The Muscovy Duck

Not so long ago the Muscovy Duck was developing a bit of a ‘cult following,’ no doubt helped by Graham Hicks’ multi-winning male ‘Dave’ which was absolutely massive. We caught up with breed advocate Jed Dwight to find out his views on the Muscovy’s current position...

- Jed Dwight

Jed, tell us what makes a good Muscovy Duck...

A strong bird, both long, broad and relatively deep (but without sign of a keel). An important feature being that the male should be around twice the size of the female. The caruncling (in effect a red mask on the face) should be bright red, demonstrating the fitness of the bird with stronger heads on the males. For the marked varieties the markings should be even, as should the base colour.

How many colours are there standard and non-standard?

Unlucky for some there are currently 13 standard colours, as laid out below:

Solid colours: Black, White, Chocolate, Lavender and Blue (Laced).

Magpie: Black, Chocolate, Blue and Lavender

White headed Magpie (as the name suggests, a replica of the Magpie pattern without any sign of a cap on the head): Black, Chocolate, Blue, Lavender