Muscovy Duck Questions

LilyD said:

One of the ladies at the poultry swap my sister got her scovies from actually told her about the pellets. She said that ducks could not eat large pellets and the pellets could actually choke them. I have heard a few other people say they feed theirs just regular layer pellets and they do fine.

The multi flock we have up here is a 28% protein I think and is a crumble.

My idea for expanding the pen for the ducks is to add a large area ( 8X8) onto the coop that I have for the chickens. This area will have a dirt floor with sand on top so if the ducks decide to play in their water it will be able to soak into the ground. I am glad to see they can use a regular waterer. I was wondering if their beaks would fit in that. The only hard time would be in the winter because the water buckets freeze so I wouldn't be able to use the bottom waterers then I would have to use a bucket so it can thaw out and refreeze without damaging it.

In the summer I try and leave the doors open so they can come and go as they would like and can stay out if they want unless we have predators. Then I would lock them in for the night. We do have a family of foxes that have moved into the neighborhood and I think they are casing out our house so for now we are in lockdown at night.

We do get really cold at night in the winter (30 below was the lowest this year) so I do put a heat lamp in the coop to add warmth. Can you put oil or Vaseline on their carunkles in the winter to keep them from getting frost bite? Do their feet have the same problems or is it just their faces?

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Going Quackers said:

That waterer i showed has the base removed it allows ducks to be able to dunk their heads, this is VERY important to avoid sinus infections as well as eye problems... in the winter that set will stay unfrozen till about a -10°C tried it here.. after that you can get heated buckets if you have access to hydro..

here this is what i use..



Also those rubber livestock bowls i showed are excellent you can hammer the ice out!

Again i lock all my birds up night, no way am i feeding the local wildlife.. locking them in secure housing and/or pens is not going to harm them, leaving them loose where preds can attack and/or kill them sure will!

I don't heat, fire and hydro outages lead me to avoid such options. I do use Vaseline on the facial flesh, usually the feet are fine but this bad winter i did have cracking like chapped hands? and opted for the same treatment all birds have healed fine however.

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LilyD said:

I am only planning on keeping them inside at night so that they won't become predator food. We just had a family of foxes move into the pasture next door so I want to make sure they are all safe from them. The food that I have locally is called game bird starter. They said that is what they have for ducks. But I would love for them to learn to get most of their own food and then just feed them more during the winter months because we get heavy snow up here. I have some eggs coming to hatch in a bit and some babies coming soon as well so they will all be pretty young to start. Also at what age can you start feeding them veggies and are there any veggies that they shouldn't have?

I am assuming you have to have them in a heated brooder the same as chicks to start. I also read that you shouldn't let them swim until they have their feathers on their bellies but I have seen a ton of videos of baby muscovies swimming. Is it okay to let them swim as long as they are supervised while they are little?

I am planning on putting their brooder in my greenhouse, which is where I will be for most of the spring and summer. That way they can be out when I am there to watch them and then I can put them back in when I need to go in or if they seem to be getting to cold and not going into the brooder on their own.

Do you keep your scovies in the same coop as your chickens or do you have them in separate quarters? My chickens free range too and I would love for them to all be in the same space but since the Muscovies are so much bigger will I have to worry about them hurting my hens and roosters?

Thanks so much for your help,
I just don't want to go into it not knowing what I am doing and end up hurting them by mistake.

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Buck Oakes said:

Yeah I dont have chickens and I don't keep them in a coop they all stay outside unless they hae babies or are injured

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LilyD said:

I wish I could do that but even today when it is almost May we are getting down to 40 degrees and below at night. I am still hesitant to put my seedlings in the greenhouse because they won't do well. Without someplace warm I think they would freeze to death in winter.

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Miss Lydia said:

I commend you for wanting to take the best care of your flock, Most of us cannot leave our birds outside over night or let them free range during the day time because of predators. making sure they are safe and protected is the only way to NOT have your heart broken from finding then killed or just gone, Living with predators can be done and still have healthy safe flocks but we have to make sure we do our part, they depend on us.

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LilyD said:

I have most of my property fenced in and they have the run of the whole place. The only area they don't have in their fenced in yard is right around my driveway because I have found that they tend to not get out of the way of the cars when we try and move them. We have lost birds in the past to predators so I put in a 19,000 volt fencer to keep them out of the yard and they haven't been in since. The neighbors cat comes over occasionally but my chickens out weigh her by about 5 pounds each so I think they are safe. She's a sweetheart anyway I can't see her killing anything. She reminds me of Nermal in Garfield lol.

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Miss Lydia said:

Sounds like you have it covered good for you.

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Mashallaharabia said:

My duck quarters are not heated and they survived this brutal winter just fine. We had to give them warm drinking water twice a day as it would of course freeze, but other than that, no problems. They got through the winter without a pool, and that was no problem either. The two Pekins couldn't care less about cold, sleet, ice. On bad days the Muscovies stayed inside ( bad meaning well below zero) and either sat up on their logs or snuggled down in the straw.

We feed Dumor duck chow, laying mash ( for ducks, and unmedicated), oyster shell and grit in separate bowls, and wilted salad greens. They also get all the mice, insects, slugs, snails, grass, and weeds they can find. We lock them up in a predator proof duckhouse at night and let them free range during the day. They Muscovies are great layers, very broody, sit and hatch their own eggs and raise their own young, are quiet and gentle, and are great eating.

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