Muscovy Ducks
For as long as I can remember, I have loved and been fascinated by Muscovy. They are prevalent in Florida where I am originally from, but they are considered to be an invasive nuisance. I spent many years observing and interacting with Muscovy. Before moving to Washington, the only color I’d ever seen was Black.They are adaptable, friendly, excellent foragers, and their excrement is amazing for the pasture and garden. They even wag their tails when they are happy (or upset). I call them “the dogs of the duck world.”
For the 2023 season, I am going down to just one flock of ducks to focus on the Lavender-based colors. My goal is to produce all the colors, both “regular” and Lavender-based, in both genders. After two years working with the Bronze gene, I decided to take a step back from it, at least for now.
This is a Lilac atipico hen from the 2021 hatch and one of the candidates that I’m considering adding to my breeding flock. Notice the lack of white in her wings and on her head. She is a great example of what I try to achieve when selectively breeding.I am not a vent-sexing expert. I haven’t gone to school or received any kind of certification. I have no idea what my success rate is as I try not to keep track of how many waterfowl rear ends I’ve looked at. However, I would not publicly offer this service if I didn’t feel confident in my abilities. That being said, I am human and capable of making mistakes. I offer no guarantees, but I will replace any incorrectly sexed bird with an acceptable substitution or refund your money. Mis-sexed birds need to be brought to my attention as soon as the mistake is discovered.
Breed Spotlight
One of my proudest achievements from the 2021 breeding was producing a Lilac Cream hen which is Chocolate + Blue + Lavender. All the right components have to come together to create that color and out of 30ish ducklings, she was the only one that color.
She was hatched in June and we had an extreme heat wave that month with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Her and her hatchmates were hatching under duress and suffering from heat stroke so I intervened to save them.
From an early age, I knew she was different, but her parents were both split to ripple and I knew that could affect the appearance of their offspring. The ripple gene dilutes feather color and even in the duckling down there are subtle distinctions. It wasn’t until she started getting actual feathers that I was hopeful she may in fact be a Lilac Cream. It turns out that she is, as you can see! We will know for sure when we test breed her in the spring of 2022.
