Muscovies CAN and WILL breed with other breeds. However, if they breed with anything other than a muscovy, you will get sterile offspring.
Muscovy hens bred with mallard derived drakes (pekins, harlequins, swedish, etc) will give you sterile females (hinnies) and males. But the females will lay eggs. These eggs will take the normal length of time to hatch for a muscovy, 32-25 days. The offspring are typically (not all as there are so many different genetic make-ups with these mixes) similar to muscovy where the males are noticably larger than females and females are able to fly. But they quack like a mallard-derived duck.
Muscovy drakes bred with mallard derived hens will give you sterile males and females and the females won't lay eggs (moulards). These typically fall in between when it comes to hatching and will take anywhere from 30 to 32 days to hatch. Offspring are known to be excellent meat ducks (especially if using a pekin for a mix) and will grow fast and large.
Mule ducks typically do NOT have caruncles though a few will get very very small, almost unnoticable ones.
The females will go broody only if they want to. It usually has to be the proper time of the year (spring/summer). If you stop collecting her eggs (assuming she lays daily in the same spot/nest) she will most likely become broody. But you have to be patient as they don't always start setting right away. I would mark the eggs she lays each day, that way you can remove really old eggs if she decides to wait a week or longer before she sets.
Here is a pic of the Silver muscovy hen crossed with a welsh harlequin drake offspring I hatched this year:
One was lilac pied (drake), and the rest were hens a black pied, solid white, and a blue fawn.
But colors will vary depending on your ducks. My muscovy hen was silver but carried all kinds of color genes.
Muscovy hens bred with mallard derived drakes (pekins, harlequins, swedish, etc) will give you sterile females (hinnies) and males. But the females will lay eggs. These eggs will take the normal length of time to hatch for a muscovy, 32-25 days. The offspring are typically (not all as there are so many different genetic make-ups with these mixes) similar to muscovy where the males are noticably larger than females and females are able to fly. But they quack like a mallard-derived duck.
Muscovy drakes bred with mallard derived hens will give you sterile males and females and the females won't lay eggs (moulards). These typically fall in between when it comes to hatching and will take anywhere from 30 to 32 days to hatch. Offspring are known to be excellent meat ducks (especially if using a pekin for a mix) and will grow fast and large.
Mule ducks typically do NOT have caruncles though a few will get very very small, almost unnoticable ones.
The females will go broody only if they want to. It usually has to be the proper time of the year (spring/summer). If you stop collecting her eggs (assuming she lays daily in the same spot/nest) she will most likely become broody. But you have to be patient as they don't always start setting right away. I would mark the eggs she lays each day, that way you can remove really old eggs if she decides to wait a week or longer before she sets.
Here is a pic of the Silver muscovy hen crossed with a welsh harlequin drake offspring I hatched this year:
One was lilac pied (drake), and the rest were hens a black pied, solid white, and a blue fawn.
But colors will vary depending on your ducks. My muscovy hen was silver but carried all kinds of color genes.
