“Goon” Muscovy update and drake or duck revisited

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Now, I don’t know how old they are. The former owner’s facts kept changing (or my hubby just got confused), but they are just about fully feathered now. And I’m ready to know, drakes or ducks? I’m 99.9% sure that the black one (“Goon #2) is a duck as she is very chatty (peeps about everything that makes her happy, and that is a lot) and is very feminine in general. I had pegged “Goon 1” as a drake, but now I’m not so sure. The two are the same size and are at the exact same stage of feathering. Both have the very beginnings of carbuncles. The white one still peeps on occasion (less than “Goon 2”). Their legs are the same thickness. “Goon 2” is at the bottom of the pecking order, I think, whereas “Goon 1” has always been more dominant and may end up top duck above Daphne (their Rouen big sister). Anyways, what do you think?

And if you can think of names for them both, please help!

P.S., we’ve decided that we will keep “Goon 1” even if he is a drake as “Goon 2” is really fond of him/her, and I guess we are too! We would just need to get more ducks of the “definitely female” type.

P.P.S. When my husband got the Goons, he purposefully chose the two smallest and “most runty” in the hopes that his chances of getting females would be better!

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

The bottom picture was on their first day with us about 1 month ago. The top picture shows “Goon 1’s” little yellow hat that is now, sadly, gone.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

I am yet to be an expert on telling duckling genders, but I've raised Muscovies before.

Are they getting a deeper 'honk', or trill? Or is it still a baby peep? Mine are fully feathered at 13 weeks and the males still have their baby peep--so do the females, but they are getting their adult voices.

Are their flight feathers coming in? The females will get their wing feathers in a lot faster than males.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I am yet to be an expert on telling duckling genders, but I've raised Muscovies before.

Are they getting a deeper 'honk', or trill? Or is it still a baby peep? Mine are fully feathered at 13 weeks and the males still have their baby peep--so do the females, but they are getting their adult voices.

Are their flight feathers coming in? The females will get their wing feathers in a lot faster than males.

Thank you for your reply!
Both still peep or have a high-pitched trill, although the black/white one is way more vocal whereas the white one mostly responds rather than starting the conversation. They are both getting flight feathers, but at exactly the same rate.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Thank you for your reply!
Both still peep or have a high-pitched trill, although the black/white one is way more vocal whereas the white one mostly responds rather than starting the conversation. They are both getting flight feathers, but at exactly the same rate.

You're welcome.

It sounds--and looks like--they are probably the same gender, then, if they are pretty even with feather growth and sounds they make. Some ducks are just more vocal than others, so its more the sound than the amount of noise they make.

I want to lean toward saying they're both males, as it looks like it. Do you have any adult Muscovies to compare them to? By this age the males would be almost as big as a Muscovy female, while the females will be a lot smaller.

One last way--and one that I use a lot--is to tell by their feet. Do their feet seem like they're pretty big, or petite? I'm attaching some comparison picks of a male and female from my flock. (I think they are older than yours, but that's moot. At the age yours are at, you can tell from the feet.)

(The female is the black and white pied, the male is the blue with the white bib on his front)

See how big his are compared to hers? A male's feet are gonna look big and floppy on a duckling, while a female will have little feet.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

You're welcome.

It sounds--and looks like--they are probably the same gender, then, if they are pretty even with feather growth and sounds they make. Some ducks are just more vocal than others, so its more the sound than the amount of noise they make.

I want to lean toward saying they're both males, as it looks like it. Do you have any adult Muscovies to compare them to? By this age the males would be almost as big as a Muscovy female, while the females will be a lot smaller.

One last way--and one that I use a lot--is to tell by their feet. Do their feet seem like they're pretty big, or petite? I'm attaching some comparison picks of a male and female from my flock. (I think they are older than yours, but that's moot. At the age yours are at, you can tell from the feet.)

(The female is the black and white pied, the male is the blue with the white bib on his front)
View attachment 1502965
View attachment 1502964

See how big his are compared to hers? A male's feet are gonna look big and floppy on a duckling, while a female will have little feet.

They were both smaller than any of their siblings and are still small, not nearly as big as an adult Muscovy. Here they are in comparison with their Rouen sister.

I don’t know about their feet...

 

[Skye'sDucks]

View attachment 1503101


They were both smaller than any of their siblings and are still small, not nearly as big as an adult Muscovy. Here they are in comparison with their Rouen sister.

I don’t know about their feet...

Ah, I see. It's hard to tell when its just the two of them in the picture.

Like I said, I'm no expert, but I hope I've been helping. You should be able to tell soon if they start getting a deeper 'honk' or trill, and also watch their flight feather growth. (If female, the flight feathers will grow quickly) If they remain smaller in size, they should be females, then.

Males will start getting the carnunkles (the red stuff) around their face by 13 weeks, and also beginning around their eyes. They'll also start getting a bit of a wheeze, though it can be hard to detect. My male is about 13 weeks, so if you look at the picture above, you should see what the carnunkles look like.

I'm sorry I can't say for certain, perhaps someone else can? But if you think you have females, and they have the signs, then they probably are.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Ah, I see. It's hard to tell when its just the two of them in the picture.

Like I said, I'm no expert, but I hope I've been helping. You should be able to tell soon if they start getting a deeper 'honk' or trill, and also watch their flight feather growth. (If female, the flight feathers will grow quickly) If they remain smaller in size, they should be females, then.

Males will start getting the carnunkles (the red stuff) around their face by 13 weeks, and also beginning around their eyes. They'll also start getting a bit of a wheeze, though it can be hard to detect. My male is about 13 weeks, so if you look at the picture above, you should see what the carnunkles look like.

I'm sorry I can't say for certain, perhaps someone else can? But if you think you have females, and they have the signs, then they probably are.

Thank you I’m going to still hold out and hope that the darker one is female because that would mean fewer extra ducks I need to get! At any rate, she/he is very submissive and gentle and has a great personality. She/he has to wait until Daphne and the white Muscovy are finished at the bowl before she/he can eat (or eat at the other bowl), but she/he constantly talks while eating and lets out an excited “peep!” If she/he comes across something especially tasty. She/he also likes to do sprints around the yard first thing in the morning!

White Muscovy is starting to try out his wings (that are no longer just little nubs *sniff*), so I will have to start trimming them soon, I guess. He does enjoy biting, so that should be interesting! He is very handsome, and should be a good protector, as long as he doesn’t turn into a jerk towards his fellow ducks!