Is my Muscovy hen a cross breed? How can I tell and does that make her infertile??

[Luv Ducks]

What??? My Muscovy hens quack …

Mine can quack if startled or picked up. Only my males hissed. I never had a Hen Hiss at me no matter what. Even my Mule Duck does not hiss but quacks instead.

 

[Klutch]

What a beautiful purebred hen. I would definitely breed her with a black male and watch the colors they will throw, lavender, greys and some black and whites.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Muacovies don't quack. They make other sounds like hissing

 

[WhistlePig]

Image?

Yeah that would help I should have taken one before they were locked up for the night. I can get one tomorrow for sure.

 

[WhistlePig]

She is beautiful! And I think she is indeed full Muscovy.

Cross-breeds will still lay eggs, btw. They just won't be fertile.

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that. From the feedback I'm getting she may just be young regarding the caruncles. This may mean I have quite some time to wait for her to lay.

Even if she's a cross I am so glad she will lay eggs. That means she may still get broody and I can put other birds' eggs under her.

In your experience do Muscovy hens go broody often?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that. From the feedback I'm getting she may just be young regarding the caruncles. This may mean I have quite some time to wait for her to lay.

Even if she's a cross I am so glad she will lay eggs. That means she may still get broody and I can put other birds' eggs under her.

In your experience do Muscovy hens go broody often?

Ask @The Moonshiner

 

[Canadian Wind]

As quackingdom said, it depends on the individuals, but the three females I started out with all went broody, and pretty much all at the same time! The eggs were unfertile though (the drake shot blanks) so I ended up having to shoo them off their nests after over a month (Muscovy take 35 days to hatch).

 

[Canadian Wind]

Aw, poor mamas. Well they do seem to get over things fast.

I've heard they're wonderful mamas but am wondering if they are really good for hatching chicks versus ducklings. I've seen it a lot on the YouTube but I always think:

The Muscovy hens are so heavy, the chicks are so tiny and delicate, ducklings are always more sturdy/heavy than that. Is it really a good idea? I love weird experiments but don't want to cause death for no reason.

They might actually crush the chicken eggs.

 

[casportpony]

Is there a definitive way to tell she's not full Muscovy? (I'm probably not going to bother the guy from CL.)

She looks purebred to me. Very pretty, too.

Should she be more developed in the caruncles/redness by now? Do some full Muscovy hens not get very red?

She is still young. Her caruncles will get a little bigger and redder in a few months.

Do Muscovy crosses lay eggs even though they're "infertile"?

They do lay eggs.

When do Muscovy hens start laying normally?

6-8 months.

ALSO, when the guy caught her for me she quacked! (She does do that sweet little noise girls make)

At first I took that as a good sign that she was a she as in my experience with other ducks drakes make the raspy noise and ducks quack and that's the best way to tell. Now I'm thinking maybe that's a sign she's a mix.

Female Muscovy ducks do a soft quack.

Anybody know if she will lay eggs if she IS a cross? I'm having a hard time finding clear info on this.

Yes, she will lay eggs. Here is an article from Metzer Farms about mule ducks (Muscovy crosses).

Source:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/mule-ducks.html
"

Mule Ducks or Moulards​

Muscovy and domestic ducks (such as the Pekin - which were developed from Mallards) are very different as they have been genetically isolated for over 50 million years. They can be crossed but you get some very interesting results. If you cross a Muscovy male with a Pekin female you will hatch moulards (or mule ducks); if you cross a Pekin male with a Muscovy female the progeny are called hinnies.

In Europe and in Asia many mule ducks are produced because of their large size, quality liver and reduced fat content in the carcass. Artificial insemination has been developed in ducks due to the desire to produce mule ducks. If left to mate naturally, the fertility is only 20-30%. Artificial insemination brings the fertility up to 80%. 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 like Pekins 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.

We do not produce mules or hinnies but thought you might enjoy this material on this interesting aspect of duck production and genetics."

 

[TDK]

Mine can quack if startled or picked up. Only my males hissed. I never had a Hen Hiss at me no matter what. Even my Mule Duck does not hiss but quacks instead.

My female hisses, but only when she has chicks.