Just adopted Muscovies..

Zoologists consider Muscovies either a duck, or a Sheldrake, a bird that falls between the ducks and the geese and swans. There are a lot of different birds with different behaviors, habitats, and diets that are classified as ducks.

~~Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.

~~This species was formerly placed into the paraphyletic "perching duck" assemblage, but subsequently moved to the dabbling duck subfamily (Anatinae). Analysis of the mtDNA sequences of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes,[19] however, indicates that it might be closer to the genus Aix and better placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. In addition, the other species of Cairina, the rare White-winged Duck (C. scutulata), seems to belong into a distinct genus. The generic name Cairina, meanwhile, traces its origin to Aldrovandi, and ultimately to the mistaken belief that the birds came from Egypt: translated, the current scientific name of the Muscovy Duck means "the musky one from Cairo". The genus Aix contains two species: Mandarin ducks and wood ducks. Scientists are divided in their placement as they are for Muscovy ducks - Anatinae (dabbling duck) or Tadorninae (shelduck) subfamily.[1][2] Meanwhile, the Egyptian goose is classified as a member of Tadorninaeado, he sheldrakes and not as a goose in Anserini.

~~The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. The shelducks are a group of larger often semi-terrestrial waterfowl, which can be seen as intermediate between geese (Anserinae) and ducks. They are mid-sized (some 50–60 cm) Old World waterfowl. The sexes are colored slightly different in most species, and all have a characteristic upperwing coloration in flight: the tertiary remiges form a green speculum, the secondaries and primaries are black, and the coverts (forewing) are white. Their diet consists of small shore animals (winkles, crabs etc.) as well as grasses and other plants. They were originally known as "sheldrakes", which remained the most common name until the late 19th century.[1] The word is still sometimes used to refer to a male shelduck and can also occasionally refer to the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) of North America.[2]

Edited by Staff

The Yakima Kid said:

Zoologists consider Muscovies either a duck, or a Sheldrake, a bird that falls between the ducks and the geese and swans. There are a lot of different birds with different behaviors, habitats, and diets that are classified as ducks.

~~Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.

~~This species was formerly placed into the paraphyletic "perching duck" assemblage, but subsequently moved to the dabbling duck subfamily (Anatinae). Analysis of the mtDNA sequences of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes,[19] however, indicates that it might be closer to the genus Aix and better placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. In addition, the other species of Cairina, the rare White-winged Duck (C. scutulata), seems to belong into a distinct genus. The generic name Cairina, meanwhile, traces its origin to Aldrovandi, and ultimately to the mistaken belief that the birds came from Egypt: translated, the current scientific name of the Muscovy Duck means "the musky one from Cairo". The genus Aix contains two species: Mandarin ducks and wood ducks. Scientists are divided in their placement as they are for Muscovy ducks - Anatinae (dabbling duck) or Tadorninae (shelduck) subfamily.[1][2] Meanwhile, the Egyptian goose is classified as a member of Tadorninaeado, he sheldrakes and not as a goose in Anserini.

~~The shelducks, genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. The shelducks are a group of larger often semi-terrestrial waterfowl, which can be seen as intermediate between geese (Anserinae) and ducks. They are mid-sized (some 50–60 cm) Old World waterfowl. The sexes are colored slightly different in most species, and all have a characteristic upperwing coloration in flight: the tertiary remiges form a green speculum, the secondaries and primaries are black, and the coverts (forewing) are white. Their diet consists of small shore animals (winkles, crabs etc.) as well as grasses and other plants. They were originally known as "sheldrakes", which remained the most common name until the late 19th century.[1] The word is still sometimes used to refer to a male shelduck and can also occasionally refer to the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) of North America.[2]

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Where ever they class them, I love my Scovy's.

Me too Miss Lydia!!

I do not treat them "badly". In fact, they have all the room on the planet to roam here plus a twenty acre lake to swim on, Considerable better life than cooped up in a chicken house with chickens. I prefer real ducks to muscovies. I know some people love them, but still the muscovy will keep his more "wild" nature in protecting their young, roosting, hiding a nest if the poor things can get out of a coop and are permitted to do so, and in destroying fruit, trees, and garden produce.

I can keep my regular ducks in if need be or better yet, out of where I don't want them with a knee high piece of chicken wire, I've not found a muscovy proof fence unless you clip their wings.

Since I do not care for their habits, nor their meat, why would I want them. Give me a nice rouen pekin cross and now we're talking a duck. It's the "real thing" and it's also "What's for dinner."

We have raised thousands and thousands of real ducks. The time was when we had quite a market for them. Today, they are harder to sell. Too many peoople uneducated to the goodness of duck and worried about cholesterol I think.

They'll kick about paying three bucks a pound for a six or eight pound duck but go guy a roast that will cost them more than that a pound.

It was a whole lot easier to come up with six pounds of beef meat than six pounds of duck. Ducks are poor converters of feed to meat. Whether you're talking muscovies or regular ducks, the little darlings eat like a scoop shovel.

Well, we live in an extremely German area. The time we inherited muscovies, we had an awful time selling them when they were butchered. Finally one guy agreed to take them if they were smoked. We never had trouble sellling regular ducks, in fact our waiting list was always longer than the supply. One time we bought 600 ducks from a hatching flock in MN. I had them delivered at six AM and by noon I was left with only 25 that were not spoken for. Of course they had to be dressed. Fortunately it was cold weather and they picked well.