HELP! I assisted a duckling before internal pipping!

[Hamudazahabi]

Ok, thanks for informing me on that.

No problem, I did watch many videos and I did find out what males and females sound like, and I tried carrying each of the ducks because they start making louder noises, and two of them made the sound of a drake, while one made the sound of a female duck which is similar to a whistle, basically a bit of higher pitch sound. I think that is clear enough that the one which made that sound, which is the one with white head and no black spots (you can check the pictures I attached in earlier messages), is a female, and the rest are males.

I read that, and I do realize that the two I said are male both really like to nimble on fingers and clothes and everything they see, even the slipper. The female one usually doesn't do anything, but sometimes does.

Thank you for helping me. I hope all your problems get solved very soon.

@Miss Lydia I don't know if you will be able to see this soon or not, but I think I was wrong. I think all are males. I checked again today and I noticed that the one I called female was just probably less mature so at that time it was still able to do whistling sounds, because now whatever I do, it only makes the male sounds like the rest, it doesn't make any other sound.

Also, all of them are almost the same size, and I never noticed any big difference in size

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’m sorry to hear this. What are your plans now? Drakes are nice to have but if eggs are what you want you’ll have to find some females. I never could keep my Muscovy drakes together once I brought in females they are fighters. Others on here may have a better experience but this was here. I kept 4 drakes and they each had 4-5 females but I had to keep them separated. Their coop had stalls so I could put each drake into his own bedroom at night. They climb so the top was covered with hardware cloth we made a top out of plywood and stapled the hardware cloth to it for ventilation in 2016 I decided to just keep one drake and I rehomed 3 Thankfully at that time they went to a home where they didn’t get eaten. I know many eat Muscovy but I prefer not to and didn’t want to let them go where they would be food. I get too attached. I know this isn’t much help. Let me know what you think is best for your boys

I never know when I will have internet yesterday not at all. So I’ll try to check in when I can.

 

[Hamudazahabi]

I’m sorry to hear this. What are your plans now? Drakes are nice to have but if eggs are what you want you’ll have to find some females. I never could keep my Muscovy drakes together once I brought in females they are fighters. Others on here may have a better experience but this was here. I kept 4 drakes and they each had 4-5 females but I had to keep them separated. Their coop had stalls so I could put each drake into his own bedroom at night. They climb so the top was covered with hardware cloth we made a top out of plywood and stapled the hardware cloth to it for ventilation in 2016 I decided to just keep one drake and I rehomed 3 Thankfully at that time they went to a home where they didn’t get eaten. I know many eat Muscovy but I prefer not to and didn’t want to let them go where they would be food. I get too attached. I know this isn’t much help. Let me know what you think is best for your boys

I never know when I will have internet yesterday not at all. So I’ll try to check in when I can.

It's ok. So for now I will keep all, because anyways there are no females, but I am not sure what I will end up doing. We could eat them but I think it will be a very hard decision, so I just don't really want to get there now, I will try to think of other solutions first.

But one worry is I read that if they have not enough females, sometimes they try to mate with chickens, which they have access to here as they live together with the chickens. I don't know if that's the case but I read that online. Also, if I had to keep one male, I think I will choose the one with black head. Even though this one is quite aggressive to me as well, but I think the ducks living with it will have a higher chance of living because it defends and doesn't run away so quickly.

I have the 5 other ducklings which are supposedly Khaki Campbell (they don't look like Khaki Campbell ducklings except for one if you remember). I have put their picture earlier, and one of them at that time died after a bit, and another one disappeared somehow when I put them in the garden when I looked away. I found a solution for that, as I am using a secure place in the garden and used hardware net around to make sure it's closed, and we bought two more to replace the ones that died, and these two are slightly bigger than the rest. They are now living together, so maybe when we find out which are males and which are females, we can finally think about what to do with the extra males.

I also heard that if muscovy mates with other ducks, the hatched duck won't be able to reproduce and fertilize eggs, which makes it harder. Another problem is if I buy more muscovy, I have only seen them selling them babies, also without sexing them, so they might end up males again and I have to wait for long to find out. Also, I have seen a muscovy duck before for sale and it was way too expensive, while the baby is quite cheap and the food isn't too expensive.

Maybe what I could do is sell two of the males and use the money to buy a duck or two based on how much I sell them at, but I am not sure how long will it take for someone to buy, and I think a female duck is not enough for a male duck, as it needs more.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Hamudazahabi]

@Miss Lydia I found someone selling white ducks but they are not muscovy. They seem to be pekins, he said he is not sure what it is called but he has them (most people here always don't know the names for some reason. They just know how the ducks look)

But I am not sure if Muscovy will mate with Pekins, and if they do, will they reproduce after. I was thinking of keeping a muscovy male and buying pekin females but I am not sure if that works. I searched a lot for muscovy, and the adult ones are too expensive, and it's also hard to find some any where near my area.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

This is a post @Miss Lydia wanted added
She is having some trouble with her internet
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/can-muscovys-breed-other-ducks.428412/

 

[Hamudazahabi]

This is a post @Miss Lydia wanted added
She is having some trouble with her internet
https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/can-muscovys-breed-other-ducks.428412/

Thank you @New duck mommy 2021 and thank you @Miss Lydia for your help.

So I will respond now, so that when she eventually becomes able to see this post, she reply.

I have understood from the link attached that Pekin and Muscovy will produce mules but mules can't get children. To simplify that, it technically means they can get children together, but they can't get grandchildren.

In that case, I think I will try to see if I find any muscovy because I think it better if all are able, just so if they ever felt like it, they can do it, especially if in the future I decide to keep these new ones, I can.

Other than that, the real issue seems to be muscovy lol. It's like I won't accept any other type, and if I do, I will make problems about it. Except it can't control that. I still like muscovy and want it though. It's just nice and cute anyways. If I decide to get Pekin later, I think they can live happily with the black ducklings as none are muscovies. I will try to get muscovy females somehow.

Thanks.

 

[Hamudazahabi]

Hello!
@Miss Lydia something nice happened.
So around 3 days ago I saw my pullet and cockerel mating but I didn't know if that means they will lay eggs soon or not, but now...

The pullet layed its first egg! But the egg looks so weird. It's like a cylinder or something. It seems to have a line of blood on it.

 

[NatJ]

The pullet layed its first egg! But the egg looks so weird. It's like a cylinder or something. It seems to have a line of blood on it.

It is common for pullets to lay some weird eggs when they are getting started. Not every pullet does, but many do, and they usually go on to lay more normal eggs later.

You might find this article interesting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/
It talks about many different kinds of weird eggs that happen sometimes.

Regarding the streak of dark color, I think it is just the normal brown pigment, but it's concentrated there instead of spread evenly over the egg. You could try washing it off with a damp cloth to check: blood will wash off, pigment will not come off unless you really scrub. Either way, it is not anything you need to worry about.

The shape of the egg is not a problem. Her later eggs will probably have more normal shapes, although there are some hens that regularly lay eggs of a shape that would be weird for most hens. I've seen extra-long and pointy, or round almost like a ball.

 

[Hamudazahabi]

It is common for pullets to lay some weird eggs when they are getting started. Not every pullet does, but many do, and they usually go on to lay more normal eggs later.

I know that, I have had other pullets before get weird eggs, some where too small and even had a small yolk inside, others were also small and spherical like a ball, and others were so pointy. But this is the first time I see such a weird egg!

You might find this article interesting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/
It talks about many different kinds of weird eggs that happen sometimes.

Thank you very much for this article. I read all of it and I watched the video. The video explains it so good. I never knew the exact details. Thank you very much.

Regarding the streak of dark color, I think it is just the normal brown pigment, but it's concentrated there instead of spread evenly over the egg. You could try washing it off with a damp cloth to check: blood will wash off, pigment will not come off unless you really scrub. Either way, it is not anything you need to worry about.

Ok thanks for telling me that as well. The line there looked like blood to me when I saw it, but maybe you're right because I don't think it will have enough time to dry since I took it when it was still warm. I will check later.

The shape of the egg is not a problem. Her later eggs will probably have more normal shapes, although there are some hens that regularly lay eggs of a shape that would be weird for most hens. I've seen extra-long and pointy, or round almost like a ball.

Yeah, I have seen some of these as well before, but usually in the beginning only, then regular eggs again.

Anyways, thank you for responding to me. I want to ask about something when buying the ducks but I don't know if I should make a thread alone or if I should just continue it here. I think I will just respond here again and put my question.

 

[Hamudazahabi]

Hello,
I just want to ask:
So I have three muscovy males which are 4 months old, still not adult. I plan on selling two of them, so I need to buy females for the one duck. So I contacted a seller, he said he sells female ducks adult and young. Adult he said are ready to lay eggs while young are not yet, probably around the same age as my male ducks. Does it matter which one I buy? Is it okay if the muscovy females I buy are adults when the male duck I have still needs 3 more months to become adult approximately?

Thanks.