imprinted on humans!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\nWhen it comes to their behavior, there are a few differences you can look out for that can help you determine their sex.<\/span><\/p>\nFor one, Cayuga hens will begin laying eggs from as young as 5 months old. <\/strong><\/p>\nOn the other hand, Cayuga drakes will begin mounting and mating behaviors from as young as 4 months old.<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a generalization, from as young as 8-12 weeks old Cayuga drakes will also become \u201cgreedier\u201d and more confident when it comes to sharing food or space.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Curly Tail Feather<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nAnother reasonably reliable observation of a young male Cayuga duck is the development of a curly tail feather. <\/span><\/p>\nAlthough this isn\u2019t always a certain predictor, male Cayuga ducks tend to develop curly tail feathers from as young as about 8-12 weeks old. Cayuga females normally lack these feathers or grow them much later than males.<\/span><\/p>\nThe problem with using this as an indicator is that a curly tail feather isn\u2019t always present in males, and it\u2019s possible to grow on a hen too. For this reason, you can\u2019t base a determination on the curly tail feather alone, but you can use it to further your investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>Size<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nAlthough size differences between male and female Cayuga ducks don\u2019t tend to show until maturity it\u2019s still good to note.<\/span><\/p>\nFrom about 3-4 months old male Cayuga ducks will appear a touch larger than their female counterparts. Cayuga drakes will generally weigh up to 8 pounds, whereas Cayuga hens will only get to about 7 pounds. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>How to Tell If A Cayuga Duckling Is Male Or Female<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Alright, here comes the real challenge.<\/span><\/p>\nTelling the difference between a male and female Cayuga duck at maturity can be hard enough, but for younger ducklings, it\u2019s even more challenging.<\/span><\/p>\nFrom 0-4 weeks there\u2019s almost no way to tell the difference unless you\u2019re a professional and have expertise in vent examinations.<\/span><\/p>\nBut, from as young as 4-8 weeks old you can start to observe some key differences, and build a case towards your Cayuga ducklings being male or female.<\/span><\/p>\nSo, to determine whether you\u2019ve got male or female Cayuga ducklings, look for the following traits:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- From 4-8 weeks:<\/b> listen to the sound of their quacks.<\/b> Females will deliver a clear, traditional quack, males will vocalize a raspier, quieter bark-like quack.<\/span><\/li>\n
- From 8-12 weeks:<\/b> look for the appearance of a curly tail feather.<\/b> This will usually mean the duck is a male, but it\u2019s not a certainty!<\/span><\/li>\n
- From 12 weeks+: watch for more dominating and confident behaviors<\/b>. Again, this will usually suggest the duck is a male, but it\u2019s not a certainty. <\/span>By 12 weeks the duck’s quacks will certainly be clear enough to determine whether it\u2019s a male or female too.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Quick Summary!<\/strong><\/h2>\nAlthough the first instinct is to look for physical differences, when it comes to Cayuga’s there’s not much to go on.<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough you can compare their size and watch for the growth of an early curly tail feather indicating a male, it\u2019s best to take a listen to their quacks for a more reliable determination.<\/span><\/p>\nFemale Cayuga ducks make a very traditional and distinct quack, whereas male Cayuga ducks vocalize a much lower, raspier, bark.<\/b><\/p>\n
The difference in the vocalization of the quack will appear as young as 4-8 weeks old, so it\u2019s a reliable way to determine whether Cayuga ducklings are male or female too!<\/span><\/p>\nHappy backyard farming and duck raising everyone!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7481"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8448,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7481\/revisions\/8448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardfarmlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}