Sexing by wing feather growth muscovy. Girl?? (Updated with adorable ducky pics)

[HetaChick]

My darling Muscovy Scooter "hatched" extremely weak around July 13th. (The days blended because I was fairly certain I was going to lose it.)

Anyways it pulled through fully about 3 days later and is now a food shoveling poop machine. I heard around that females get their primaries way before males, and today i was feeling my little fluff buddy and noticed that there are tiny little feather spikes on Scooter's wings. It has some tail feathers emerging and i can feel other small feather shafts underneath.

Does this sound like a female? (S)he grew very fast at first and i don't have a fellow duckling to compare with, (but muscovies are big anyways xD for me with my chickens) the wing feather shafts have barely emerged and they aren't visible, its a feel thing.

I kind of hope I have a female, Scooter is a pet with a duck diaper. It may be easier if it's a girl but i love my duck any way. Any ideas? I'll post pictures if any one is interested. She's magpie colored.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

wasnt true for any of our 18 we grew out this spring.

 

[HetaChick]

Your males grew primaries along with the hens? hmmm

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

yep, some of the boys were first to grow in wing feathers, and some were the last. 18 French Whites and it was hit and miss on gender and who was feathering first.

 

[Going Quackers]

Same experience here, i have 9 babies from June.. 8 are drakes one is still gaining feathers yet some others are done. It'll be size, legs especially that will tell you. Pictures will help, by about 5/6wks you can usually have a pretty good idea if you have seen enough of them which i have, i should just go by drake barn

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Going, you do have a nak for drakes

 

[Going Quackers]

Going, you do have a nak for drakes

I sure do, 10 babies total this year.. 9 are drakes.. at least they are pretty?

 

[HetaChick]

I'll post a pic of mine. But (s)he has no siblings so no comparison XDD

(s)he's a lone house duck (and before anyone says how bad i am for having just one duck) my entire family loves the duck to pieces. Its got its tail feathers coming in clearly too, white and black. The whole duck seems massive to me but, the only other waterfowl i've had is mallards and canadian geese ( baby rehabilitation) this is my first and only muscovy. I had two eggs but one never hatched.



On another note I have a mallard(?) hatching now along with 2 more 4 days from now. Those will be going to my friend's once i have given them a really good start.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'll post a pic of mine. But (s)he has no siblings so no comparison XDD

(s)he's a lone house duck (and before anyone says how bad i am for having just one duck) my entire family loves the duck to pieces. Its got its tail feathers coming in clearly too, white and black. The whole duck seems massive to me but, the only other waterfowl i've had is mallards and canadian geese ( baby rehabilitation) this is my first and only muscovy. I had two eggs but one never hatched.



On another note I have a mallard(?) hatching now along with 2 more 4 days from now. Those will be going to my friend's once i have given them a really good start.

I'd love to see a pic of her/him

may still be too early to tell gender though, but I love Muscovies so always want to see pics.

 

[HetaChick]

Leg reference


Big feet 0.0


Full duck. I have a diaper on :3


Cute face. Just for the fuzzes


Tail feathers. The wing feathers are tiny spikes that rent super visible yet


And this is what it looked like when it hatched. I was
pretty sure it was going to die, but you would never know
seeing it now.