She’s a girl, yes. Duck hens are crazy little things. Very normal for them to play-mount each other.
The male plumage comes in after 2 months, and the drake feather usually closer to 3 months. If she were male, she’d have all the plumage by now.
I’m not sure if the Dad is considered Snowy or not, looks like he has a blue gene. Mom seems a bit light too, I’m not sure. I’m not the best with color ID.
Males tend to get dark heads and solid, pale bills, yes.. Just guessing, I’d say A & C male, B & D female, but it is early.
I would go by...
A duck’s version of friendliness is not the same as other animals. Ducks are small, prey animals, so they are naturally against being approached or touched, as those actions make them think you’re a predator.
They can, however, learn to come when called, follow you around, eat from your hand...
Before lockdown, what was your temperature & humidity, and are you sure it was accurate?
Sounds like they’re just a bit early. Ducklings are slower than chicks, usually taking 1-2 days from pip to hatch. I even had a few who took over 2 days. I’d guess yours will hatch Day 26 or 27.
I have a Production African, probably most similar to the Brown Chinese. As well as a Buff goose.
I would not assume that the geese will “guard” your sister’s flock. They are fantastic alarms, but any guarding they do will be to defend their own. And, the guarding itself is more bluff than...
Having more duck hens will definitely help, yes, but be aware it’s not a 100% guarantee that he’ll be deterred.
I personally think they should be kept completely separate. Or at least have a back up plan to separate in case it’s needed.
Possibly starting over.. You could attempt to move them, but she may not accept them. Assuming you have predators there, it could be dangerous for her to continue without shelter.
It most likely would not matter. Runner males are a fine size for any hen, big or small. And all domestic ducks (besides Muscovy) are descended from Mallards, so they can socialize with each other very well.
That attitude change is 100% normal. Puffed up, head pulled in, mouth open, complaining loud, tail wagging.. They pull out their downy feathers and use them to build their nest. They’ll huff, hiss, quack, maybe even lunge and bite, when approaching their nest.
My friendliest hen has gone broody...
You could purchase sexed ducklings, but you’d need to wait ‘til they’re mature themselves to be safely introduced to him, which would take many months.
Adult hens might be best, if you can find them. I recommend 4-5 girls per boy.
For introduction, you start with a fence between them for at...
I believe the yellow one is a Buff Orpington / Fawn & White Runner instead, I can’t quite tell which.
1 Rouen, yes. For the darker 3, I’d say Cayugas or Dark Campbells.
Maybe 2 girls, 1 boy after all! The loud quack & high pitched chatter are girl sounds. The soft, raspy, wap-wap is your boy. I see your male also has his adult plumage coming in - the dark line around his bill, and a few grey body feathers.