Muscovy Duckbeast

Hi there,

I have a Muscovy duckling, Nova, that is two weeks and one day old. I do know this with certainty since I incubated her myself.

I've never had a Muscovy before, but had heard that they were very unique, friendly, and fun to watch. This little guy is no exception, and I am really enjoying its sweet, spunky personality so far. Especially that tail wagging.

I KNOW it's really hard to tell gender at this age unless you sex them, and I feel a little guilty asking. However, I just can't help myself, and would really like to hear your thoughts on what you think she/he may be based on your experience. Nova seems to be really big for a two week old duckling, but then again I've never had a Muscovy before. She/he also has quite a long, very full tail with a bunch of black feathers. I feed Nova game fowl starter and the occasional treat (a tiny crumb of bread or frozen peas).

Here are some pictures. What do you think?






size 9 shoe








Thank you! I appreciate your thoughts.

I think that you have a very healthy duckling that is either male or female.

Drats! @sourland beat me to it!! Hard to tell. First glance at the picture with the legs and feet my inclination is to say female. But then the size of a two week old bird..... So I'll ride the fence and follow what's been said already. You have a very cute and healthy looking Muscovy!!!

tmorgan46 said:

Drats! @sourland beat me to it!! Hard to tell. First glance at the picture with the legs and feet my inclination is to say female. But then the size of a two week old bird..... So I'll ride the fence and follow what's been said already. You have a very cute and healthy looking Muscovy!!!

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And this is why I did not guess - my gut said drake.

Okay wow. So my dog just came up beside me and my three week duckling huffed at him! LOL I knew exactly what it was doing because I've seen it so often at the pond. It bobbed it's head and stuck it out and made a repetitive huff huff huff sound hahahahah does this mean it's a male?!

backyardinosaur said:

Okay wow. So my dog just came up beside me and my three week duckling huffed at him! LOL I knew exactly what it was doing because I've seen it so often at the pond. It bobbed it's head and stuck it out and made a repetitive huff huff huff sound hahahahah does this mean it's a male?!

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Not necessarily but it's looking very healthy!! Good job!

3 weeks old exactly! Feet are pretty huge and legs are like little trees. Feathers really coming in on the tail. Peeking through in other places. Nothing on the wings. For scale, my hand is just shy of 7in from index to base of palm. It's a very sweet and loves to cuddle. Seems to grow noticeably bigger by the end of every day!

I'm leaning toward male, but developing feathers are the greatest proof in Muscovies. If the feathers come in first, it's female. If it gets big before growing in more than a few wing feathers, it's male. Except, of course, in the case of some runts, but this is true almost all of the time.

The problem comes when you can't compare developing males and females to each other. But it's healthy, come what may. Looks male to me, but it's pretty in-the-middle as appearances go.

Muscovynmore said:

I'm leaning toward male, but developing feathers are the greatest proof in Muscovies. If the feathers come in first, it's female. If it gets big before growing in more than a few wing feathers, it's male. Except, of course, in the case of some runts, but this is true almost all of the time.

The problem comes when you can't compare developing males and females to each other. But it's healthy, come what may. Looks male to me, but it's pretty in-the-middle as appearances go.

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I appreciate the feedback! Very glad it's healthy as it did not have an easy start and I had to assist the hatch. (As I type this reply on my phone the duckling is tapping on the glass lol)

I'll love the Muscovy regardless of what it is. It's a lot of fun to hear your thoughts though.

It hissed at my dog quite a few times. Is this not indicative of it being a male? I thought they were the only ones who vocalized this way.

Also, there are several families of baby ducklings at the local pond. One of the groups appeared the same week my duckling hatched, yet it seems mine has outpaced them in growth. Would this be due to a better diet?

Adult females can hiss, too. They don't "talk" the way males do, but pretty much anything that can breathe can hiss. Duckling won't be changing its voice for a while yet.

Depends on the breed of the local ducks. Muscovies grow pretty well and turn chunky pretty quick, compared to many quacking breeds. Better diet and safe environment definitely helps. And your ducky is probably not afraid to eat. They're good like that.