Looking for help in identifying sex of muscovy ducks?

[Matt1075]

4 month old muscovy ducks. Thoughts on gender? Thank you.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. How old are they ?

 

[Matt1075]

4 months

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

4 month old muscovy ducks. Thoughts on gender? Thank you.View attachment 1602060

Are they the same size? Do you have other Muscovies born at the same time to compare them to? Are you sure about their age? Has there been any hissing or do they make “trilling” sounds? I spent too many months figuring out my own two Muscovy’s genders (well, my white one was a pain to figure out. The black/white one has almost always seemed like a female) so I’m definitely not a pro at this. However, I do know that bigger feet + thicker legs + hissing = drake, whereas petite little trilling birds with good flight abilities tend to be females.

Yours look far more masculine than my two females, and my white Muscovy borders on masculine. These pictures were taken when mine were just a little older than your two. They are now about 6 months old and are 5-ish pounds each. Neither of mine have notable caruncles.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

P.S. The duck forum on here is very active, and there are several members who have a lot of experience with Muscovies!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Do you happen to have better pics that show the whole side of their body? Is their tail fan shaped or shaped like a v?
My girls have more caruncles than some females so that's not always an indicator. At 4 months their caruncles would not be fully present. But, if they are from the same hatch and the same size, they most likely are the same sex as they look almost identical.

 

[Matt1075]

Yes they are same size and age. I only have the 2, picked them up in middle of August and they were all yellow and furry then. They make what sounds like heavy breathing when i feed or give them treats. Im thinking they are males. Never hurts to get other opinions though.

Are they the same size? Do you have other Muscovies born at the same time to compare them to? Are you sure about their age? Has there been any hissing or do they make “trilling” sounds? I spent too many months figuring out my own two Muscovy’s genders (well, my white one was a pain to figure out. The black/white one has almost always seemed like a female) so I’m definitely not a pro at this. However, I do know that bigger feet + thicker legs + hissing = drake, whereas petite little trilling birds with good flight abilities tend to be females.

Yours look far more masculine than my two females, and my white Muscovy borders on masculine. These pictures were taken when mine were just a little older than your two. They are now about 6 months old and are 5-ish pounds each. Neither of mine have notable caruncles.[/QUOTE]

 

[Matt1075]

Best i could get with my phone.

 

[TheBeardie]

My youngest muscovies are around three months old now. The silver one is three days younger than the chocolate one, a few weeks ago the silver one out grew the chocolate one and is now almost twice her size.

The chocolate duck, is about the same size as my smallest duck. The silver drake is the same size as my largest duck but still way smaller than my Gigantic drake.

At this point I think you have two males by the similar size.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Can you try to get a pic of the side - full body side shot? You can crouch down to get more to their level and get a shot of the side.
Generally, females have skinnier legs, a smaller head, and v shaped tail. Females make a thrilling noise.
Males have bulkier heads, thicker legs, and a fan shaped tail. Males stop peeping and hiss or like a whisper quack.
http://www.raising-ducks.com/determining-muscovy-gender/