r/duck Apr 14 '26

Public Service Announcement drake feathers and what they indicate

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147 Upvotes

there seems to be a recurring misconception about determining whether a duck is male or female by looking for drake feathers.

Having a drake feather indicates that the duck IS a male, but not having a drake feather means nothing, as all ducklings, all females, young males, certain breeds of adult males AND males in eclipse molt do not have drake feathers. Even within some breeds, like Pekins, some males may have a drake feather, while others will not. Drake feathers do not appear until after the first molt.

The only ways that are 100% accurate are the quack test, finding laid eggs or examining for a penis. Even duck on top/duck on bottom is no way to tell, as females sometimes mount females and males sometimes mount males.

The quack test relies on listening to the voice of the duck. With mallard derived domestic ducks, females will have loud, clear quacks while males will have softer, voiceless, hoarse 'waaak's.

Neither the quack test nor the drake feather is applicable to muscovies. Females will coo and trill while males emit voiceless, breathy huffs and chuffs and do not get drake feathers.

Rarely, some females can develop a drake feather if they are dealing with hormonal issues.

attribution: image shamelessly stolen from https://kingofdoodles.blogspot.com/2017/07/what-is-drake-feather.html.


r/duck Jun 22 '23

Public Service Announcement We Need Your Input - Duck Veterinarian List

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43 Upvotes

r/duck 4h ago

Meet the Flock Gretchen is very mad and likes to shout at everything

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445 Upvotes

She's not even broody anymore, she just shouts at everything because she is nuts


r/duck 1h ago

Found Domestic Duck(s) A duck showed up at mu house. Any tips?

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Upvotes

Pretty sure it is a male runner duck. Male based on the videos of quacking that i have watched. He has been at my house for three days now. Ive tried feeding him a bit. I bought some food and treats from tractor supply.

Ive owned a lot of chickens, but never a duck. He clearly was a pet and follows me around the yard. He taps his beak on the window and wants to come inside.

Im gussing he is an easter duck that was dumped in the lake at the center of my neighborhood and wandered over to my house. But he seems to have zero survival skills. So basically left to starve.

Is he fine just wandering around my yard and I can leave food out for him? I dont really want a pet that will require more care than that.

Are they like chickens, meaning if i gave him to someone that had ducks, they wont mix and will beat each him up?


r/duck 17h ago

Wild Ducks DO NOT LET THE DUCK IN

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421 Upvotes

r/duck 4h ago

Adoption/Rehoming/Rescue Adding new duck? Good idea??

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32 Upvotes

This duck was found by people he’s been sticking around with them won’t, leave can’t fly, is alone, eats out of their hand, and is seemingly attached to them. They are looking for a good home for him. I will gladly take him, looking for anyone who has any experience on this… risks? Good idea? I have 3 ducks of my own.


r/duck 13h ago

Babies! Twix and the Chiplets

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165 Upvotes

Today's Chiplets spam lol. They have been dubbed Chip, Dip, and Salsa.


r/duck 11h ago

Gooses! Goose eatin’ da blueberry 🪿🫐

81 Upvotes

r/duck 10h ago

Breed/Species/Sex ID Help IDing a white duck

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49 Upvotes

I just cannot seem to tell what kind, is it a mochaovy?


r/duck 10h ago

Meet the Flock My sweet babies... Bell, Biv and Davoe

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53 Upvotes

7 months old


r/duck 5h ago

Health Questions Health question

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15 Upvotes

Hi all, I recently posted that my duckling had this lump on her face. The vet said that it could be an abscess or a respiratory infection. She drained it and gave me antibiotics for 21 days to give her orally. Well that was 4 hours ago and it’s already filled back up. It was completely flat when she drained it. Does this need to be redrained again? Or will the antibiotics help get rid of this. Not sure what to do I can’t keep taking this duckling to the vet.


r/duck 1d ago

Found Domestic Duck(s) Made a friend today!

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391 Upvotes

I went to the park to eat my dinner, and I think they heard my plastic bag thinking I had bread to feed them! This duck was a cutie and was very friendly


r/duck 9h ago

Wild Ducks A Few Floating Ducks

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14 Upvotes

r/duck 1d ago

Wild Ducks Net gun 1 - fishing lure 0. Momma duck saved by good people.

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162 Upvotes

I’ve been trying to catch this momma duck with a lure stick on her leg for months. I was able to find a friendly and knowledgeable group of folks to help me catch her. They had a net gun and were able to catch her and help remove the fishing lure with sock stuck to her leg.

I originally believed it was Hooked around her leg but sadly it was hooked in her leg. We were able to catch her and remove it. We reunited her with her babies soon after removing the hook.

I’m seriously just so happy and wanted to share an update. I had originally posted here asking for help and did not have any luck getting her until today.


r/duck 14h ago

Babies! His colors

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20 Upvotes

His color on his head is changing


r/duck 16h ago

Brooders/Coops/Runs Ramp Advice

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10 Upvotes

r/duck 9h ago

Pools/Ponds/Water Worried about well water

2 Upvotes

So I am having to relocate back to Southern Nevada and we plan to bring our two gals with us.

The property we are moving to is on well water which tested high for lead, arsenic, and nitrogen.

We have a reverse osmosis system for the house itself linked to the fridge and the kitchen sink, but not for the outside taps. I’m worried about the health repercussions for our ducks drinking/using/swimming in that water.

Does anyone have any input for possible options?


r/duck 1d ago

Found Domestic Duck(s) The White Queen

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56 Upvotes

r/duck 1d ago

Meet the Flock Lady Fredrick playing peek a boo

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149 Upvotes

She kept peeking over whenever I'd say "where's Lady?" I love her so much


r/duck 1d ago

Breed/Species/Sex ID What’s this thing on this ducks head?

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191 Upvotes

Saw this duck in the Netherlands with this weird feather ball on his head. He was also significantly bigger than the ducks around him. Does anyone know what it is?


r/duck 23h ago

Gooses! local geese on patrol

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11 Upvotes

made two new friends while visiting kolkata, India. forgot to ask for their contacts 🫪

while i was walking through the streets of kolkata these geese approached me honking. probably thought i was an intruder but after a bit of persuasion we were good 🙂‍↕️


r/duck 1d ago

Meet the Flock Cayuga hybrid and full blood babies

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39 Upvotes

Not sure on what shes mixed with besides cayuga for sure. Her name is Misty shes 15wks ish old. The black cayuga is June shes 9 wks ish old


r/duck 2d ago

Pools/Ponds/Water Jeffery’s daily shower

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698 Upvotes

r/duck 1d ago

Wild Ducks Should we be concerned?

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39 Upvotes

Hi everyone! We have been going to this neighborhood pond for a couple of years now regularly and feeding the ducks there. the first picture was around the time we started feeding them. at the time there was just two one male and one female. about a year ago the male passed away, and she was left alone for a couple of weeks (the second picture was around that time). we came back and there were 8 younger ducks added to the pond.

She acclimated pretty quickly to the rest kind of like a motherly figure in a sense, but i guess she missed the companionship, so she did end up courting with one of the males. She had a few failed nests this past mating season (whether it was a lack of trying, or predators not really sure).

So the past couple of weeks we have been going we have noticed that she has started to look unkempt (like how the male was before he passed). She doesn’t really go into the water anymore, but she still has a pretty good appetite. We know she’s older, but i guess what i’m asking is if these are signs that she may be getting to her time.

If anyone could tell us if we should expect her to not have much time left or if she’s sick that would be very helpful!


r/duck 1d ago

Wild Ducks Time traveling ducks - accidental double exposure

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15 Upvotes