Hatched some unusual ducklings from my mixed flock!

[Buxton Ducks]

I decided to let my silkie hen sit on some duck eggs this spring. I have a mixed flock of swedish, rouen, call, mallard, runner, khaki and a drake who nobody can seem to identify. The feed store didn't know what he was, nobody on here can quite figure him out either. I was convinced he was a mule duck (mallard/muscovy cross). A mule would be sterile however but these ducklings look suspiciously look like little muscovies. I have never hatched mallard-descent ducks that look like this. They have a very distinct head shape and the coloring is almost olive green to chocolate and BRIGHT yellow down. My pekins have always had a soft yellow hue to their down. Are there any 'scovie people who can help me out on this? Do I just have some cool looking babies or could they be mules and the dad be pure. The dad looks like a muscovy in all aspects but one..... he has NO caruncles. He perches on our roof, in trees, he weighs about 14 pounds but can fly great and he guards the flock like a goose would. What does everybody think?

Just hatched yesterday:






Here is the mystery duck:

 

[carcar80]

Very cool! Congrats on the hatch. Love the ducklings.

edit: AND the chicks.

 

[Going Quackers]

Interesting... there cute, so is the drake but he's not pure 'scovie no way.... the lack of facial flesh even his lack of bulk lead to a mix of some sort.

here is a drake from last years hatch, keep in mind this 'kid' lol is only a few months old...



Muscovy also have this bean on their beaks, i tried to see if could get a pic explaining it but not sure i have any focused enough on that area. Again, though all cute/nice birds regardless!

 

[Buxton Ducks]

What a beauty! This guy is about a year old so most likely a sterile mule. I am going to keep these little guys as pets so we will see what they grow into.

 

[jonhpdx]

Quote:
That is a COOL drake you've got there. Very jealous. It seems like he's not Muscovy to me, maybe a cross of a Cayuga and something else?? The thing that throws me off is his size. I don't know of many Duck breeds that are that big except Pekin, Rouen and Muscovy, and a Cayuga is probably more like 7 lbs. not 14!

You've got me stumped.

 

[Going Quackers]

What a beauty! This guy is about a year old so most likely a sterile mule. I am going to keep these little guys as pets so we will see what they grow into.

Thank you, he was.. it was painful to sell him lol I think it'll be fun to see what comes of these babies, it's a nice drake regardless of his exact breeding... do update us as they grow!

 

[Buxton Ducks]

That is a COOL drake you've got there. Very jealous. It seems like he's not Muscovy to me, maybe a cross of a Cayuga and something else?? The thing that throws me off is his size. I don't know of many Duck breeds that are that big except Pekin, Rouen and Muscovy, and a Cayuga is probably more like 7 lbs. not 14!

You've got me stumped.

I know, he is absolutely gorgeous. I had to buy him when I saw him, but I am right there with you... very confused about his breed. He is larger than my largest rouen and my jumbo pekins but the weirdest thing is that he can FLY! He flies very very well despite his size, my rouens or pekins could not even dream of flying. He has a barred pattern under his wings like a muscovy and the head and eyes are very different than my others of mallard descent. I know muscovies can fly very well and most mallard types cannot but maybe if he is a sterile hybrid, he got the flight ability.

 

[Going Quackers]

Muscovy ducks fly well, the drakes not so much after 1yo... my two no longer fly, they are simply to large.

 

[Athena duck]

Hi, I bred a muscovy and a Rouen and the two ducklings from them were both males that looked like a normal rouen drake.
One of these males accidently bred back with the my female muscovy and the resulting three looked like this mystery duck. One was a drake that looked exactly like the mystery duck. The other two females had brighter highlights on their underbellies.Where did you get this drake from, or did you hatch them? I will attach some pictures later of the mutt ducks.