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Post by mrshatchalot on Feb 7, 2010 20:10:27 GMT 8
Can anyone tell me if muscovy cross pekin, khaki campbell or rouen eggs will hatch out? I have a muscovy drake, named Handsome who has 3 girls living with him. A Peking named Peggy, a khaki campbell named Dottie and a rouen named Rowena. Dottie and Peggy are trying to sit on a clutch of eggs together! So today I netted the nest in so that Peggy couldn't get in and would just let Dottie finish the job. She wasn't very happy! Is there a way to make ducks unbroody?
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Post by rap on Feb 7, 2010 21:17:37 GMT 8
Hope this helps
Muscovy when crossed with other breeds, produce sterile offspring. For instance, if you cross a Muscovy male with a Pekin female you will hatch mules; if you cross a Pekin male with a Muscovy female the progeny are called hinnies. Whereas a Pekin takes 28 days to hatch and a Muscovy takes 35 days, a mule or hinny takes 32 days to hatch.
Approximately 60% of mule ducks are males. Some of their characteristics are like the Muscovy as they are large, quiet, slow moving and have long claws but are also like Pekin as they swim well, the males and females are much the same size and they do not fly. Hinnies are not grown commercially. Males hinnies are much larger than female hinnies, like the Muscovy, yet the females look Pekin but fly quite well.
Mules and hinnies cannot reproduce. Both males are sterile and only the hinny females lay eggs (though they cannot hatch). If you have Muscovy and Pekin together, the chances are poor that they will cross but if they do, a hinny will probably be the result as Pekin males can catch Muscovy females easier than Muscovy males can catch Pekin females.
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Post by mrshatchalot on Feb 8, 2010 11:31:05 GMT 8
Thankyou. That does help. I'll just see what happens now...
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Post by beck on Feb 8, 2010 14:29:25 GMT 8
wow that is so interesting and kind of sad for the babies too if they want to be mums
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