Confused ducks...?? Help!!

[kathyd]

Hi, need help, feeling very bemused.... Briefly: we had 3 ducks, 1 boy and 2 girls (khaki campells). One of the girls died and we bought 2 more girls to replace her. Mr Duck jumped them repeatedly for several days and things calmed down. He now spends most of his time with the newbs, claiming his conjugal rights regularly from one of them. They look more like him than like the other female now they've grown their adult plumage (now around 7 months), but they quack loudly and frequently like females, not like the male. BUT, today I've watched the 2 newbs 'flirting', head bobbing, jumping each other. Or one jumping the other anyway. Mr Duck doesn't seem bothered.

Can anyone clarify please? If they're both male, why do they quack like girls? And if they're girls then why do they a) look like boys and b) hump each other and c) why does Mr Duck find them so attractive? Do we have a problem here that I need to know about??

Thanks.

[Nicos]

I've seen my young female chooks playing piggyback...and the female bunnies.
I think it's probably one of those things... I'd just keep an eye on them

[kathyd]

Really? I've not noticed my chickens doing it... But watching the local cows can be quite entertaining, lol . I wouldn't have thought twice about it to be honest, except that the 2 new girls are noticeably bigger than Poppy, the original female, and their colouring is definitely more like the male. Even their beaks are a blue/grey rather than Poppy's very girly pink/grey. Anyway, I'll just keep my fingers crossed for now and assume they're experimenting . Thx xx

[Nicos]

Be funny if they turn out to be submissive males... Could you eat them?????

[kathyd]

Nooooo!! I suppose if they're submissive and they don't all want to play leapfrog with Poppy, maybe it won't matter... It's not like we need the eggs, I just get so much fun from watching them all

[Nicos]

Highly entertaining from what you say!!!!

[Scarlet]

I just get so much fun from watching them all

[Scarlet]

I think it's just a pecking order thing. Chickens do it....some big dog did it to my Stan on the weekend too!

[vixylix]

I dont know the answer but the question made me smile

[veggiechicken]

The puppies are at it all the time, with each other and old Mary. then Bess jumps the pups
At what age do ducks start to lay? Before 7 months, I would have thought.

[Nicos]

I've just been doing a bit of research for you.
The males have small curled feathers at the base/side of their tail.
The females don't have any at all.
Does that help a bit?

[kathyd]

Nicos - Thanks . Mr Duck does have the curly feather yes, but I don't think it appeared until quite late on. The 2 newbies don't have that (yet). I'm hoping they just haven't finished getting their adult feathers - there are a few more on the water today, so maybe they're still moulting!

VC - We were told they laid at 6 months, but it was a bit later than that with Poppy so I'm not too worried, especially since it's (theoretically!) winter at the moment. But an egg would certainly be reassuring! Lol .

[kathyd]

I ....some big dog did it to my Stan on the weekend too!

And Stan would be.... ??? The mind boggles!

[Zelenina]

I think female ducks are all bisexual. The ones I had used to take turns treading each other, so don't worry about that. If they quack I don't think they can be males because they have a different voice. Kind of a twizzle twizzle sound. Not sure about the plumage but I've seen piccies on the internet showing the males and females looking quite similar, both with dark heads. The male should have a curl in his tail which females don't have. Why the other female looks different I don't know. Maybe there are different colour strains, or maybe she isn't a pure bred Campbell. Can you show us any photos?

[kathyd]

I'll try to take some up to date photos tomorrow Zelenia. The newbies have the biggest quacks I've ever heard, that's why I've been convinced they were girls despite their colouring! Until today anyway .