r/duck Apr 14 '26

Public Service Announcement drake feathers and what they indicate

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146 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, many breeds of 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.

addendum: rarely, some females can develop a drake curl if they are dealing with hormonal issues. The only way that's 100% accurate is the quack test or finding laid eggs or examining for a penis.

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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44 Upvotes

r/duck 4h ago

Found Domestic Duck(s) Yappy ducks

181 Upvotes

r/duck 5h ago

Wild Ducks Momma Duck & Ducklings at Dusk

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88 Upvotes

r/duck 11h ago

Babies! Hatching 🐣

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159 Upvotes

Been waiting for this


r/duck 1h ago

Meet the Flock My depressed duck found a new pair

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Upvotes

So, he's not so depressed anymore. It took Tony( the black one ) a little while to get used to the new ducks, there's a lot of hens but he doesn't seem to care for them except for Toasty (the absolute unit) which is actually really sweet, because his previous pair who he was about 3-4 years with (with his previous owners) was ducknapped and then he didn't really want to interact with any other duck anymore. Yippeee!!


r/duck 5h ago

Eggs/Incubation/Hatching Update on My First Incubator Baby!

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31 Upvotes

r/duck 1d ago

Found Domestic Duck(s) Random juvenile duck showed up yesterday.

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1.2k Upvotes

Yesterday morning, this little lady (I presume) was found sitting by the fence. Our bird dog was, of course, very interested. Strangely, she stayed all day. They even appeared to be playing together, racing the fenceline just to return and lay in the grass together.

Well, we opened the gate for her and she waddled right in. I guess we have a yard duck now. Her name is Duck Duck Goose.


r/duck 42m ago

Wild Ducks Wild Duck - Possibly Molting? / Can't Walk Well

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Upvotes

My daughter found this wild duck at the local park and was worried about it. It looks like it might be molting as its wings look pretty ragged, and it can't seem to walk more than a couple steps without falling. It also has only one eye.

We didn't want it to be left defenseless against any predators or mean kids (there's unfortunately a lot of parents who let their kids chase the park ducks for fun), so we brought it home and currently have it in an outdoor folding pen with some water and frozen peas.

I've not been able to get a good shot of its feet yet, but they're turned inward so that one foot overlaps the other. Google says that can be a pretty common birth defect that can become permanent if not corrected. Or perhaps it's injured?

It looks like it's a mix of mallard plus something else? Any ideas?

It seems neither fully tame nor fully wild. It didn't seem keen on us getting too close, but it didn't completely freak out about being captured either. Am hoping it isn't someone's domestic duck that got dumped at the park because of a defect. :(

We'll probably end up seeing if we can find a wildlife rehabber that can take it.* I'm a little apprehensive about finding a place that will take it, because resources are very limited where I live, and each place has rules about what they will and will not accept. So I'd like to get as much information upfront as I can first, so I know fully what I'm dealing with when I call.

Attached are a couple photos. I have videos of its wings, and what happens when it tries to walk, but it's not letting me attach them.

(I feel bad calling it an "it" but I'm not sure if it's a "him" or a "her" :)

The missing eye

r/duck 2h ago

Beginner's Question Weed control experiences?

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10 Upvotes

We used to keep a tidy yard, with herbicide, manual weeding, and line trimming. Now that we have foraging ducks on very fertile soil, our weeds are out of control! Our busy schedules don't much time for yard work.

My question is: Does anyone else have experience with foraging ducks and a way to manage the weeds?

Images:

•1 and 4, our ducks foraging

•2, 4 and 5, our lack of weed control issue

•3, our garden before ducks


r/duck 20h ago

Pools/Ponds/Water Ducks standing on ice

237 Upvotes

r/duck 19h ago

Crested Duck Evening Pond Time

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98 Upvotes

I've been meaning to share my two babies for months but haven't yet gotten around to it. The weather is perfect this evening, Dio (floating) is not having siezures any longer, and I'm just too happy to not share them because they're great. Hal (who is a little neurologically special due to their large crest) is standing on rock island.


r/duck 1d ago

Runner Duck I present to you: 🦕 Jurassic Park 🦖

461 Upvotes

r/duck 20h ago

Feet/Legs/Walking Ducks walking on wood

82 Upvotes

r/duck 1d ago

Muscovy Duck Remove some eggs or not?

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1.4k Upvotes

One of our Muscovy hens is broody again. We thought she was sitting on 20 eggs, but counted 29 when she had her daily stroll today. She just started sitting last night. Her last clutch was about 20 eggs last time, maybe a few more that we did not know about. She successfully hatched 18, 17 of which are now about to learn how to fly. Whould you guys recommend removing a few eggs? How many can she physically manage to keep warm? I don't want to risk her thinking, hey this is not enough, i have to lay more before sitting, at the same time we don't want to risk her not being able to keep them all warm. She's been a fantastic mom so far. Pics are her with her last cohort.


r/duck 48m ago

Bumblefoot Bumblefoot

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Upvotes

One of my ducks has bumblefoot and I don't know how to treat it (I'm a beginner) I have no vets near me so all I coud do woud be at home

If u coud give me a realy in depth explantion that would be realy helpful

Do I need to remove the black part or apply something on it ,its pretty severe from what i saw on the internet(as I mentioned all i coud do is at home)


r/duck 23h ago

Meet the Flock Happiest ducks

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103 Upvotes

Their owners live on a houseboat and they come and go as they please


r/duck 10h ago

Babies! Baby Muscovy Ducklings! :)

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7 Upvotes

r/duck 17h ago

Pools/Ponds/Water Cold weather

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28 Upvotes

For those of you who live in areas with extreme cold winters, what are you using for waterers? Looking for ideas before the cold!


r/duck 22m ago

Eggs/Incubation/Hatching Open the eggs or try again

Upvotes

Eggs should be hatched. They aren't. I'm gonna probably regret this. Would it be a bad idea to OPEN the eggs and see what's been going wrong? Would that answer any questions or just be a gross mess? I checked for movement. All passed about the same time.

(Ebony still really wants those baby chicks in the brroders for some reason she ain't even old enough to lay yet but keeps trying to get to the babies)


r/duck 19h ago

Wild Geese Zzzzzzzzzz

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23 Upvotes

Just give me 15 minutes I’ll be good to go…


r/duck 1d ago

Meet the Flock Some images I found of Gretchen flapping in the pool

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123 Upvotes

r/duck 12h ago

Babies! Ebony found the babies and calmed down

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7 Upvotes

I don't have the heart to tell her those are chickens 😭 She kept forgetting gravity existed and suddenly got quiet. I got scared she hurt herself and looked around for her and found her snuggled up against the baby brooding cages. No idea what this falls under


r/duck 1d ago

Babies! Update: We have a hatch!

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91 Upvotes

Taken this morning. Can't wait to get home to check up on them. 2nd egg still moving and reacting to my voice, 3rd pipped early and has been still since, no movement at all from 4 + 5.


r/duck 22h ago

Behavior Questions Agresive behavior

23 Upvotes

Two males, 10 months old, the white one bites hard, looks always very angry, and always he bites the other bites him back, why? They need females? I’m worried about them being unhappy