Call, Pekin or Muscovy: Duck Breed Sizes Compared

Our buying guide and companionship guide both note that mixing very different body sizes can cause bullying — this guide sets out just how different those sizes actually are, using three breeds with genuinely distinct standard weights.

Adult weights, by breed and source

A Muscovy drake can weigh more than three times a Call duck — genuinely different birds to house and handle, despite all three being ordinary backyard duck breeds.

Call ducks: bred small on purpose

Call ducks originate in the Netherlands, where they were known as Coy or Decoy ducks — hunters used their distinctive call to lure other ducks in, like a live decoy. Their small size is original to that purpose, not a modern miniaturisation, and today they're kept mostly as pets rather than for meat or eggs.

Pekin: the standard backyard and market duck

The Pekin is the most popular duck breed in America, originally developed in China and imported to Great Britain in 1872. It sits roughly in the middle of the three breeds here by weight, and its practical broad, deep-bodied build (bred to carry meat) makes it a reasonable reference point for “an average duck” when the other two breeds are genuinely small or large outliers.

Muscovy: not actually descended from Mallards

This is a genuinely different animal, not just a different size. Oklahoma State University Extension notes that Muscovy ducks are the only domestic duck breed not derived from Mallard stock — every other duck breed, including Call and Pekin, traces back to the wild Mallard. That distinct ancestry shows up elsewhere too: Muscovy eggs take 35 days to hatch against 28 for most other breeds (see our egg-hatching guide), and this same source independently confirms that same 35-day figure. Muscovy also swim less than other ducks, since their oil glands are less developed, and their drakes are dramatically larger than their females — a bigger male-female size gap than either Call or Pekin ducks show.

What this means for your plans

• Housing and water-access guidance isn't broken down by breed size in the sources used for how much space a duck needs, so apply the same per-bird minimum regardless of breed — and expect Muscovy drakes to feel noticeably more cramped at that minimum than Call ducks would.
• Budget feed for the breed's actual adult weight with the feed cost calculator — a flock of Pekins or Muscovy eats considerably more than the same headcount of Call ducks.
• If you're mixing breeds, re-read our companionship guide — the size gap between a Call duck and a Muscovy drake is exactly the kind of mismatch that guide warns can lead to bullying.

What we couldn't find

We checked three breeds with a clear size contrast; Oklahoma State University Extension also covers Cayuga, Crested, Khaki Campbell, Orpington, Pomeranian, Rouen and Runner ducks, none of which we pulled into this guide. If your breed isn't listed here, check its own entry on breeds.okstate.edu directly, or ask the breeder or hatchery you're buying from.

Sources: Oklahoma State University Extension, Breeds of Livestock (Call, Pekin and Muscovy duck breed pages): breeds.okstate.edu. Sources checked: September 2026.

Common questions

How big do Call ducks get?

Oklahoma State University Extension gives the Call duck's standard weight as 40oz (1.13kg) or less — bred specifically for small size, historically as a decoy breed, and now kept mostly as a pet.

How big do Pekin ducks get?

Oklahoma State University Extension gives the Pekin — the most popular duck breed in America — at around 8lb (3.6kg) for the duck and 9lb (4.1kg) for the drake.

How big do Muscovy ducks get?

Oklahoma State University Extension gives Muscovy drakes at 10-15lb (4.5-6.8kg) and females at 5-7lb, occasionally up to 9-10lb (2.3-4.5kg) — the largest of the three breeds compared here, and the one with the biggest gap between male and female size.

Is a Muscovy duck actually a duck?

Yes, but it's genetically distinct from every other domestic duck breed. Oklahoma State University Extension notes Muscovy ducks are the only domestic duck not descended from Mallard stock — Call and Pekin ducks both are.