Our Muscovy is confused

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RCCheshire

RCCheshire

In the Brooder
Oct 15, 2016
70
6
23
Southeast Missouri
We have a Muscovy that my husband brought home from a sale about eight months ago. She was raised on a farm and she's very sweet. We also have six chickens. The duck thinks she is a chicken. She stays with the flock, goes to the coop with them, has only swam in our pond once. Never attempted to get into our pool. She laid eggs for about two months and then went broody and actually hatched one of our chicken eggs. She seems happy and is healthy so I guess it doesn't hurt anything. But sometimes I think about getting another duck or two to give her companions of her own species. *shrug*

What are your opinions?
 
I would love to see a pic of your mama duck with her baby chick, that had to be super cute.

Some Muscovies aren't as big on swimming like other breeds. It's kind of hit or miss with them, some say theirs swim often and others say theirs rarely swim. Mine likes to dunk her head in a bucket of water but only gets in the pool every few days. If you do want another duck (which would probably make her happy) I'd suggest getting another Muscovy. Muscovies have their own unique "language" and way of communicating. My Runners used to actually be afraid of my Muscovy because she'd trill at them and stand up the feathers on her head, and they'd flee in terror. She wasn't trying to chase them off, she was just being friendly but they didn't know it. They're a unique breed for sure.
 
Adalida said:
I would love to see a pic of your mama duck with her baby chick, that had to be super cute.

Some Muscovies aren't as big on swimming like other breeds. It's kind of hit or miss with them, some say theirs swim often and others say theirs rarely swim. Mine likes to dunk her head in a bucket of water but only gets in the pool every few days. If you do want another duck (which would probably make her happy) I'd suggest getting another Muscovy. Muscovies have their own unique "language" and way of communicating. My Runners used to actually be afraid of my Muscovy because she'd trill at them and stand up the feathers on her head, and they'd flee in terror. She wasn't trying to chase them off, she was just being friendly but they didn't know it. They're a unique breed for sure.
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I am definitely leaning towards another Muscovy. I will probably wait until spring. Would you recommend another female or a male?

And she was SO sweet with the chick. The chick had two Hen mamas and a duck mama! But unfortunately a fox got the chick and three of our hens one night. They free range during the day and we didn't have a problem for months at night and got lax on locking the coop. I think the sound of the chick attracted the predator. :( it was terrible.

We have three new chicks that we purchased and I was letting them play in the grass on Sunday. Stephanie (the duck) was the only member of the flock that showed interest in them. She came over and observed for quite a while before returning to the others. Shes so sweet!
 
I'd personally suggest getting another female, just because Muscovy males can be known for being aggressive. I had a male for awhile, and he was an absolute doll towards me; he'd do this funny thing where he came up to me and stretched as tall as he could, looking for treats. He even tolerated being petted. But he would not leave the girls alone, and he was so big that when he got ahold of them, they had no chance of getting away. The females would run away from him and try to hide, one of them would wedge herself into the middle of a bush and stay there. I was so sad to rehome him because he was beautiful and friendly towards me, but the girls couldn't take the daily harassment. So I'm a bit biased towards all girls for less drama!
 
Adalida said:
I'd personally suggest getting another female, just because Muscovy males can be known for being aggressive. I had a male for awhile, and he was an absolute doll towards me; he'd do this funny thing where he came up to me and stretched as tall as he could, looking for treats. He even tolerated being petted. But he would not leave the girls alone, and he was so big that when he got ahold of them, they had no chance of getting away. The females would run away from him and try to hide, one of them would wedge herself into the middle of a bush and stay there. I was so sad to rehome him because he was beautiful and friendly towards me, but the girls couldn't take the daily harassment. So I'm a bit biased towards all girls for less drama!
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x2 on getting another female. A good duck to drake ratio is around 4 ducks to a drake - the boys can really get around, and I think it might be too much for a single duck.
 
FoodFreedomNow said:
x2 on getting another female. A good duck to drake ratio is around 4 ducks to a drake - the boys can really get around, and I think it might be too much for a single duck.
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Thank you both!! That's very good to know. I would hate to upset her in anyway and hadn't considered the ratio! Definitely will get a female in the spring then. :)
 
We also have Muscovy, who live with our chickens. Most get along very well. We had one drake who tried to mate with the hens, he went to freezer camp. We love the breed, they are cleaner, quieter and smarter than other ducks, and much calmer. As others said, if you get a male, you should also get a few more girls. But, in that case, you may end up with many ducklings next year. They are excellent sitters and mothers. My girls will (in pairs) raise up to 19 ducklings at a time. No losses. They are super protective. We eat ours, if we didn't, we would be overrun.
 

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