# immature drake or hen?



## blake_scheu (Mar 13, 2013)

can a hen have slight green on her head? i probably sound like an idiot but i just wanna.make sure my id skills are up to par. is this a juvenile drake or a hen?

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## blake_scheu (Mar 13, 2013)

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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

The bill is a dead give away that it's a drake.


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## chris-remington (Oct 7, 2012)

I say hen, but I'm a rookie to waterfowling.


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## blake_scheu (Mar 13, 2013)

michiganoutdoorsman said:


> The bill is a dead give away that it's a drake.


thats what i told my buddy but this is only my second year in the sport and i wanted to ask for some.imput since he disagreed

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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

I'm pretty sure it is a Drake-a-licious!O'lame Fred


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

It's a drake Blake I'm 100% sure. All you need to do is look at the bill. Olive color= drake every time on a mallard. Don't worry about the color when all brown bill check em.


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## blake_scheu (Mar 13, 2013)

thanks smoke. thats what i thought always good to be sure

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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

Yep smoke. Drake all the way. Bill is normally your give away on the early mallards

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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

It is a drake but F.Y.I. very old hen mallards will take on the plumage of a drake. It is actually pretty cool. I have never seen one in person though.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

craigrh13 said:


> It is a drake but F.Y.I. very old hen mallards will take on the plumage of a drake. It is actually pretty cool. I have never seen one in person though.


yep and i've only seen it once in person myself. when hen stops producing estrogen, she will go full plume like a drake (and still have orange bill).
hermies.

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## FPFowler (Mar 2, 2012)

The bill and wing can usually give away the sex but the 100% sure way to do it is flip em over & ck between the legs.... This is how we do it when banding birds, esp geese, and need to know for sure. Have fun!! 


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

You can see some of the drake mallard breast feathers in its breast as well. I hate shooting at mallards at first light. Can be very tricky.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

FPFowler said:


> The bill and wing can usually give away the sex but the 100% sure way to do it is flip em over & ck between the legs.... This is how we do it when banding birds, esp geese, and need to know for sure. Have fun!!
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Lol yup I've done a few myself and its a good way to get squirt in the face by something other than water!


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

Drake. The bill is a give away on this particular bird. Other ways to tell include the wing speculum. On hens the top white wing bar will extend beyond the blue. Next look along the flanks of the bird down around the thigh area for vermiculated(grayish feathers with squiggly lines) feathers. These vermiculated feathers show up here first.

I'd encourage you to get a bird ID book. LeMasters Method is a great choice.


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## greenheadsmacker (Aug 14, 2008)

This picture is from day 1 of the youth hunt this yr. Someone saw this picture was giving me grief about "teaching my son to violate" because the person thought my son had shot 4 hens. I pointed out the 3 olive bills. The person never replied back.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

greenheadsmacker said:


> This picture is from day 1 of the youth hunt this yr. Someone saw this picture was giving me grief about "teaching my son to violate" because the person thought my son had shot 4 hens. I pointed out the 3 olive bills. The person never replied back.


That's simply because he's uneducated when it come to iding birds even when in hand. If you want to get technical I would say he would be the violator being as he can't even id I bird sitting right there I front of him, how does he id them on the wing? This waterfowl hunting is different that any other type of hunting. There are multiple species, different bag limits on each species not to mention the birds are sometimes doing a >50mph fly by. Not like sitting in a tree or ground blind waiting for a deer to walk by. It's not that difficult to tell a deer walking through the field or woods! A deer is a deer rabbit a rabbit squirrel a well you get the idea! Lol he didn't reply back because he knew he was dead wrong and didn't know as much as what he thought he did. Arm chair quarterback buddy the world I'd full of them. Jackoff all trades master of none!  
Nice job pointing out his error though I like it......
Smoke


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## blake_scheu (Mar 13, 2013)

Thanks guys. I was treating its as a hen since i wasnt 100% and would not have shot another mallard unless i was 100% it was a drake. Too many of them guys who shoot every duck that comes in and gives it a little kick into the marsh if theyre over on hens. See it at fp all the time makes me sick

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## Outdoor Gal (Sep 9, 2008)

craigrh13 said:


> It is a drake but F.Y.I. very old hen mallards will take on the plumage of a drake. It is actually pretty cool. I have never seen one in person though.


 
I shot an old hen like that last year. Orange bill, but she was going green on top and had the grayish look of a drake.


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## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

Too many of them guys who shoot every duck that comes in and gives it a little kick into the marsh if theyre over on hens. See it at fp all the time makes me sick

Believe it or not, it's actually five times better now at FP than it used to be. Years ago there were so many hens floating, the rot smell about drove me out of the zone......the twenty's were the worst.


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## walleyeman2006 (Sep 12, 2006)

answerguy8 said:


> Any idea why it's improved?


my best guess on that would be...duck hunter numbers are way way down from what it was 30 years ago...I grew up a few miles from fp ...you've got hardcore hunters now and rookies are at least here reading this...

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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> I'm not great at it, but there ARE guys who can ID birds on the fly and tell the difference between a hen mallard and a hen pintail. A few years ago I was hunting with a friend- I already had my hen mallard for the day and he hadn't yet. We had three birds come in and he called the shot, they came right in, but I didn't pull the trigger. He shot one of the three hens. He asked me if my gun jammed. I said no, I already had my hen. He said yeah, but those were pinners...he waded out picked up his pintail. I felt kinda dumb, but I figure it's better to error on the side of caution. Still had a good hunt and got our birds for the day.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


i can pick hen pins and gads out (from mallards) pretty easily. it comes with time/experience. it also helps if you hunt somewhere that has an abundance of them to help you compare them to learn characteristics. most duck id comes with time, there is no other way to speed the process up in my opinion....lotsa hunting (and some mistakes) teach you a lot. not pulling the trigger on ducks you don't know is always the best move.

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## Retiredducker (Oct 11, 2011)

Suspicious about the black on the bill...does that disappear when in full plumage?


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## deadduck365 (Nov 5, 2010)

Mike L said:


> Too many of them guys who shoot every duck that comes in and gives it a little kick into the marsh if theyre over on hens. See it at fp all the time makes me sick
> 
> Believe it or not, it's actually five times better now at FP than it used to be. Years ago there were so many hens floating, the rot smell about drove me out of the zone......the twenty's were the worst.


Don't think there will be many hanging from the corn in the 20's this year. 


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## FPFowler (Mar 2, 2012)

deadduck365 said:


> Don't think there will be many hanging from the corn in the 20's this year.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


LOL......:lol:


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