Too soon for mating?

[ProudRedneck]

I have a Muscovy hen (Daffy) and SA drake (Daisy), both of which turned 5 months old 4 days ago.
Daisy has been successfully mating with Daffy for 10 days now and I am concerned that even though Daisy is "ready," Daffy seems to now be offering herself by flattening herself for him, that perhaps he may hurt her internally. One side of me says it's nature, they (the ducks) know what they are ready for. The other side of me says, ducks clearly are not the sharpest pencils in the box and maybe they are doing this too soon that will cause irreparable damage later on.
Should I separate them until Daffy has matured more?
I am basing my question on a response @Miss Lydia made in 2019 in regards to when a Muscovy hen will start laying (see screenshot below).

Here are the two "love birds" while swimming in our flooded yard/garden area this past week.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Beautiful ducks !!
My ducks started to mate around 3 months with being playful flattening and grabbing the neck by 4 months they were fully mating
I haven’t seen any issues from this
They started to lay around 4.5-5 months old ( not Muscovy breed)
My girls lay eggs everyday so the mating early didn’t affect them
I have a Swedish pair that have been mating a few weeks now and born may 1st. She hasn’t started to lay eggs yet
The only concern is the male will mate many times in the day and over a few weeks her neck will get sores woth scabs and possibly hair loss
At that point separate them where they can see each other but no touching for a week so her neck can heal before it gets to bad

 

[DuneDucks]

Don't have any Muscovy but I did find this to be an interesting question. Read through the Muscovy section in 'Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks' and figured this snippet may be interesting/relevant.

"The size differential between the sexes is remarkable. At hatching, Muscovy ducklings are the same size. By three weeks of age, females weigh approximately 65 percent as much as males, at twelve weeks 55 percent, and at twenty-six weeks 45 to 50 percent. For comparison, in other domestic breeds and wild species that nest on the ground, ducks typically weigh only 8 to 12 percent less than drakes at maturity. In species that nest in tree cavities, females on average weigh 23 to 31 percent less than males."

With that in mind I don't think the difference would be an issue, but I know that doesn't answer your question entirely. Does it take Muscovy drakes that much longer than other breeds to start being interested in sex? I haven't read anything that says that's the case, but I'm sure someone that has actual experience with Muscovy could give you a better answer on that.

 

[ProudRedneck]

Beautiful ducks !!

Thank you

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have read others who have Muscovy say their started mating as young as 5 months old. I don't know why mine are older before they start but I have never had any of my Muscovy start mating or laying earlier than 9 months of age. But if your female is accepting the drake at 5 months old then I'd say she is ready. It's when drakes are going after younger females and chasing them down for mating there needs to be concern.

They look very sweet together.

 

[ProudRedneck]

Thank you @Miss Lydia. Glad to have your input on it being okay since she is most definitely offering. No doubt I will continue to watch out for Daisy to make sure he doesn't get too over zealous. It's so funny how he immediately brags after he's done the deed. LOL

I think I saw somewhere that Muscovy hens are better at not allowing themselves to get r**ed like other breeds. I don't think it said they protected themselves 100% of the time but it was a measurable difference compared to mallard descendants. Is this true?

 

[Canadian Wind]

Hmmm... Well, from what I've read, the female reproductive tract actually turns opposite of the male's organ in the mallards. I honestly don't know about the scovies...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well sometimes females can outmaneuver a drake but not usually. Unless they can fly.
Sure sounds like your female is ready for mating I have never seen any of my female Muscovy and I have had them since 2004 ever lay down for their drake. My Runners do it for their drake. What they usually do is play hard to get so the drake has to run them down. Then mating takes place.

 

[Muscovy-palooza]

I have a Muscovy hen (Daffy) and SA drake (Daisy), both of which turned 5 months old 4 days ago.
Daisy has been successfully mating with Daffy for 10 days now and I am concerned that even though Daisy is "ready," Daffy seems to now be offering herself by flattening herself for him, that perhaps he may hurt her internally. One side of me says it's nature, they (the ducks) know what they are ready for. The other side of me says, ducks clearly are not the sharpest pencils in the box and maybe they are doing this too soon that will cause irreparable damage later on.
Should I separate them until Daffy has matured more?
I am basing my question on a response @Miss Lydia made in 2019 in regards to when a Muscovy hen will start laying (see screenshot below).
View attachment 3234469

Here are the two "love birds" while swimming in our flooded yard/garden area this past week.
View attachment 3234476

Such a pretty girl! Is that a muscovy? If so will she mate with that drake? We have muscovy and Cayuga's. The Cayuga's breed our girls but they have never produced offspring. We have a male muscovy and that is what is hatched. I've seen a video explaining that muscovy hens can in fact select if they want to allow the male breeding to take or not. It's very interesting.

 

[Canadian Wind]

What they usually do is play hard to get so the drake has to run them down. Then mating takes place.

Flirts!