Breeding for certain muscovy traits

[Steffanyace]

There are so many breeds that came from mallards, so why aren't breeders doing the same with muscovy ducks? I personally prefer the smooth caruncle muscovies. I think it would be nice to breed for black caruncles instead of red, or a black smooth with a red bumpy trim. I could see them being bred to look like swans. Is anyone breeding for these vairiation?

 

[Miss Lydia]

There are so many breeds that came from mallards, so why aren't breeders doing the same with muscovy ducks? I personally prefer the smooth caruncle muscovies. I think it would be nice to breed for black caruncles instead of red, or a black smooth with a red bumpy trim. I could see them being bred to look like swans. Is anyone breeding for these vairiation?

Bred to look like swans? I hope your kidding.

 

[Kev]

The coolest duck I've seen was a muscovy with loads of skin and carncules all the way down it's neck. Never saw any more like him though. I do see some size variation, some flocks have seriously huge males and some flocks the size difference is not so extreme.

Bred to look like swans? I hope your kidding.

I can see that being funny but really, Why not? Consider how different show stock Runners or Calls look from wild mallards. If there weren't any Runners, many would simply laugh at the idea of bowling pin ducks but there they are....

 

[Miss Lydia]

The coolest duck I've seen was a muscovy with loads of skin and carncules all the way down it's neck. Never saw any more like him though. I do see some size variation, some flocks have seriously huge males and some flocks the size difference is not so extreme.

I can see that being funny but really, Why not? Consider how different show stock Runners or Calls look from wild mallards. If there weren't any Runners, many would simply laugh at the idea of bowling pin ducks but there they are....

True but Scovies are unique enough just like they are.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I am more for the gypsy face on muscovies too, I still like the red, esspecially with blacks and dark blues I find the red face stunning but I like black around the eyes and a bit throughout.
I really dislike the show scovies faces, they look like they suffer from a horrible cancer on their face and are pretty much blind, whats the point of that?

 

[Going Quackers]

No, i like to think of preservation of the what the breed is. You start messing around, and well, you could possibly ruin the breed, all one needs to do is look at purebred dogs these days.

 

[jdywntr]

No, i like to think of preservation of the what the breed is. You start messing around, and well, you could possibly ruin the breed, all one needs to do is look at purebred dogs these days.

X 2

Many mallard derived breeds have been bred for a purpose not just for a look.

Runners were bred because they were used to weed rice patties in Asian countries. They would have to walk over long distances and their upright stance allowed them to move quicker, hence the name Runner.

Pekin were bred to grow quickly and lay well for use as meat birds.

Calls were bred to "call" wild ducks to an area, essentially live decoys.

Campbells were bred for egg production.

Etc, etc, etc. Many breeds were used as slower growing meat birds or layers.

If you look at show Muscovy you will find birds with so much caruncling that they can barely see. Seems silly to me to breed something that will not be able to function well. Coming up with a new breed or breeding for a specific trait is VERY labor intensive and results in a LOT of culling of unacceptable offspring. Many don't have the heart or desire to do this. I would LOVE a faster growing Muscovy, it takes a while to get them to a size that it is worth the effort to put them in a freezer. I will be breeding some of my Muscovy with Pekins that I plan on getting next month so that I can have a faster growing meat bird and a female that will lay more.

Black caruncles appear on black ducks. I used to have a drake that had black and red caruncles. He was a butt so went to freezer camp. This is him

 

[Steffanyace]

I don't think we should get rid of the original muscovy duck. I'm just hoping to add some additional varieties.

Think about it this way. How many people would own dogs if they were all wolf-like? The breed variations mostly all came about to be better at a certain purpose, but how many people today are herding with their shepherds, fighting lions with their ridge backs, or hunting with their afghans? Some I'm sure, but for the most part they are pets or show stock. I would suspect that there is a large portion of people buying their ducks today because they like to just look at them or show them rather than meat production

I think call ducks are beautiful. What portion of call duck owners are actually using their ducks for hunting these days? Are call duck breeders eating their call ducks, or using them for egg production (for eating eggs)? I would suspect their main purpose these days are for their cute factor. I am new to ducks though, so I could be way off on that.

I like the regular muscovies and think they should stay, but I think there would be room for ornamental muscovies too.

 

[Steffanyace]

Black caruncles appear on black ducks.

I have a blue drake with a lot of black in his face.

 

[Steffanyace]

Bred to look like swans? I hope your kidding.

Picture a white muscovy where the caruncles are smooth and black. While it wouldn't have the long neck, the face would be swan like.