Lots of Duck Questions

[kissofcrimson]

I'm relatively new to ducks (was given 7 and well, bought a bunch more) and have some questions I can't seem to find on google, so I need some clarification. I was under the impression that one of the Muscovies was magpie colored but is not growing the caruncles on its beak like the other ones. This particular Muscovy is also bigger, so I had assumed it was a male and while assuming thought males grew theirs faster then females. He/she also hangs out more with the Appleyards then the Muscovies.

I was also wondering how do you tell the sex of ducks as they get bigger? I've read the males grow a prominent curled feather at the base of thier tail but none of my ducks have developed anything like that. Also the biggest Appleyard is the noisiest, one that I had originally thought was a boy until she stayed quaking. All the ducks besides her still have thier duckling voice with the Muscovies mostly just hissing.

So right now I only know one is a female lol All 3 of the Pekin and Appleyard hatched at the same time. The Muscovies were a different hatch I bought from someone and are slightly younger.

Also if any one the Appleyards are drakes when do they get a green head?

Thanks for any input. I'm sure there's more questions but can't think of them all. Here's some pictures. (Magpie is the bigger black and white)

 

[Ravynscroft]

Your bigger black and white is definitely not a Muscovy... maybe it's a Magpie duck? I'm not too familiar with those though...

Sex feathers (the drake curl and green heads) won't come in until their adult molt, think that's at roughly 3-4 months old... voice sexing is best way for you to tell gender once they grow out of the baby peeps... quacks-girl, raspy whaaap-whaaap-whaaap-boy...

Except the 'Scovies... compare their legs... wider stance and thicker legs indicates boy and slimmer legs with more centered stance indicates girl...

 

[Ren2014]

Also, for the 'Scovies compare their tail lengths. Males are much longer in body than the females.

They are all very pretty.

 

[Welshies]

Male muscovies hiss. Muscovies don't get a sex feather, but drakes of other ducks do, when they are 14-20 weeks old. Check for quacks and raspy little half-quacks. Males do the half-quack thing.
That might be a Magpie but the black and white looks to be more Ancona duck. Anconas are bigger than Magpies and lay less eggs as they are more dual purpose. Appleyard drakes will get the green after the rest of their body has molted- anywhere from 12-24 weeks.

 

[kissofcrimson]

Your bigger black and white is definitely not a Muscovy... maybe it's a Magpie duck? I'm not too familiar with those though...

Sex feathers (the drake curl and green heads) won't come in until their adult molt, think that's at roughly 3-4 months old... voice sexing is best way for you to tell gender once they grow out of the baby peeps... quacks-girl, raspy whaaap-whaaap-whaaap-boy...

Except the 'Scovies... compare their legs... wider stance and thicker legs indicates boy and slimmer legs with more centered stance indicates girl...

Alright I need to see how old they are. I was told they go through a second molt but wasn't sure exactly when that happened. Honestly right now the only one whose for sure quaking is one of the Appleyards. She's really loud, while everyone else is still peeping. I'll just have to watch them to see who does what.



And that's what I kind of figured. The Appleyards/Pekin came from a dear friend who only had those kinds of ducks. The other person I bought from though, he has a bunch of Muscovies but he also trades with people a lot so he could have possibly sold me something he bought, not sure. From the way he/she is growing it's a lot different from the Muscovys and so my first guess was a Magpie but I'll look up Acona. I'm not familiar with those ducks.

It sucks cuz I want to know now! I have some more babies growing up (Muscovies and a really dark duck that I have no idea what it is) and am hoping to get more hens if i have too many drakes.

 

[Welshies]

Alright I need to see how old they are. I was told they go through a second molt but wasn't sure exactly when that happened. Honestly right now the only one whose for sure quaking is one of the Appleyards. She's really loud, while everyone else is still peeping. I'll just have to watch them to see who does what.



And that's what I kind of figured. The Appleyards/Pekin came from a dear friend who only had those kinds of ducks. The other person I bought from though, he has a bunch of Muscovies but he also trades with people a lot so he could have possibly sold me something he bought, not sure. From the way he/she is growing it's a lot different from the Muscovys and so my first guess was a Magpie but I'll look up Acona. I'm not familiar with those ducks.

It sucks cuz I want to know now! I have some more babies growing up (Muscovies and a really dark duck that I have no idea what it is) and am hoping to get more hens if i have too many drakes.

Can I see the dark duck?
And the second molt is when they get their adult plumage- the drakes will get the flashy heads. The females really only go through one noticeable molt. Search up "eclipse phase", you'll find more about that.

 

[kissofcrimson]

Can I see the dark duck?
And the second molt is when they get their adult plumage- the drakes will get the flashy heads. The females really only go through one noticeable molt. Search up "eclipse phase", you'll find more about that.

Thank you, I'll look it up. I didn't know the males got the greenish heads later, I thought they got it as thier feathers starting coming in. Goes to show how much I know lol I have an okay picture of that duck but will have to take more.

 

[Welshies]

Thank you, I'll look it up. I didn't know the males got the greenish heads later, I thought they got it as thier feathers starting coming in. Goes to show how much I know lol I have an okay picture of that duck but will have to take more.

Do you have an individual pic of the dark one?
And the males look more like females first, then as their second molt comes they get green heads.
This way, in the wild, they are less at risk and are only flashy during breeding seasons- spring, summer, and early fall. They will molt once a year, every year, too.

 

[kissofcrimson]

Do you have an individual pic of the dark one?
And the males look more like females first, then as their second molt comes they get green heads.
This way, in the wild, they are less at risk and are only flashy during breeding seasons- spring, summer, and early fall. They will molt once a year, every year, too.

Do thier heads ever get greenish before they molt the second time? Just curious because the black/white duck has a greenish tint to its head but not sure if it's just because his/her head is black. I believe that ones a boy but could be wrong. I just took some pictures of both ducks. The little one is shy still.

 

[kissofcrimson]

Here's pictures of the Muscovies. I'm hoping all 3 are girls but one of them has a pretty long body. Also one of the Appleyards has a darker head that looks greenish now and is a lot quieter then the other one.