Need help, unsure what breed this duckling is [IMG heavy]

[Halion]

Quote:
I used an iguana harness from PetCo then I switched over to Mother Gooses' diaper harness. There is an elastic loop on it that allows you to hook a dog leash on to it.
The website is http://www.thegoosesmother.com

 

[desertdarlene]

OK, that clarifies something because someone said that Pekins (because they're mallard derived) also needed permits and if you go by that, then any domestic duck would need permits all they're all mallard derived (except muscovies). It appears that if it has actual mallard in it that it needs permit.

I would tell them it's not a mallard, but a rouen cross because it very well might be.

 

[showjumper_girl2002]

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looks like my muscovy ducklings

 

[annageckos]

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But a rouen is still derived from mallards. IMO, that law is stupid. It's like saying you need a permit for a dog because it is derived from the wolf. I understand the intent, but it doesn't work in practice.

 

[Wifezilla]

Huh? You can walk ducks on harnesses?! :O Like a regular dog harness?

Nettie's ducks are all harness trained
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3599130#p3599130

....and they wear shoes when they walk outside on the pavement

She made these for a byc member.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=282993&p=1

She originally designed the shoes because one of her runners is really prone to bumblefoot.​

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

the bird in question is a rouen cross, may have scovie in it, very little, not pure by no means. Im think a rouen to a rouen/ scovie cross actually.
Muscovies dont get the white ring around their neck, neither do hens of any breed that I am aware of by the way (means you have a drake there, bill color says the same thing too)
Size alone of this baby rules out mallrad, it's freaking massive, I mean look at it....mallards at the age in these pictures would be 1/3 or so the size of what this big boy is, even as a cross.
Also, the one you say is a pure muscovy drake...not so sure about all that either...w hile it does have some masking on the face, it looks mallard derived in body color to a degree to me from that pic provided, dont think he's pre either...

By the way, muscovies now require FEDERAL permits to keep and actually they want them banded in all collections, except meat production....just keep that in mind.

Due to this actual thing here...so many back yard folks have let them out that in areas they are screwing up the wild waterfowl populations with crosses, so they pretty much have put a band on keeping them any more. There was a huge stink about that on here in many threads back when they past the law a while back.
for complete rules on them you need to go to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , Migratory Waterfowl Sales and Disposal Permit section

just goggle that, it'll pop up. Then look up muscovies, theres a page or two on there. Havent read the hole thing myself, dont keep them, but to my understanding, pretty much it's illegal to buy and sell them any more outside of the meat industry

 

[Halion]

Quote:
He/she (whatever it is! I'll refer to it as a 'she' until she doesn't lay an egg in Spring) talks and will bob her head and neck like a Muscovy, but she doesn't trill or hiss quite yet, it's in the middle of a trill and a quiet quack. She definitely isn't loud compared to the 8 week old Mallard I have, but if she's excited or looking for me she'll scream except it's still quieter than my Mallard.. I'm not sure if Rouens communicate in the same way as a scovie. She feels like she's a little over 5 lbs and she's 7 weeks old right now (today actually!).

I called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and talked to the head of Investigations, her name is Dot, and she told me Muscovies are legal without a permit and doesn't need to be banded.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

For Florida law it may be, this is FEDERAL which surpasses all state laws


here's just a small exert off the page

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, change the regulations
governing control of introduced
migratory birds. The muscovy duck
(Cairina moschata) occurs naturally
only in southern Texas. It has been
introduced in other locations, where it
is considered an invasive species that
sometimes creates problems through
competition with native species,
damage to property, and transmission of
disease. We amend the regulations to
prohibit sale, transfer, or propagation of
muscovy ducks for hunting and any
other purpose other than foodproduction, and to allow their removal
in locations in which the species does
not occur naturally in the contiguous
United States, Alaska, and Hawaii, and
in U.S. territories and possessions. This
requires revision of regulations
governing permit exceptions for captivebred
migratory waterfowl other than
mallard ducks, and waterfowl sale and
disposal permits, and the addition of an
order to allow control of muscovy

you can go to

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/R...2010/Muscovy Duck Final Rule 1 March 2010.pdf

for the full write up on them

as for the rouens, they vocalize just like mallards, all breeds other than muscovies do as they are all mallards if the truth be known.
I'm pretty sure it has scovie in it, as I mentioned, just not a lot, maybe 25%. If it's that heavy already, the mallard cross is a definate no, got to be rouen x muscovy

 

[desertdarlene]

I'm curious. How does a muscovy cross have only 25% muscovy if mules can't breed? Maybe someone can explain to me without being too technical.

Here's why I'm confused: A muscovy can cross with, say a Pekin and it will be 50% Pekin and 50% muscovy. However, their progeny can't breed with anyone else. How does it get diluted beyond that when the cross can't breed?

 

[Wifezilla]

That