Backyard Poultry Forum

It is difficult for me to tell from the photos Lucy. There is some variation in colour/pattern isn't there, but this varied considerably in my standard females too. The bird far left bottom photo doesn't appear to have eye-stripes? They should be quacking well & truly by now if female. If you could separate them (the two your not sure of) from group might make it easier to hear their voices (without being confused by the others).

Thanks. I have done that already. I held each one and listened to the voices. These were definite girls by that standard. I don't think I can get better photos than this but I'll try. I'm ok with keeping them until I know for sure. Just kinda wishing I knew now.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats

Their voices will be the best indication of gender in mallard-derived breeds. Better than any photo.

Interesting. Their voices were definitely 'girly'. Time will tell, I guess. I'll stop stressing about it now and resurrect this post when they start laying or crowing (lol!!). Thanks for your help everyone.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats

I dug out this old photo which I thought may help, if not you, then @ least my memory These birds were well into attaining their first adult feathers. The young drakes all have the claret bibs to varying degrees, & the grey hoods growing in. The grey starts growing in from the front of the head. They (drakes) would have a light grey running down middle of back & onto rump. You can see quite some variation in the young females also. Some have more white down the front & throat etc, @ least a couple have fairly solid coloured (buff) faces with minimal striping, & some are more richly coloured on outer breast. Saxony really are such lovely birds.

Sorry not best photo. I think yours could all well be ducks (female) from what I can see, but in the absence of male colour/pattern qualities, like Cackles has said, voice will be true indication.

I see in rollyard's pic you could sex them by bill colour.

eg..In this pic of young Rouens At 1 1/2 months I can start to tell boys and girls from bill colour.The yellowy-green bills at the back are boys and the orange-brown are girls.
As Saxonys have Rouens in them,I'm thinking may be bill colour...

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Breeder of Rhode Island Reds and Rouen Ducks

The claret was definitely present in the boys I rehomed and doesn't seem to be in the girls I've still got. I love my Saxonys too.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats

That is a very good point & well picked up New England Poultry

A photo of the Saxony I had boy/girl bill colours below. I think this trait started to develop just prior to the first moult? The current standard I note does ask for yellow bill in both sexes though.

I think this has to do with how the Saxony was crated in Australia.just had a look at the uk waterfouls and they do (males and females) have bright orange bills. http://www.domestic-waterfowl.co.uk/saxony.htm
Sorry to get of topic a bit..But that's very interesting.I don't no how the breeders are going to fix the bill problem with the Australian Saxony.

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Breeder of Rhode Island Reds and Rouen Ducks

Not really off topic. I think it's all very interesting.

Mine came from a good breeder but I'm sure they're only backyard quality so comparing them is difficult because the differences may be because of their breeding rather than their sex.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats

For backyard quality The bantam's seen to hold the orange colour in the bill better than the standars(large).I never new this about the Saxonys and still find it interesting.
OFF TOPIC!...In crateing a Saxony what breed would you put in the standard (large Saxony) to keep the orange bill's in the ducks & drakes?I gess the Pikin is not the way to go

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Breeder of Rhode Island Reds and Rouen Ducks

Just caught them up to clip their wings. Nearly killed me in the heat. Very difficult now to tell them apart by voice.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats

Hi New England Poultry

I personally wouldn't use Pekin in the first instance because you would be introducing @ least (potentially other unwanted masked genes also) the recessive white gene, & most probably wouldn't want white Saxony cropping up in their Saxony programs (the white gene could be removed of course). The use of Pekin would impact on type also. Having said this, the Pekin (German) was one breed used earlier in their development, & I think one breeder in Australia used Pekin during re-creation also, so not necessarily the wrong way to go. The recessive white gene is largely the reason both sexes in the Pekin have orange/yellow bills.

Mechanisms which control some of the differences seen between Mallard derived ducks & drakes likely include hormones & genes. Over-riding some of the differences (eg, bill colour) in some colour-forms may not be so easy. I suspect selection for the desired trait over some generations & breeding lots may get results in some instances. Sourcing a drake with the "right genes" (other than those for white) as manifested by his having a yellow-ish bill (like those in your link) if one can be found, could be the way to go?

Back on topic; If they all sound the same Lucy, then fingers crossed they are, & all girls too.

Hi Lucy,

Just wondering if you would mind telling me who the breeder was you bought your birds from? The reason being a fellow just bought a trio from me and is heading home back down into NSW. If it was from a different line to mine he may be interested in getting in touch with you in the future so as to add new blood lines into his flock.

As a guess I would think all girls. The grey area on the back of the wing and the fact that the breast is no where near a claret colour would be my reasoning. They are a good size too so you would expect by now to really notice if there were any drakes in there.

Time will tell. But usually you can pick it by this size.

Cheers, Quacker

Thanks. The boys I rehomed looked a lot more like drakes so I'm hoping these are all girls.

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Lucy C and The Blue Mountains Menagerie
1 God, 1 husband, 2 Teens, 2 Dogs, 7 Sussex, 3 Wyandottes, 11 Silkies, 1 Barnevelder, 3 Budgies & 3 Goats