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

[JacinLarkwell]

Image?

 

[WhistlePig]

She looks like a normal (and very pretty!) 4-month old Muscovy to me! Muscovies develop their caruncles around 5 months and are fully mature and start laying around 6 months of age. I do have some adult Muscovies with very slight caruncling, so it's possible she won't grow much more.

My Muscovies go broody fairly often, although it varies depending on the individual. Some almost never go broody while others go broody on every clutch.

Also, I'm not sure on this, but I think whether a Muscovy cross lays or not depends on what sort of cross it is, a male Muscovy crossed with a female Mallard-derived duck or a male Mallard-derived duck crossed with a female Muscovy. I think one of those would lay and the other wouldn't, although both are infertile.

Thanks, that is super informative. Hopefully she's what she looks like (full blooded) but if she's a broody one she can be mama either way I'm impatient to find out if she's going to be broody and to see her first eggs!

 

[WhistlePig]

They might actually crush the chicken eggs.

Gotcha. I thought it seemed odd and unlikely to be really successful!

 

[WhistlePig]

She looks purebred to me. Very pretty, too.


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

They do lay eggs.


6-8 months.


Female Muscovy ducks do a soft quack.


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."

Ahh, thank you so much! Everything I needed to know

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have a Mule Duck. She is very big, Drake was a beautiful huge Muscovy and Hen was a Rouen. I had three eggs that I finished incubating in my house after my broody Mallard gave up and was happy with her 11 ducklings. Two were Males and I kept my female but rehomed them. She has absolutely no red on her face but has the big rear claw, big gray body like the drake and head like a Rouen. She is very bossy and I was wondering if she was laying eggs. I am getting five a day now and I know one is from my Mallard and I have 2 Muscovy Hens and 2 Khaki Campbell Hens so the others must be from them since Mules are not suppose to lay eggs. I still love her though as I hatched her out in my living room the rest of the way and had to peel her out of the egg and wash her off as she was full of goo but she is just fine and funny to watch.

 

[WhistlePig]

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.

If I get a drake I'll have to make sure to get a black one! Thanks for the lead, I love lavenders so much.

 

[Klutch]

Beautiful hen!! Now you can make Hinnies

 

[Miss Lydia]

She's gorgeous

 

[WhistlePig]

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).

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.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

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

What??? My Muscovy hens quack …