Duck Reproduction
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Ducks usually look for a mate or partner in winter. Male ducks will attract the female ducks with their colourful plumage or feathers.
The female ducks will then lead the male ducks to their breeding ground in spring.
The breeding ground will usually be the place where the female duck was hatched.
The female duck builds her nest with grass or reeds or even in a hole in a tree.
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The male duck will guard their territory by chasing away other couples. Once the female lays 5 - 12 eggs, she will start to sit on her eggs to keep them warm so that they can hatch into ducklings. The male ducks on the other hand, will be with the other male ducks.
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The eggs will hatch within 28 days normally, except for the Muscovy duck which takes about 35 days to hatch.
The mother duck will keep her brood of ducklings together to protect them from predators. Animals like the racoon, turtles, hawks, large fish and snakes are a ducks main predators and they will eat the ducklings.
Ducklings are able to fly within 5 - 8 weeks. Their feathers develop very fast.
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When the young are ready to fly, all the ducks will gather in flocks on large lakes, marshes or the ocean to migrate to their wintering home. When the ducks fly, they usually do so in a 'V-shaped' or a long line.
Do you know what affects duck's production of eggs?
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The production of eggs are affected by daylight. When there is more daylight, the ducks will lay more eggs. In the months of July to December when daylight is short, they slow down their production of eggs. Sometimes, ducks stop laying eggs completely during these months.
To prevent this from happening, farmers use artificial lighting so that the ducks have about 17 hours of light a day to produce eggs efficiently.
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How do you tell male ducks from female ducks?
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A female duck is called a 'hen', they are identified by their very-dull, brown feathers.
Hens have dull-brown feathers so that they can hide from enemies and predators.
Hens can also camouflage themselves in their nests and also protect their young, so they are not just dull looking for no reason.
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A male duck is called a 'drake', you can identify the male duck by it's brightly coloured feathers.
Drakes use these coloured feathers to attract the hens for mating.
Here's a beautifully coloured Drake with a purple plumage, shiny green head colouring, silvery white body and grey wings with blue markings.
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Here is a male Duck and female Duck (drake and hen) together, you can see the distinct difference in colours between them.
The drakes use their colourful plumage to attract females.
However, they will lose or molt their colourful feathers when the females are busy hatching the eggs.
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After molting, the drakes will look similar to the hen in colour and will be unable to fly temporarily. Drakes will molt again in early Autumn and return to their colourful appearance and will also be able to fly again. The hens also molt. Hens replace all their feathers and grow new ones after their babies or ducklings are hatched. |
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