Hybrid Ducks

[Southernchickens]

Last year my 3 muscovy hens hatched some muscovy hen x pekin drake ducklings. Does anyone else have any and do they lay eggs. I heard that they are mules and they cannot reproduce.

 

[Alicia G]

Yes mule ducks are sterile and dont usually lay eggs.If they are like most hybrid birds(chicken/pheasant, chicken/guineafowl, guinea/peafowl) They also have a shorter lifespan.Around 1-2 years.Hope that helps

 

[desertdarlene]

I have heard that in certain circumstances, if the 'scovy is a hen then her females may be able to lay eggs, but they will be infertile no matter what.

I don't know about their lifespan, sorry.

 

[Southernchickens]

I also read that if the hen is a muscovy then it can lay eggs but they cannot be hatched

 

[Bleenie]

It's been a while but if I remember right, the offspring of a Muscovy HEN bred to a Pekin Drake(or other mallard-derived breed) will result in offspring that are called "hinnys". The female offspring(hinnys) do lay, but I am unsure of how well they lay... I couldnt find a lot of info on it when I looked it up.

Okay, I just found this on some comcast website with scovy info: http://home.comcast.net/~out1rider/page17.html

Muscovy when crossed with other breeds, produce sterile offspring. For instance, if you cross a Muscovy male with a Pekin female you will hatch mules; if you cross a Pekin male with a Muscovy female the progeny are called hinnies. Whereas a Pekin takes 28 days to hatch and a Muscovy takes 35 days, a mule or hinny takes 32 days to hatch.

Approximately 60% of mule ducks are males. Some of their characteristics are like the Muscovy as they are large, quiet, slow moving and have long claws but are also like Pekin as they swim well, the males and females are much the same size and they do not fly. Hinnies are not grown commercially. Males hinnies are much larger than female hinnies, like the Muscovy, yet the females look Pekin but fly quite well.

Mules and hinnies cannot reproduce. Both males are sterile and only the hinny females lay eggs (though they cannot hatch). If you have Muscovy and Pekin together, the chances are poor that they will cross but if they do, a hinny will probably be the result as Pekin males can catch Muscovy females easier than Muscovy males can catch Pekin females.​