Features and distinctive features of the drake
Every person, even not related to farming and poultry breeding, knows that the drake and the duck are individuals of the opposite sex, belonging to the same species. Thus, the drake is a male duck, which is rather large in relation to the female. For example, the female of the common egg-meat breed of domestic duck reaches a maximum of 3.5 kg, while the male is able to grow up to 5.
Drake
Ducks are very popular with poultry farmers in our country. Few will say that they do not like large eggs with a large bright yolk or the tender meat of this bird. However, it is important for poultry farmers to be able to immediately recognize which sex the ducklings are, because for good egg production and selection, the ratio between females and males should be 4: 1. Anyone who has been breeding birds for several years will determine which sex the chick is, without much effort.
Sex determination in chicks
A male bird among the grown chicks can be identified even by a photo - and the child will cope with this. The cub of the drake is the owner of variegated plumage, while the feather of the female is gray and inconspicuous. But young growth begins to look like this at about 2 months. How to distinguish a drake from a duck when they are still just chicks?
The drake chick is more active. Anyone who lives in the village knows that if you raise the cub by the legs and leave it for some time in the upside down position, the female will be calm, and the male baby will turn his head and try to pull himself up to his feet. Of course, it is impossible to know for sure which sex the bird is, but there is still a certain probability.
The method that allows you to determine the sex of even a two-week-old cub with the greatest accuracy is the so-called "Japanese method". It consists in taking the duckling with the left hand so that the chick is turned with its head towards the person holding it, and then gently massage the cub's anal passage. To do this, slightly pull up the edge of the cloaca. If a small pseudopenis appears, a male cub is in front of you. In the female, a membrane-covered opening of the oviduct is found, located on the left side of the cloaca. On palpation - small rounded seals. In the same way, sex is determined in geese.
Pseudopenis is a distinctive feature of drakes, since most males of other poultry species, such as, for example, a rooster and a turkey, do not have it. This organ looks like a small fold up to 4 mm in size. Sometimes in a cub it can be found simply by pulling the tail towards the back. This and the Japanese methods give almost infallible results if you act carefully and correctly.
Differences between adult males
Distinguishing an adult male from a female in a duck family is not at all difficult. In addition to the fact that the drake is distinguished by its bright plumage, it is also much larger than a duck, weighing twice as much.
Also, drakes differ from females in the following ways:
- A triangular beak with an outgrowth at the tip; a duck has a trapezoidal beak.
- Massive and irregularly shaped heads with an extension from the forehead, in contrast to the rounded and small heads of females.
- The muscles of the legs are more developed, just like the muscles of the back and wings, due to which their bodies are longer and larger in comparison with the bodies of females.
- Feathers at the tip of the tail curl upward, forming a ring in some breeds
- Drakes, unlike ducks, do not quack, but make peculiar hissing sounds and whistling sounds. The duck, with the help of its loud voice, calls for ducklings and attracts males during the mating season.
- Stable immunity - drakes are less susceptible to the influence of pathogenic bacteria and viruses, stay strong and healthy longer
- Aggressive behavior. Males often try to fly away or escape from the master's house, fighting for leadership.
The color of male ducks during the mating season
Drakes are distinguished by their bright color, which reaches its peak in winter and spring, when ducks form pairs. So, for example, the male mallard, the progenitor of the domestic duck, has a remarkable dark green with iridescence color of the head, ending on the neck with a thin ring strip. The back and wings are gray with brown markings, a black upper tail, a blue or purple mirror in the upper part of the wings. After molting, the drake differs from the gray duck only in its brown breast and yellow beak. It is better not to leave males in the same territory with layers also because the duck is a very shy mother, especially when the ducklings have just hatched and every chick is on her account.
The male muscovy duck is most often dark in color with light inserts, but there are also absolutely white individuals. A distinctive feature of the drakes of this breed are corals - abundant growths of red on the head.
In the mandarin duck, a small forest bird, the drake has a distinctive crest on its head, a contrasting golden brown back, and wings with white and purple stripes.
Drake behavior during mating
During the mating season, ducks and drakes of common breeds are equally active. The ratio of ducks to drakes is 4 to 1, especially in the musk breed. Ducks sexually mature earlier, so the male should be 1-1.5 months older. In order to reproduce the drake, it is recommended to use it for 3 breeding cycles, after which the birds are no longer so good for procreation.
In no case should you force the molting process in males! The drake can lose potency and will not trample the ducks and fertilize the eggs. As a result, it will not leave offspring - and how much effort of breeders will be wasted! To avoid such an unpleasant situation, after laying, it is better to transplant it to recently molted ducks.
Often, male muscovy duck are used to breed the so-called mulard. For this, it is necessary that the female and the male match each other in color. That is, if a musky male is gray, then the female of an ordinary breed selected for him should also be gray. But it should be borne in mind that musky drakes are very indifferent to the execution of "marital duty", especially with females of other breeds, so most of the eggs may be unfertilized. There are no more than 4 ducks for one such drake.