Muscovy Size Question

[kitchenwdinah]

Hi,

So I have four 4 month old musocvy. They are the exact same size. Same foot size and ankle size. They all weight about 7 1/2 lbs. They are all the same height. They have the same tail shape. I vent sexed them as female (new at muscovy but can do it successfully with mallard derived breeds) and they were all flying at 3.5 months until we clipped them. I did a post on FB and most (like 90 percent) of the responses said I have males. I am open to them being males but this was kind of a surprise to me and now I am faced with re homing decisions.. Whatever they are, I think I have 4 of the same which has made sexing them difficult because i have no comparison. Their mom was about 8 lbs. Dad was really big. If these are males, how long will it take to get to that double size that muscovy drakes get?

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

They are gorgeous! Do they ever hiss? Do they speak to each other with quiet little “trills”? They are certainly larger and more “caruncled“ than my two hens were at that age, even my more masculine hen. However, I do realize that different strains have different amounts of caruncles, etc. Where did you get them from? Is there a chance you could contact them to see if they have pictures of others from that strain at a similar age?

 

[kitchenwdinah]

I picked them up myself. Their mom is big. About the size they are now. Their dad was huge. I don't know how quickly her strains develop carunkles on that farm. They don't hiss like I have heard the drakes do in online videos but they also do not trill or coo. They are extremely quiet. Almost never make a sound. When they do is just kind of breathy. This is the only picture I have of the mom.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Hi,

So I have four 4 month old musocvy. They are the exact same size. Same foot size and ankle size. They all weight about 7 1/2 lbs. They are all the same height. They have the same tail shape. I vent sexed them as female (new at muscovy but can do it successfully with mallard derived breeds) and they were all flying at 3.5 months until we clipped them. I did a post on FB and most (like 90 percent) of the responses said I have males. I am open to them being males but this was kind of a surprise to me and now I am faced with re homing decisions.. Whatever they are, I think I have 4 of the same which has made sexing them difficult because i have no comparison. Their mom was about 8 lbs. Dad was really big. If these are males, how long will it take to get to that double size that muscovy drakes get?View attachment 2272190View attachment 2272191View attachment 2272192View attachment 2272194

Here‘s what my two looked like at 4 months for comparison. The pied hen was about 4 lbs, and the white hen was about 5 lbs. Their adult weights are about 5 lbs and 6.5 lbs, I think!

Sorry, I didn’t take very good photos that month!

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I picked them up myself. Their mom is big. About the size they are now. Their dad was huge. I don't know how quickly her strains develop carunkles on that farm. They don't hiss like I have heard the drakes do in online videos but they also do not trill or coo. They are extremely quiet. Almost never make a sound. When they do is just kind of breathy. This is the only picture I have of the mom.

Hmmm... I’m leaning towards drakes, but I’m not an expert in any way whatsoever. Tagging Miss Lydia. She helped me immensely when I was trying to figure out my two!

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

@Miss Lydia, what are your thoughts?

 

[kitchenwdinah]

Hmmm... I’m leaning towards drakes, but I’m not an expert in any way whatsoever.

A lot of people are. Which I am ok with. It's a bummer because I'll have to re home them but that was always the risk. But they are so under weight for drakes. Unless they gain it all later. I'm trying to figure out when they will put on that 5 lbs or so. When will I start to see that?

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

A lot of people are. Which I am ok with. It's a bummer because I'll have to re home them but that was always the risk. But they are so under weight for drakes. Unless they gain it all later. I'm trying to figure out when they will put on that 5 lbs or so. When will I start to see that?

I feel like they would be in the middle of a big growth spurt right now if they are drakes. Darn it, your two have me totally confused too! It’s so much easier when you have ‘Scovies of different sizes! I know that I harassed folks on here for months about mine, and I was convinced that my white ‘Scovy was a drake until she was about 5 months old. I’m definitely following, and am looking forward to seeing what others think! Sorry that I could not be more helpful!

 

[kitchenwdinah]

I feel like they would be in the middle of a big growth spurt right now if they are drakes. Darn it, your two have me totally confused too! It’s so much easier when you have ‘Scovies of different sizes! I know that I harassed folks on here for months about mine, and I was convinced that my white ‘Scovy was a drake until she was about 5 months old. I’m definitely following, and am looking forward to seeing what others think! Sorry that I could not be more helpful!

I plan to weigh them again in a couple weeks. If they gain another lb they would have to be drakes because an over 8 lb scovy hen would be too big im thinking. It would be crazy that I have such small drakes. Their dad was a monster.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I plan to weigh them again in a couple weeks. If they gain another lb they would have to be drakes because an 8 lb scovy hen would be too big im thinking. It would be crazy that I have such small drakes. Their dad was a monster.

That sounds like a good plan! Crossing fingers for hens! Whatever they are, they are absolutely gorgeous ducks