Muscovy Experts please chime in!

[Inkheart]

I have a friend who has a pair of muscovies and they just hatched 15 duckilngs a few weeks ago. I am considering adding a couple or three lol to my place
I jsut had some uneducated questions. His ducks are from a "breeder" and they look a bit differnt than alot of pics i see on here. His ducks especially the drake have heavy red face leathering ( asi call it) Is there a technical term for this? And it is BRIGHT blood redand fairly profuse. The pics i see on here and elsewhere the face color alot of times is pale red- pink and is not bulbous looking like his are. What is the proper amount and color?
his also seem to have " mohawks" that they raise and lower - seen alot when they are flirting and courting each other - is this preffered?
His are large birds - and a beautiful cream and chocolate color. They are very quiet except they make their lil hissing odd Muscovy noises.
And ay tips on owning these neat ducks too - i know he clips their wings - but anythign else i would need to know? I can tell you the hen was a FIERCE mother on the nest - i have had some tough hens but NOTHING compared to this girl and what i find neat is the drake helps raise them - a family unit so to speak . Fascinating
Thanks!

 

[Bleenie]

The "leathering" is called Caruncles. Really they can have any amount and it's fine, as long as it's not getting in the way of their eyes or nostrils. Some are just bred to have more caruncling.

The bright red is Good! it means they're healthy

Their caruncles will get pale if they're feeling ill or brooding or stressed.

The mohawks are normal too, they raise them when they're excited or upset. they will bob their heads and raise their mohawks when they're talking too. I have a findness for the boys with the wavy mohawks, so cute!

The hens are awesome & protective mommas. It sounds like he has a very sweet drake that is good with the babies, but you should be careful after the hen hatches ducklings, the drake can sometimes get jealous and hurt babies or accidentally step on them while trying to breed the hen.

Good luck with your new ducks, I am sure youll love em!!

 

[Inkheart]

Thank you ! Caruncles lol what an odd word- What is the purpose of the ducks having that? Or does it even have a purpose.
I should have known as his chickens all have blood red combs and wattles.
Yes his mohawk comes up most when he is flirting with his hen - they do the oddest little "dances" head bowing and so forth - and they really like to shake their tail feathers too as they walk around .
How soon can you tell a gender difference?
The ducklings are all different sizes - i think it was a staggered hatch on moms part. But most are light yellow - dark yellow and some dark brown and yellow. The range on the foot and beak color is interesting too.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Bleenie is an expert, if anyone knows that answer it will be him...however, I have just started raising them also and I have had 2 hens hatch out and I was impressed by how the dad helps to look after them...totally amazed!!

 

[Big Dreamer]

The drakes help out? Im having my first hatch with my Bubbles (Muscovey) and in an incubator..i didnt know that the drakes actaully helped out. What i heard was that they just stick around so that when the ducklings are older he could still obtain the female!