Basically, to determine the sex of your ducks, check their feather colors. Whether you grow or own ducks for pets, or for meat and egg production, you should be well-oriented that there are different varieties and breeds that come with distinct colors. One of the most common types is the mallard duck. Like any other breeds, you can determine the sex by observing their color appearance. Males have a vivid color and their heads are green. They also have a white ring around their necks. On the other hand, females have varieties of speckled brown. This is true for most breeds of ducks, with the males being more vivid in appearance than the female.
You should try to determine the sex of your ducks when they are fully mature since they have different colors when they are ducklings.
Aside from the color, the size of the duck can also help you in determining the sex of ducks. Some types of ducks are very similar in size, whether they are male and female, but in some breeds, it can be a great solution in determining sex. In common breeds such as the Mallard, the males (strictly, the drake) are larger than the female ducks. If you have this breed or something of a hybrid, looking at the shape can establish their gender.
When the ducks are about 2 months old, theres a great solution in determining the sex. Look at their tails. In their bottoms, there will be a prominent single feather that typically coils down in a very significant curl. This is known as the sex feather that is placed on all drakes (male ducks). This feather is present even after molting. Thus, the weather or the season will not put off the determination of their sex.
Another way of telling their sex is to listen to their voices. Most sex of different types of ducks can be determined based on the intensity (volume) and pitch of their quacks. The Call and the East Indie ducks are well known for their voice ranges. The females have a very loud and distinctive quack that can easily surpass the quacks of the drakes. Drakes of this breed have a softer and harsher quack. It can even be mistaken to be a sound of a rooster. The variation in their quacks can be determined if the ducks are about a month old. This is one of the earliest known methods of determining the sex of a duck without using a vent.
Venting is a process of accurately distinguishing the sex of ducks that are only done by farmers and experts. This process is very difficult so they should not be performed by amateurs. To do this, you have to hold the ducks upside down and expose their genital vent. Female ducks will have cone-like genitals.
On the other hand, drakes have an extended or elongated organ. It takes a trained touch and eye to perform venting, and even trained farmers can be confused sometimes.
