Muscovy duckling gender??

[Rysktal]

I'm just glad when it rains and helps clean away some of the poop in the yard (the duck house I have to rake out regularly).

Haha Yes!! It's pouring outside right now and I'm so glad it will clean up the poop, Lol!

It's our first time as well. We have 20. I'm not sure when we will process them...I think our oldest one will be ready soon but I don't know how old it is and I'm not even sure I know the gender. I do want to keep a few so I think we will process the colours I don't want first and give a good handful more time to grow up so I can be sure I am keeping the correct genders.

Next year if I have one go broody and hatch ducklings, I think figuring out the gender will be a bit easier because they will all be the same age. I can't use drakes being bigger or females get feathers first when their ages are all over the map.

 

[Laura p]

Haha Yes!! It's pouring outside right now and I'm so glad it will clean up the poop, Lol!

It's our first time as well. We have 20. I'm not sure when we will process them...I think our oldest one will be ready soon but I don't know how old it is and I'm not even sure I know the gender. I do want to keep a few so I think we will process the colours I don't want first and give a good handful more time to grow up so I can be sure I am keeping the correct genders.

Next year if I have one go broody and hatch ducklings, I think figuring out the gender will be a bit easier because they will all be the same age. I can't use drakes being bigger or females get feathers first when their ages are all over the map.

Yes I can see how that would be tougher when you can't just compare! There are some very experienced people on here who are good at telling the difference, but not me yet! Good luck with all your ducks, I doubt you'll have trouble with them going broody next year - all 3 of ours did this summer. We have to figure out how to "break" this recent one because we don't need any more ducklings!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just take her eggs. You can try breaking up her nest and placing something on it to discourage her from going back Let us know if it works

 

[Laura p]

Just take her eggs. You can try breaking up her nest and placing something on it to discourage her from going back Let us know if it works

Thanks! Yeah I just worry she will go make a new nest somewhere else and I won't know where. This is the third place she's laid this summer!

I started another post about the broody hen to get advice too

 

[Miss Lydia]

That’s why I said let us know if it works it hasn’t here Muscovy’s are so broody and hard headed . Mine do just that they will just go find another place to lay. What I did this year and last year and year before that one lol is I take eggs up everyday and if they still stay broody after they have no eggs I let them sit. I make sure they come out everyday to eat swim and poop very important . This past week they had set their time up so one morning I made my 2 Muscovy ducks I also had 3 bantam chickens broody on nothing too all got tossed out of their house and I put the bales of shavings over where they had their nests I left the door closed so they couldn’t get inside during the day. It took about 3 days for them to get over it.

 

[Laura p]

That’s why I said let us know if it works it hasn’t here Muscovy’s are so broody and hard headed . Mine do just that they will just go find another place to lay. What I did this year and last year and year before that one lol is I take eggs up everyday and if they still stay broody after they have no eggs I let them sit. I make sure they come out everyday to eat swim and poop very important . This past week they had set their time up so one morning I made my 2 Muscovy ducks I also had 3 bantam chickens broody on nothing too all got tossed out of their house and I put the bales of shavings over where they had their nests I left the door closed so they couldn’t get inside during the day. It took about 3 days for them to get over it.

Thanks for the tips and for checking! It may be too soon to say but today broody hen appears to have abandoned the nest! It has been 3 days since a new egg, and we've been collecting them as she goes. Today she is back out with the rest of the ducks! Let's just hope she doesn't go find a new place to hide. This will be the third nest she has abandoned this summer...

 

[Miss Lydia]

If she’s young first timer she’ll probably do much better next year if your up for more ducklings. I hope she is through too.

 

[Laura p]

If she’s young first timer she’ll probably do much better next year if your up for more ducklings. I hope she is through too.

I do think she's pretty young, if I remember right. We bought our original 4 ducks as adults.

 

[Rysktal]

@Laura p
We processed the big one yesterday, so we can decide if that's the size we want to do them at. No idea how old or what gender but dressed weight (without skin because plucking was a nightmare) it is 4lbs.

 

[Laura p]

@Laura p
We processed the big one yesterday, so we can decide if that's the size we want to do them at. No idea how old or what gender but dressed weight (without skin because plucking was a nightmare) it is 4lbs.

Oh good to know, thanks for sharing!! Did you get a photo of the duck beforehand? Maybe I could try and compare the size to ours... Were you pleased with the result - 4lbs? Having never done this before, I have no reference for what is a decent size or not