Help me with my duck!

[justineheis12]

I bought a duckling a few weeks ago and I thought she was a pekin because she was all yellow but now she's turning black and she's getting little brown spots on her tail. I'm so confused what she could be. If anyone has any idea it would be awesome to find out!!

 

[CityFarmer202]

Welcome to BYC!! Not sure, but she is cute

 

[WildWestChick]

It looks a lot like one of my muscovies did...those tail feathers look awfully long! Does this duckie wag it's tail a lot? And make a tweet tweet noise occasionally, instead of a screaming peep all the time?

 

[WildWestChick]

Here are some pics of mine that I think yours will look similar to if it's a muscovy....

Her she is as a baby...mostly yellow.

A couple of weeks ago..

Ten minutes ago lol

Muscovy's are a very quiet duck, which is one of the reasons I love them so much...they don't quack like regular ducks do. They tweet, hiss, and if very surprised or scared they will honk...I've never heard mine honk yet!

 

[justineheis12]

Yes!! She peeps a lot and wags her tail so much!! Do Muscovys get big at all? Or are they a smaller breed? Thank you for your help!!

 

[WildWestChick]

Yes they get pretty big...especially the drakes. The drakes can get upwards of 15 pounds, and the hens are usually around 7 pounds.
They are actually tree type ducks and get very very sharp claws..ask me how I know lol!
They are also one of the few domesticated ducks that are not related to mallards, and they originated in South America...so keep an eye out for frostbite during colder months, because they are more susceptible to it.

Other than that they are very quiet...I hardly ever hear mine unless I tick one off, and then I get hissed at! And I love how they wag their tails almost all the time..like water puppies lol!

 

[justineheis12]

Do they lay a lot of eggs? And how long until she starts to the the red stuff on her beak?

 

[WildWestChick]

It just depends..I've heard different things(80-120 eggs per year) but they only lay when they want to, and they can lay at any time of year. My scovies are only about 3 1/2 months old, so no eggs yet. And the red caruncles have just started showing up a lil bit on mine...I wanna say I heard someone tell me that it can take up to a year before they are fully formed, with drakes getting way more than the hens.

 

[desertdarlene]

Do they lay a lot of eggs? And how long until she starts to the the red stuff on her beak?

Yes, they are good egg layers and good mothers. If it's a girl, she won't get a whole lot of the red stuff, just a little around her eyes. It's the males that get the carnuncles on their faces.

 

[justineheis12]

Are they a good pet duck? And can they fly?!