Breeding for certain muscovy traits

[jdywntr]

My question for Wynter is, aren't muscovy/pekin crosses sterile? I know the mule are (males). Do the hinnies (females) even lay eggs?




Edited to say: Never mind. (smacks self in head) I looked in the forums and found out that Hinnies do indeed lay eggs. They just won't ever hatch.

So my next question is, do hinnies lay more, the same or fewer eggs than pure muscovies? I haven't found that info yet.

I haven't seen any info one whether they lay more eggs, they are supposed to lay smaller eggs. Commercially, they are bred for meat production. If you breed a Muscovy drake with a Pekin hen, you will get faster growing, similarly large sized offspring. On the other hand, if you breed a Pekin drake with a Muscovy hen, you get a longer incubation time and varied weight in the offspring.

I actually just got some Pekin today to breed with some of my drakes. So, I can let you know in 6-8 months or so.

 

[Steffanyace]

I assumed we were all on the same page about responsible breeding. I should know better than to assume (LOL), so let me clarify: All thoughts about breeding for variations or future breeds based off of muscovy ducks would mean that the resulting animal would be a healthy animal free of any genetic problems.

There are inherent risks in selectively breeding for a specific trait. However, through proper breeding, those undesirable traits that arise can be selected against. So, for example, if a muscovy is bred for a longer neck and issues arise in certain ducks, those should end up in the freezer and not as a breeding animal. I believe responsible breeders would not allow for traits that would be harmful for their animal. One of the benefits of selectively breeding livestock (vs. dogs or cats) is that the culls can end up in you freezer.

As for my purpose in this thread: I wanted to see the amount of interest, if any, for variations on the current muscovy duck and the possibility of future breeds based off of the muscovy. I personally would like to see gypsy faces, smooth face, and maybe even muscovies with extra curling in their crest---a "polish" variety. Since showing tends to drive the breeding, maybe at sometime in the future a separate class for medium weight (can fly) muscovies with a division for gypsy faces, smooth faces, and maybe even a "polish" muscovy.

Now, I don't breed on a large enough scale nor am I in the muscovy show industry to bring about such changes. I plan on selling the ducks I breed locally. However, throwing the idea out there might plant a seed for the future.

With that in mind . . . Is there anyone specifically breeding for traits in their muscovies that does not fall in line with show stock? Is there anyone breeding for gypsy faces, smaller size, smooth faces, etc?

Hmmmmm . . . Now, I'm thinking a muscovy call duck . . . .

(I do understand that mallards and muscovies are a different species which is sort of how this discussion came about).