Colour sexing Cayuga ducks

[albinosilver]

The person I got my Cayuga eggs from said that Cayugas can often be visually sexed as ducklings. He said he’s had 80% accuracy with this method.

Females: Solid jet black, thinner neck, overall smaller even as young hatchlings.

Males: Dark chocolate brown, often has white around face or chest, thicker neck and overall larger size. Adults will often develop yellow bills and orange feet.

Of the 6 ducklings I hatched, I did notice these traits in them. I ended up keeping 1 possible male and 1 possible female (based on this method). Now that they are almost 3 weeks old, the traits have become even more defined. The supposed female one is still smaller and more slender with a jet black colour. The supposed male is bulkier overall and has a lighter coloration with a tiny touch of white beside his bill.

Has anyone else ever noticed these things with their Cayuga ducklings? I’m curious to know if there’s any truth behind this.

 

[Knighstar679]

Oh that’s very interesting. I wonder if it holds true for Black East Indies too. They are very similar.

 

[chkva]

 

[DuckyDonna]

@Cayuga momma @CayugaJana

 

[albinosilver]

Here's what I mean by the colour difference between the two. The lighter coloured one is also about 10% larger.

 

[Cayuga momma]

My Male's bill and feet did turn orange after a few months, but they both looked the same as ducklings. No white on them as ducklings either.
This is my 5 week old female duckling now.

 

[Knighstar679]

Funny thing I learned off a Facebook group was that a “u” shape where the bill meets the face meant female and a “v” shape was a male. I haven’t had enough sexed ducks to know if it’s true but there are several people who swear by it.

 

[CayugaJana]

The person I got my Cayuga eggs from said that Cayugas can often be visually sexed as ducklings. He said he’s had 80% accuracy with this method.

Females: Solid jet black, thinner neck, overall smaller even as young hatchlings.

Males: Dark chocolate brown, often has white around face or chest, thicker neck and overall larger size. Adults will often develop yellow bills and orange feet.

Of the 6 ducklings I hatched, I did notice these traits in them. I ended up keeping 1 possible male and 1 possible female (based on this method). Now that they are almost 3 weeks old, the traits have become even more defined. The supposed female one is still smaller and more slender with a jet black colour. The supposed male is bulkier overall and has a lighter coloration with a tiny touch of white beside his bill.

Has anyone else ever noticed these things with their Cayuga ducklings? I’m curious to know if there’s any truth behind this.

I haven’t noticed on the chocolate vs black color. Although I have several right now. I’ll see if I can separate them from Momma without getting duck slapped..... will return in a bit.

 

[CayugaJana]

Most if not all my ducklings have a u shape. And I’m pretty sure I have at least 2 males. My adult male has a u shaped bill on his face as well. So it doesn’t work in my case. My male has a greenish bill and a slight orange tint in his legs. Both are part of the breed standard. If they have all orange legs, it’s considered a breed defect. The females should have all black legs as adults.

The sound of their voice after 3-4 weeks is still the best way for me to tell whether they are a male or female.

 

[Cayuga momma]

It's weird, but I noticed today that my drakes feet and legs are mostly black again. Maybe from hormones