Need Pekin duck help


The Classroom @ The Coop: Waterfowl: Need Pekin duck help
By
Jessica (Jessi) on Thursday, June 3, 1999 - 05:45 pm:

I have had one duck of my own since Easter and I have now rescued 2 others off of the highway near me.

I know that I definetelly have one female out of the 3 as I found 2 eggs this morning.

My question for you all is how do I sex them and how do I tell how old the other 2 new ones are?

Thank you for your help with this.


By Anonymous on Thursday, June 3, 1999 - 10:31 pm:

Jessica,
The best way to sex ducks is to look for a little curled feather on the top of the ducks tail feathers.
If you see one, you have a drake. I have also noted that I can sex my pekin ducks by simply looking at their beaks. The drakes seem to have a darker orange beak than the hens do and their heads are larger and have a little more of a square look to them. I do not know how to age a duck, but from what I have noticed about my flock is that the younger ones (1-2 years old) look a lot better than the older ones do. Hopefully you have a drake and two hens.


By DOGWOOD_ACRES (Dogwood) on Tuesday, June 15, 1999 - 12:23 am:

Jessica,

You can also pick them up & listen to their voices by about 8-10 weeks of age. The females will have a loud harsh QUACK & the males will have a softer whispery quack.


By Pagirl67 on Saturday, January 20, 2001 - 07:51 am:

i have a 111/2 or 12 yr old pekin duck also did have a 11 yr old male he died suddenly i was wondering my female is fine so far should i have a blood test done even though she is doing good. she breathes hard through her mouth sometimes.


By Dr. Bruce Smith (Brucesmith) on Saturday, January 20, 2001 - 08:57 am:

We lost a Pekin to respiratory problems earlier this winter, shortly after we moved them inside the barn due to the cold. Ducks are made for cold, but there are limits even to that. If you are concerned, you might look to see if she is having any kind of repsiratory difficulty. Has the weather changed there recently? Are there sources of stress other than the loss of the drake? We brought our two sick ones inside (dryer atmosphere), medicated, and observed. We lost the one who was displaying serious breathing impairment, but the other one came through okay. We medicated with Lincomycin inside, and also put this in the barn duck water for about five days after they went back down. Hope this helps.


By Pagirl67 on Tuesday, January 23, 2001 - 04:30 pm:

i took her to the vet and he said she had a little respiratory infection and she is on baytril. is this good?


By Dr. Bruce Smith (Brucesmith) on Tuesday, January 23, 2001 - 07:17 pm:

If your vet recommended it after seeing the duck, then that should be fine. There are all kinds of antibiotics, and she should know what was best for your case. Let us know how she does on it, for future reference. Good luck!


By Pagirl67 on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 06:46 am:

i hope it helps she still breathes heavy in the morning but after i give her the medicine she seems to breath good. she sneezes too


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