Males or females Muscovy Ducks?

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ChickenOfTheC

ChickenOfTheC

In the Brooder
7 Years
Nov 11, 2012
21
0
24
Georgia
I got a wild hair and purchased three Muscovy ducks. These are my fist ducks and I was wondering if someone could help me tell what gender they might be. From what I have read, I think I may have ended up with two males and a female. What do you guys think?








 
I think you probably have two males and female, like you think. The size difference is usually pretty significant (smaller females) - it is difficult to tell from the picture, but you would notice in person. The males have thicker legs, a generally larger size and bigger wings; they are taller, and have a more pronounced carunkel (sp?) (the red around their bills). Congratulations on an excellent choice of breed! I might recommend another female at least, so she is not overwhelmed by her male counterparts. We have 2 males of 2 different generations and 5 females of approximately similar ages. They are a happy backyard flock and get along wonderfully with our chickens, rooster, and two female Indian runners.

Enjoy!! Muscovies are my favorite!
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Yup, 2 males, 1 female. The blue is male and the black pied in the back, flapping in 2nd pic is male. Best get rid of 1 or find yourself some more girls.
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Last edited:
I would agree with the above.
It looks like you have 2 black and white pied (1 male, 1 female) and a blue pied male.
I LOVE the blues! I just got a new breeding pair of blue barred muscovy. Here's a picture of my hen (the one in the middle) and my drake. Not the best pictures, but the best i could do with them all squirming around, playing in the fresh snow!



 
Thanks for the replies. Love all of your ducks, learycow! I'm with you, I also like the blue pied. These are my first ducks, but I am definitely hooked. I plan to get a few more females. What do you think a good male to female ratio would be? They have such personality. I love seeing them out there with all my chickens. I have heard duck eggs can be a little harder to hatch out than chicken eggs. Do any of you have experience in incubating them?
 
At least 4-6 females per male and a very large area for them to roam should prevent many fights between the males.

Muscovy are great broodies and moms, usually. I've never incubated eggs, I let the hens do it. Ducks have different requirements than chicken eggs and I have heard that muscovy are harder to incubate but I don't know for sure.
 
ChickenOfTheC said:
Thanks for the replies. Love all of your ducks, learycow! I'm with you, I also like the blue pied. These are my first ducks, but I am definitely hooked. I plan to get a few more females. What do you think a good male to female ratio would be? They have such personality. I love seeing them out there with all my chickens. I have heard duck eggs can be a little harder to hatch out than chicken eggs. Do any of you have experience in incubating them?
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I have had a hard time getting muscovy eggs to hatch in the incubator so I too let the mothers do it for me.
I have 2-3 hens for every drake. If you keep them in a pen area, I generally won't put more than 2 drakes in the same pen. But I've found that there is always a more dominant one that ends up doing all the breeding and won't let the other drake breed.
I let mine free range during the day. I have one main breeding group, 2 hens with a very large drake. He tends to breed with anyone he wants, but he sticks with his two girls and is very protective of them.
I have another drake, a young one, that I have penned with 4 hens. He was picked on by my main drake which is why I have him separate now. He isn't quite full grown but will be a beautiful duck to breed. So I want to make sure he mates with some of my hens!

If you do let the hens do it, make sure they nest in an area where they can't get taken by a predator (or where eggs won't get taken by rats). Last year, each of my hens laid and hatched out 3 clutches. I would leave the ducklings with them for the first 2-5 days, then take them away. The hens would generally take 3-4 weeks off to fatten up and start a new nest. Then do the process all over again. They are a lot of fun to have :)
 
learycow said:
I would leave the ducklings with them for the first 2-5 days, then take them away. The hens would generally take 3-4 weeks off to fatten up and start a new nest. Then do the process all over again. They are a lot of fun to have :)
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Whew. Good for you. I only brooded ducklings myself, inside once. That was enough for me. Mom is welcome to them for as long as she wants.
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I will probably take them away in the spring when they are a little younger, but it will depend on how many of my girls go broody.
 
jdywntr said:
Whew. Good for you. I only brooded ducklings myself, inside once. That was enough for me. Mom is welcome to them for as long as she wants.
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I will probably take them away in the spring when they are a little younger, but it will depend on how many of my girls go broody.
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Haha, I only take them away if I have an empty coop or outdoor brooder to keep them in. Having them in the house is WAY to much and too messy!
Plus, it's never fun getting attacked by an angry muscovy mom who just wants to be left alone :p
 

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