Best way to tell, male vs. female Muscovy?

[iluvsedward]

Yes they have and evidently you haven't seen how a drake is built or you wouldn't even ask. Chicken hens are not made anatomically to mate by insertion, so there lies the problem. Go study the difference between a drake and a chicken hen, not compatible at all. the best thing you could do would be to get ducks for your drake if that is what you ended up with. and keep the hens away from him.

oh wow. ok *cough* I see that um how that wouldn't work... I guess if it turn out to be a drake I could always give it away.

 

[LostArk]

I got my Muscovy's as ducklings. They are now 3 moths old. They are huge, and all the same size. How Do I tell the difference?

 

[Bengt747]

I got my Muscovy's as ducklings. They are now 3 moths old. They are huge, and all the same size. How Do I tell the difference?

It seems you have all three drakes, as they are all the same size. You can tell drakes from the hens based on the caruncles (red fleshy skin at base of bill), which are significantly larger in drakes. Your two darker colored Muscovies display this quite well (especially the one in the back). Additionally, in regard to vocalization hens tend to make a louder, whining call instead of the drake's hoarse hiss. The image below shows the difference between the drake (back) and the hen (front).

Image was retrieved from: http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Taking-flight-5339174.php

 

[LostArk]

Thank you so much~!

 

[klemele]

Hey I have a Muscovy and I feel like it is a she and I don't know anything about muscovies, I got it in July and has grown the extra skin around the face yet... It has a tiny little chirp still. And has grown white feathers on its head.. Anyone know what gender it is?

 

[tmorgan46]

It's tough to tell without others to compare to, but here's what I look for:
1. voice - females have a soft twill sound, almost like a coo. Males hiss
2. Leg size - females tend to have slimmer legs and are closer together than drakes.
3. Feet size - females have smaller feet than a male.
4. Caruncles - the bulbous skin that forms around the eyes and bill. Males have much more and more pronounced as compared to a female.


We have 15 Muscovies, 4 drakes and 11 ducks. They all exhibit the indicators outlined above.

I've seen other posts mention the feathers that rise on top of the head. All of our Muscovies do that, so I don't use that as an indicator.

Hope this helps.

Troy & Tina

 

[klemele]

Thanks! I have never owned a Muscovy before and I've never heard her hiss before... And I have a Rouen male who has tried to mate with her would that work out if they did produce eggs? I am really big in the breeding business every year and this would be my first time having mixed breeds basically. So any guidness wouldbe very much appreciated.

 

[LMH0507]

I'm new to Muscovy ducks. We recently got 2 (maybe almost 1 month old). One of them opens its mouth and tries to bite me whenever I get my hand close to it. It doesn't hurt (yet). Could this one be a male? The other one is shy and can care less (she does squeak - a lot!). I thought they were both female, but with the aggressive behavior, I'm thinking otherwise. Thought?

 

[Bellemy]

It seems you have all three drakes, as they are all the same size. You can tell drakes from the hens based on the caruncles (red fleshy skin at base of bill), which are significantly larger in drakes. Your two darker colored Muscovies display this quite well (especially the one in the back). Additionally, in regard to vocalization hens tend to make a louder, whining call instead of the drake's hoarse hiss. The image below shows the difference between the drake (back) and the hen (front).

Image was retrieved from: http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Taking-flight-5339174.php

Male or female??? Tell me please.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I have no idea but you might want to start a new thread and ask your question. This thread is from 2012 and 2015.