Help w/muscovey color/sex ID? (new pics in post #1)

[TurtleFeathers]

Hi all -

Below is a pic of my three muscovies - they're between 7 and 8 weeks old.

I've been reading about how to sex muscovies, and everything says to check their foot size, caruncle development, body length/weight and age their flight feathers come in. Well, other than their color, all their features are the same!!! Obviously, they're all the same sex, but which one? They do have flight feathers, but they haven't attempted to fly yet - so should I assume they're females?

Also, I'm certain that the two darker ones are chocolate, but is the lighter one a blue fawn maybe? And the one on the left - it has white wing tips as well as the white you can see on its chest and throat, and is completely symmetrical - is this one a "bibbed" or a "pied"? Are the other two "rippled" or "barred"? I have no idea what color their parents were.

Thanks so much!

**NEW PICS ADDED** Sorry if its too many shots, but I tried to get size comparisons between all three, not to mention profile and foot shots. See what you think!

 

[Caprice_Acres]

They look like hens to me, they appear feminine. It's always more difficult for me when I have all one sex or just one duckling.

The one on the left is a chocolate pied. The one to the right in the fore looks to be a barred lilac. The one on the right in the back looks to be a chocolate barred.

I've heard/read some places that lilac/blue fawn are the same thing genetically, but blue fawn is just a much darker variant... Then some places say they are different genetically. I breed a lot of lilacs every year but never any blue fawns, so I think it's different.

Maybe someone that knows genetics better can chime in.

 

[swheat]

They are pretty ducks. I can't really tell the sex of them from the pic(but from the looks of the heads I would say males) this is my guess. Wish I could see their bodies length wise..males are also longer than the girls. Seems like all my girls have more of a round head. I would say the 2 are barred. The one in front Blue Fawn, I can't see enough of the in the back, and Chocolate pied.

 

[swheat]

Hopefully I am wrong about the sex of them !

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Quote:
I hope you are too, Steve - I named them Daphne, Dixie and Dinah - if they're males, they'll be terribly confused adults...

@Caprice - thanks for the color advice. Obviously, with all one sex, I won't be breeding them - I actually got them more for their pet value and bug control than anything else, so that's ok. But the light one is the one people comment on the most, and I just didn't know what color to say it was.

I'll wait a while and get some more pics as they mature, and I'll repost. I was hoping the overwhelming majority of responses could/would agree on one sex or the other by this age!!! LOL!

 

[chickygirl2]

I am trying to get an idea on the feet size.... hard to tell from the picture. So far they look like gals to me,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Bleenie]

Chocolate one is Definitely a Hen! I think the front Barred Lilac one might be a Drake, the head & ankles look thicker and the feet look bigger. It's hard to tell on the Chocolate Barred in the back.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Hey Kat! They're gorgeous!! I'm jealous! The Chocolate Pied one is definitely a hen, (the one to the left). Pretty girl! I love her! The other two are Barred. One Chocolate, the other I think I would consider Lilac, I think. That one I'm drooling over!

I can't comment on their sexes though.

Can you take a pic of those two sideways?

I want to get a side view of those two. Ankle and foot size, tail size, things like that can help tell.

Laurie

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Ok, I'll go out and get some pics - hopefully before the sun goes down this evening, if not first thing in the morning. But in the meantime, what is it about the chocolate pied one that is screaming "HEN" so loudly to you all, when you can't see it's back half?

 

[TennesseeTruly]

Its her feet, Kat. She has tiny, petite feet! The angle on the duck in the front, I just can't tell if its a male or female by the feet. Females have smaller feet and ankles and shorter tails. Males have thicker ankles, larger feet, and longer tails.

Laurie