Mascovy Ducklings

[Mountaindog]

I just brought 4 Mascovy ducklings home yesterday. At what age, and how can you determine thier sex? They are about 4 weeks now.
Thanks,
George

 

[keeperofthehearth]

You should be able to begin telling within the next week or so. The drakelets will outgrow the ducklets quickly now. Their feet will be a lot bigger than the ducklets and I noticed my boys start "stomping" around due to their wider leg stance.

As they mature the drakes voices will change and they will begin "hissing" while the ducks (hens) will chirp and coo.

 

[Duckysalterego]

I have a clutch of 10 wild mascovy ducklings(and their momma) looks to be 5 male 5 female (there were 12 but some jerk took 1 and I don't know what happened to the 2nd one) anyway they just turned 5 weeks this past saturday and I was wondering when do their wings fully develop?

 

[Buck Oakes]

I can answer both ur questions, I started raising muscovy ducks with little help since 5th grade , 9th grade now, but anyway they develop their wings t various ages, if you feed them chalk corn it can be as late as 6th months or maybe 5 months, but I you feed them a healthy baby duck fee it can be as soon as three months , it also depends on the parents, if their parents were good fliers they can develop wings very early in prematurity.

 

[Buck Oakes]

Now for the question above, it's really simple, I can tell at birth from size and peeping, but a they get older as you sy five weeks they will all become the same size till maturity, sonu can only tell by their feet, males les look like tree trunks, girls legs look more slender and smooth. And also when they are younger females are usually bigger than males at birth and when they're still in the egg , eggs that hold females are mostly larger than eggs that hold males

 

[Duckysalterego]

thank you Buck ...I bought some Purina Flock Raiser from the feed store but they did eat a little bit of it but came to me looking for bread ...this is the first time for them eating feed I give them bread I don't know what anyone else in the neighborhood feeds them they are wild...they were nested & hatched in my yard but still wild

 

[Duckysalterego]

we now have another nest in the duck house with at least 27 eggs and 3 momma...seems they have left the nesting to 1 momma these last 2 days ...one male kinda hangs around and has fathered allllllllll of these eggs ...he has eaten at least 1 of the eggs and keeps going in the house...he also pecks at the ducklings that I was asking about the wings

 

[Buck Oakes]

Okay , please dot feed them bread, bread has to much glucose for ducklings and if all ducks ingest to much there kidneys can fail from to much sugar

 

[Buck Oakes]

If there muscovy ducklings then the male is probably pecking at the other males , but also pecking at them to make try to either kill them or get them away so tg other babies can have a better chance so the best thing go do is take the male out of the equation, move hi or the ducklings ( either one )

 

[Duckysalterego]

He only pecks at them when there is food involved thanx for tip on bread