strange ducks

[chukiducks]

my wife got a couple of ducks, these are crossbdred muskovich/cambel or runner.any idea if/when the hen should start laying. any suggestion on duck proof/repellent plants for our pond

[Bramble-Poultry]

hybridisation between muscovy and mallard type (i.e campbell and Runner etc) will result in a mule. this is because most ducks are decended from the mallard, but the muscovy is a separate species altogether (originally from Mexico) these birds will not be able to breed successive genrations nor be fertile.

the male ducks will grow fast and produce a very good table bird, with external appearance of that of the mallard type parent. the female mule will not have any functioning ovaries and therefore be veryvery unlikey to be able to lay eggs at all. the female will however, be able to grow to a size and at a speed comparable to the male mule and therefore this interspecies crossing is popular (especially in the far east) where the demand for fast growing duck meat is in order.

sorry to be the bringer of bad news on the laying front. if they truly are a muscovy x campbell then it is very unlikely that you will get any eggs from the female.

if you want ducks for eggs, then look to acquire a UTILITY strain of campbell. I stress utility, as the show type arent as good at laying as the utility which have been bred for their egg laying abilities. A good utility campbell can produce up to 320 eggs a year!

[Hilary B]

Is it certain that a 'mule' duck will not lay eggs? From what little I know of other 'mules' (with fur rather than feathers), I would have expected that she could lay, but the eggs would never be hatchable.
Mammalian mules males try to mate with females of related species, females come into season, but they are incapable of taking it any further.
In fact, I know some hybrid birds are fully capable of breeding (I have seen a falcon, part peregrine, part lanner, and NOT a first cross) but no idea whether this applies to ducks.

[Bramble-Poultry]

Hilary

two conflicting veiws, however the most "legimate" source seems to suggest that dependant on the breed of duck as the other half of the equation, the ducks either lack functioning ovaries, or some lay a limited amount of eggs.


Muscovy ducks (and the domesticated form known as the Barbary duck) are South American ducks that have been imported into many regions and established feral populations. A cross of a Mallard male mated to a Muscovy female produces progeny that has the Mallard plumage color for the most part (Morley A. Jull (1952). Hybrid Ducks. World's Poultry Science Journal, 8 , pp 191-191). In Taiwan and Europe, sterile hybrids called Mule Ducks, have been bred from Muscovy x Mallard (Ref: Dr Ed Hoffmann, Canning, N.S., Canada Dec. 1993 ) In Taiwan, the Kaiya breed (derived from Mallard stock) is used and Mule ducks have been bred for almost 300 years. Incubation time of mule-bearing eggs is 32 days. The hybrids are calm, tame, quiet and do not fly. The mule females lack functioning ovaries and grow as large and fast as the Mule drakes. The Mule drakes may have limited fertility. The domestic Kaiya (White Pekin x Tsiaya cross) is buff, but carries genes for other colours/patterns which are passed to the Mule offspring. These colours were introduced from White Pekin ducks whose colour masks other colours. White Mule Ducks can be bred from a white form of Tsiaya (another domestic breed) mated to Muscovy drakes. Both Muscovy and Kaiya species have genes for the white colour, but these genes are in different places on the chromosomes, so mating a white Kiaya and a white Muscovy can produce coloured offspring.

[Hilary B]

Interesting, because come to think of it the introduced 'Ruddy duck' has been decreed a nuisance for cross-breeding with native species and messing up the gene pool, although I can see that Muscovies are 'more different' from the mallard types, being almost half-way to geese!