterinary surgeon for 7 years. Then, Dr. Elliott worked as a veterinarian in a clinic for over a decade.
There are 15 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 31,710 times.
The duck is a waterfowl that usually lives near rivers, lakes, and swamps. [1] X Sources of study Depending on the species, the differences between male and female ducks may not be obvious. However, your ability to distinguish male and female ducks will be better if you know what to watch and listen for.
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