Gender on Muscovy ducks (help, please!)

[Jetfisk]

Hello everybody

I have two Muscovy ducks from late May (about 16 weeks).

Can anybody help me to determine their gender?

The darkest one has always been slightly larger than the other one, but not much.

Today they are acting a bit strange. The light one (also the small one) started to chase the dark one trying to “bite” it. It almost looked like it tried to mount it, but the dark one didn’t let it.

Does this mean I have two male ducks?

I hope somebody can help.
Thanks!

 

[nchls school]

I find muscovys easier to sex when seeing the live bird. I just boxed up extra drakes of a similar age for the local auction. Just looking at a picture these two look like hens. Males of this age are bigger and broader than the hens which are smaller and more streamlined. Drakes have bigger feet with a tendency to stop every so often and lie down; often appearing lazy.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

What sorts of sounds do they make? Females will make a sweet little “trilling” sound that they use to communicate with each other, while drakes will be more quiet when young, but will then start to “hiss“. I’ve only got females, and I can’t remember at what age the hissing begins, but you should definitely hear trilling if they are girls.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Here’s someone else’s video of female Muscovy ducks trilling!

 

[Jetfisk]

They make the same trilling sound as the video. I’ve never heard them hiss.

I hope they are hens then! thank you!

 

[nchls school]

I didn't mention vocalization as mine still have their baby voices. Apparently mine are quite a bit younger.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I would guess either a slow developming drake and a hen, or two hens (one developing faster).

The sounds they make is the best way to tell though in my opinion.

 

[Jetfisk]

This is the sound they make when they are happy.

The behaviour in the video started today. I don’t know what that means.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Are they both making that sound when excited? Their legs look similar in size. Their heads and bodies seem to have the same shape as well. I'm thinking both females. I could tell the white one was trilling. If the one with more black was also trilling, then female. There should be a discernable difference in size if they were male and female. Unless for some reason, the one is male it would be a super slow grower.