Muscovy Laid Soft Egg

[Noah209]

I bought 5 muscovies a few months ago and I believed I had 4 females and 1 male. 1 duck has a lot more red in his face, has larger feet, and does not trill so I assumed he was a male. They are all around 6 months old but today I found a soft/rubbery egg. I checked the camera expecting one of the females laid their first egg but the “male” was the one who laid it. Are soft/rubbery eggs normal when they first start laying? I have included a picture, the one I assumed was a male is on the bottom right of the picture of them on the concrete. Any help/advice would be great! Also if you have any ideas on which may be male and which are female please let me know, thanks!

 

[BelovedBirds]

I bought 5 muscovies a few months ago and I believed I had 4 females and 1 male. 1 duck has a lot more red in his face, has larger feet, and does not trill so I assumed he was a male. They are all around 6 months old but today I found a soft/rubbery egg. I checked the camera expecting one of the females laid their first egg but the “male” was the one who laid it. Are soft/rubbery eggs normal when they first start laying? I have included a picture, the one I assumed was a male is on the bottom right of the picture of them on the concrete. Any help/advice would be great! Also if you have any ideas on which may be male and which are female please let me know, thanks!

They all look female to me, I'm no expert on muscovies- but I feel quite confident. I can understand why you originally suspected this one to be male, but males are generally a fair bit bigger than girls, and usually have more caruncles (red fleshy part of the face). This one seems quite small, and laying an egg makes this quite certain!


When you say a soft shell, was the texture of the shell flexible sort of like thick paper? Squishy? Or was it solid and able to be cracked?
Definitely possible that this is just down to it being a first egg, it can take a while for them to perfect their eggs and flaws aren't uncommon in the early days. Just ensure that they all have access to calcium, in the form of crushed oyster shells and grit. This should be available alongside but separate to food and water. They should regulate themselves and manage the correct intake of calcium for good shell production.

 

[fowltemptress]

I agree with BelovedBirds, all the birds pictured are female. What are you currently feeding them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

They can lay soft shell when first starting out. Shouldn’t take long for that to stop. Be sure to offer oyster shells on the side for extra calcium. beautiful Muscovy

 

[Ducklover77]

I bought 5 muscovies a few months ago and I believed I had 4 females and 1 male. 1 duck has a lot more red in his face, has larger feet, and does not trill so I assumed he was a male. They are all around 6 months old but today I found a soft/rubbery egg. I checked the camera expecting one of the females laid their first egg but the “male” was the one who laid it. Are soft/rubbery eggs normal when they first start laying? I have included a picture, the one I assumed was a male is on the bottom right of the picture of them on the concrete. Any help/advice would be great! Also if you have any ideas on which may be male and which are female please let me know, thanks!

Definitely all females. Don't have a clue about rubbery eggs though never had that happen before but I bet someone will know