NEW PICS***PLEASE HELP What breed of duck is this? E. Coast, Australia

[19hhbelgian]

Duckies are NEVER a nuisance!!

As far as I know the Muscovy duck is a domesticated breed any way. That would be like saying a maltese dog is a nuisance... Oh wait, they are!

I know people who have kept only one duck - he was awesome! He hung out with their dogs, and would go in the house with them. I've always had more ducks, but right now I only have 2. I agree, apologizing is a great idea

Wagging tails is a good thing... "Mom, I'm happy!!"

 

[Countedsorrow]

Meanwhile our good natured dog has put up with sharing the house
with sea eagles, possums, baby roos and the like -

but the only thing that scared the life out of her was a three day old duckling!!!
It escaped its cage and we found our dog quivering in the corner, head under her paws
with the little ducky trying to crawl under her -

maybe our dog was smarter than we thought

 

[Countedsorrow]

Thanks everyone!

Its 1:45am here in Australia, but I seem to have stumbled onto a time when our US friends are all awake -
so am glad to get lots of your wonderful responses - thanks for helping me out!!!

Might go to bed, then start on a Lamb + Rosemary Pie for hubby after i finish work ...
and I am sure after intensive therapy our much adored dog would get used to the duckling as well

(though she is still getting over the chooks chasing her)

 

[Duck Keeper]

I've never had a mallard derived breed that looks like that. Looks just like a muscovy to me.

ETA: Muscovies are technically a 'wild' breed in the sense that they haven't had years of selective breeding like the mallard derivatives have.
Owning this particular duck would be like owning a hatchery bred mallard. I guess.

ETA (again): They CAN crossbreed with mallard-types, but the ones that hatch out of the cross-mating will be infertile - unable to produce more young on down the line.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
There are a few distinctive features in the Muscovy ducklings. Where the bill meets the head is different than other ducklings, hard to describe but that 3rd picture, taken bill on, sure looks like a Muscovy. Part of my problem is that I have no knowledge of YOUR native ducks. The other thing that sets the Muscovy duckling apart from our other domestics is that they hatch with needle sharp toe nails or claws. This is because they are tree ducks rather than puddle ducks. Their nests in the wild are usually in holes in trees and the ducklings need the claws to climb out of the nest and get to the ground for their first food.
The tails are distinctive too, they are unusually broad when grown, supposed to be a feature that allows better control for flying around trees. in ducklings the tail seems to be more active than other ducklings. it wags when they are happy or mad. about the only sime it is still is when they are scared and instinctively 'freeze'. If you were in the USA I would be sure that was a Muscovy But I don't know you could have similiar wild tree ducks for all I know.

As for them being a problem in the US, they are in our Southern (warmer) wet areas. They probably were native to the areas which formed the Nothern (colder) edge of their natural range. As we populated this area we killed off most of the natural preditors. Being an Australian you must know what happens when there is a shortage of preditors (Introduced Rabbits?) Muscovy aren't in the rabbit class of breeders but they try hard. Three hatches a year is pretty much the rule in warm areas and 18 ducklings/hatch is not unheard of. The mothers are good parents. The males love to breed, both sexes fly but in domestic settings the males often grow too heavy to fly. They don't migrate like other native ducks nor can they cross breed. I doubt your wild life people would allow importation now, they did in the past.

 

[Countedsorrow]

..

 

[Countedsorrow]

Thanks so much DuckBreeder and GooseDragon,

I also found it difficult to find anything about our Australian Native ducklings
so I started a squidoo page to put together my findings:

http://www.squidoo.com/identification_of_australian_ducks_and_ducklings

: it isn't anywhere near finished, but I hope to do so this weekend.
I will post it hear for you all to critique and tell me what to fix

Meanwhile, here is some marking info on our six most common Australian native ducklings:

They all seem to have "Zorro" masks and either brown/black feet
while our little unknown rescue has neither:

 

[Wifezilla]

Where the bill meets the head is different than other ducklings, hard to describe but that 3rd picture, taken bill on, sure looks like a Muscovy.

Something about the eyes too....more almond shaped? It is subtle, but there. Face looks muscovy, but the coloring looked very magpie or ancona to me.​

 

[Countedsorrow]

I will try to post clearer pictures in the morning -
of the beak and eyes - to me I thought the beak looked a little weird
compared to the other muscovvy pictures posted here -
but, honestly what do I know???

No promises for the photos -
as I am sure you are aware, they are not very good at staying still for photos

Also it is spring here and the temp is currently 35C - 41C ( umm ... 95F - 109F)
getting down to as low as 22C - 25C (72F - 78F) at night
- do I still need a heat bag at this age ?
Don't want to fry it...

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Something about the eyes too....more almond shaped? It is subtle, but there. Face looks muscovy, but the coloring looked very magpie or ancona to me.

I could be wrong but I beleive muscovies tend to change color as they mature.