Muscovy. One of each?

[amandavanryssel]

So there's noticeable differences in these two but as first time poultry owners we have clue what we have! Any tips or tricks would be helpful. They're about 8 weeks old.

 

[MotherOHens]

Hmm... I don't know much about ducks other than it seems male ducks do not quack. They make a raspy sound sometimes though.
Does either of your's quack..? If so, that's your girl(s)!

 

[amandavanryssel]

Hmm... I don't know much about ducks other than it seems male ducks do not quack. They make a raspy sound sometimes though.
Does either of your's quack..? If so, that's your girl(s)!

I've been told neither gender quack lol. Its soooo hard to tell lol

 

[sourland]

Muscovies can not be voice sexed. Drakes are generall 1/3 to 50% larger than ducks. If the bird with black on its head is younger than the other he may very well be a drake. The more fully feathered bird appears to be a hen.

 

[JaeG]

Do you know how old they are? Girls tend to be smaller than the boys and it's around 6-8 weeks that it become noticeable. The pure white one does have a more feminine looking head and beak. She looks more round/short in the body compared to the other one and boys have huge feet in comparison to the girls smaller ones too.

Muscovy drakes will hiss and ducks will trill, although one of my young girls has a bit of a quack at the moment. It was around 12+ weeks we started to hear more adult noises from them.

 

[nao57]

I've been told neither gender quack lol. Its soooo hard to tell lol

muscovies are supposed to be the quietest ducks. That's their appeal; your neighbors are less likely to notice them.

BUT...they can fly. So you will have to decide if you will clip wings later. (People don't do this when they are young.) But generally ducks resist 'safe zone confinement' more than chickens. My chickens ALWAYS are hopping the fence.

But my ducks won't even try, even if the fence has holes in it.

Some people really like muscovies for this reason.

And another advantage of them is that because they are a large duck, they have the best options for meat, besides Rouen and Peking. The 3 of them all have fairly similar max weights.

But a lot of others have more experience than I. So feel free to listen to them more.

 

[nao57]

Do you know how old they are? Girls tend to be smaller than the boys and it's around 6-8 weeks that it become noticeable. The pure white one does have a more feminine looking head and beak. She looks more round/short in the body compared to the other one and boys have huge feet in comparison to the girls smaller ones too.

Muscovy drakes will hiss and ducks will trill, although one of my young girls has a bit of a quack at the moment. It was around 12+ weeks we started to hear more adult noises from them.

I like that snow white look also! Its so nice.

 

[nao57]

Muscovies can not be voice sexed. Drakes are generall 1/3 to 50% larger than ducks. If the bird with black on its head is younger than the other he may very well be a drake. The more fully feathered bird appears to be a hen.

Muscovies still get a drake tail right? (This probably won't show up for about 2 or 3 more months tho, I'm guessing if they do get it.)

 

[sourland]

Muscovies do not get a drake curl. This is true only of mallard derived breeds.

 

[Gray Farms]

Muscovies still get a drake tail right? (This probably won't show up for about 2 or 3 more months tho, I'm guessing if they do get it.)

No they don't