How long does it take for Mallard babies to get their male or female plumage? I bought 6 hatchlings about 2 months ago and they are all hen feathered right now. Two of them have green beaks....Are they hens or have the males just not colored yet?
Thanks!

Do either have curly tail feathers (just a couple, not all), and what about their voices? Do they sound the same? Or does one sound like something is stuck in it's throat?

No curly feathers or any obvious signs.

If they both quack loud and obnoxiously, and not like a hoarse whisper, then yes, I'd say they were both ducks (hens).

I just found three abandoned baby mallards. I've been feeding them bread and mosquitoes. Is that a healthy thing to feed them, or will it harm them? I was going to let them go at the end of the summer if they are big enough. Will they know to fly South?

Can you tell what sex baby mallards are if they don't quack yet? How?

Male mallards have two curly tail feathers.It usually takes a couple of months for them to get their colored feathers. Drakes (males) have brighter colored beakes than the hens (females) . I feed all my ducks a multi- grain scratch feed. They also like worms, small ones for the babies, ants,all kinds of bugs. For a special treat we give them minnies,small fish used for bait.My ducks love bread, but I've heard they shouldn't have anything with preservatives in it. I don't know if this is true or not.

How old does a mallard hen have to be to lay eggs. If the ducks mated, how long after do I expect eggs.

We have ducks that like to congregate on our carport and walkways. Is their any safe way, without fencing, to keep the ducks off the concrete? Any spray or dust or smell or anything the ducks do not like we can place to keep them from pooping everywhere?

Our female mallard duck injured one leg several weeks ago. She limps pretty badly, I'm guessing it's broken. We put her in a cage right away to protect her from the other animals. Since then, she's laid 8 eggs. At first, she wasn't laying on them, but now she's definitely setting. Do you think the eggs will hatch? And is there anything we can do about her leg? I hate to keep her in that cage for too long.

Is it unusual for male mallards to try and mate with chickens?? We had two of these bad boys, got rid of one, because they were being so mean to our hens. It's better now with only one male, but he still tries to mate with the chickens.

Alc if her leg is broken and you don't have access to a vet you could carefully splint it-(get all the things you need ready and a helper and try and keep it as calm as poss, low light ? dusk? might be a good time) if it's a clean break, protect the leg with a layer of cotton wool or wadding then use cut down popsicle sticks as splints and tape them on with sticking plaster..just tight enough to hold them still ...and not so tight that you cut off circulation..then it's rest and quiet. I've had a duck with a broken wing recover ok ...So don't give up
Good luck
(wild Male mallards have a reputation for being very passionate and they've been known to damage and even kill ducks if they're in a few ducks/ lot of males situation...sounds like they're not too choosey about species either)

I have a baby Mallard, about a month or so old. It looks like a hen, as far as the feathers that are out on the body. But it has dark green feathers coming out on the head? There are no curly feathers, the bill and feet are both a brownish color, and it still makes a "peeping" noise. Can anyone tell me if this is a male or female? Do females have any green feathers anywhere on their body?

No, females don't have any green on their bodies. Month old mallards shouldn't be getting the adult plumage yet. Are you sure they're mallards? I raised a pair from week-old ducklings, and both got hen colored feathers so I figured I had 2 hens. My dad's friend who was a hunter said that you can't tell them apart for many months. He said the one with the greenish bill was the drake and the other with the yellow bill was the hen. Another way to tell is by picking it up when it stops peeping. If it quacks loudly, it's a hen. If it has a wispery quack, it's a drake. Lo and behold, four months later, the one with a green bill began to get green around the eyes and the yellow-billed one began to quack. When I first got them, one was noticably bigger than the other. I thought that one was the drake because roosters (chickens) will be larger than the hens so the same must be true for ducks. Well, raising ducks isn't like math so you can't go and apply one theory to something else. The large one, who I named Chester, became the yellow-billed quacking hen, and the smaller, Chloe, is the drake. Curly feathers will come when they are nearly completely drake-feathered.

I recently bought 2 mallard ducklings at a local feed supply store. My thoughts were that as they matured they would come and go as they pleased. I do not want to have them as house pets, but I am wondering if they will be able to follow there instincts and fly south for the winter. We live in northern MN, and I don't know what we would do with them in the winter time here. These ducklings are approx 1 week old, will a 75 watt light bulb be enough for them outside, in a dog kennel. I have pine shavings for their bedding and proper food and water also1

Any information would be helpful...Thanks

They should fly away (mine did), but don't expect them to return. The light bulb should be enough since it's warmish here in Wi, I expect Mn to be the same.

A Mallard is in the process of laying eggs in a flower garden next to our garage. Today a magpie found the nest while Mrs. Mallard was out. (Mrs. Mallard leaves each day and returns the next to lay another egg).
Is there anything we can do to ward off the magpie so Mrs. Mallard and ducklings have a shot?

Hi, I live on a golf course and I have 12 mallards. I was wondering if there was any way that I could train them to stay in a certain spot. They love to gather at this one pond, and t is a safe plac for them. But then they also like to waddle across the street to my house. I am worried that as more people move in, they will be in greater danger of getting hit by a car, also any tips on mallards would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Howdy Steph! I'm gonna come see your ducks again, and we need to go riding! That would be soooo fun! :)
Luv Ya!
~Big Roost~