Muscovy Chat

[enkay]

Hi, Yesterday I had to 'process' two boy ducks. I don't like to, but the girl ducks get broody and they seem to go crazy if we don't let them set. Anyway, these turned out to be not unpluckable, it's nice to have the skin on. The tail has so much fat, I wanted to keep it, but it looked like there was a heck of a lot of oil gland to it. How is it usually done by the experts?

 

[kikitheduck]

Hi, Yesterday I had to 'process' two boy ducks.  I don't like to, but the girl ducks get broody and they seem to go crazy if we don't let them set.  Anyway, these turned out to be not unpluckable, it's nice to have the skin on.  The tail has so much fat, I wanted to keep it, but it looked like there was a heck of a lot of oil gland to it.  How is it usually done by the experts?

I'm sorry but I have no experience in killing or plucking ducks. You may want to ask someone else

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi, Yesterday I had to 'process' two boy ducks. I don't like to, but the girl ducks get broody and they seem to go crazy if we don't let them set. Anyway, these turned out to be not unpluckable, it's nice to have the skin on. The tail has so much fat, I wanted to keep it, but it looked like there was a heck of a lot of oil gland to it. How is it usually done by the experts?

Go to the meat birds thread here on BYC they maybe able to help with your questions.

 

[muscovymomma]

Hey gang, I'm back with an update and some more questions. So, in May of 2016 I got 10 one day old un-sexed Muscovy. I raised them in my backyard till they were 16 weeks and then we moved them out to our weekend farm house. They are 100% free range. I ended up with 6 drakes and 4 ducks. I have since lost 2 drakes and 1 duck. I believe a predator (hawk or coyote) got my duck since she was the runt and smallest of the flock. I think the other 2 males just flew away due to the male/female ratio not being accurate. (I wasn't aware that I needed 3-4 ducks per drake, or I would have ordered sexed ducks.) Anyways, the remaining 7 are doing great! They seem to stay on the water or at the waters edge during the night and sleep most of the day. They have roost that they could in for protection, but the only time they went in there was during a snow storm where the temp was down to 15 degrees for about 18-20 hours. I live in West Texas so temperatures are usually warm. They all appear to be finding plenty of food, even in the winter months. I do feed them on the weekends but during the week, the pretty much just fend for themselves. I am very happy with how things have worked out. Now, for the question part... temps here are already warming up with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s most days. So I know in a few weeks we should start seeing eggs. They are over 8 months old now and the boys are just now starting to really iron out a pecking order so I am trying to gear up for the spring. Do you agree that we should start seeing eggs soon? If so, will they lay whenever/wherever until they get the urge to set? Should I be looking for a nest or will it be more like an egg hunt? If the ducks do hatch a clutch, how long do they stay with that clutch before laying/setting again? I would like to hatch a clutch but I don't want to be irresponsible and end up with 100+ ducks! Also, would it be possible to leave the babies with mom or do I need to collect them and raise them at home? I know every duck is different, but i am just trying to get an idea of what to expect, so I can prepare myself.

P.S. is it normal for a ducks appearance to change after 6 months? I had a very dark chocolate than is now extremely light colored. I also have a blue that was white with grey and now the grey is almost black. I had a black that is now turning brown.. haha I went back to see them this weekend and almost thought that they were completely different ducks! haha

Thanks! here are some pics!

 

[Nyla]

.

 

[mama2girlies]

Hi I have some questions about my muscovy females. First a little back story...I have 2 male Magpies and 1 male and female Khaki Campbell. These "four friends" as we call them are a year old and have grown up together. Even though the ratio is way off they love each other so much and are inseparable. Now that Spring has sprung it is obvious I need to add more females. So starting slowly I added two sweet muscovy females, who appear a bit younger than a year old. It's been 6 days and there has been no bonding between the newbies and "four friends". They are so cliquey it seems like they don't want to let the muscovies into their clique. The muscovies came from a very large flock so I am concerned they are a bit depressed as well. Is there anything I can do to help the bonding process or do muscovies tend to stay only with their own breed and not like different breeds? I'm new to their breed and would love any info on their behaviors too. Thank you so much!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wanting to buy muscovy ducks adults, ducklings, hatching eggs. Really want to pick them up but if you can ship, 46406 <-- zipcode

Have you been on the Indiana thread at "where am i where are you" Might find some one close who has Scovy's.@Nyla

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi I have some questions about my muscovy females. First a little back story...I have 2 male Magpies and 1 male and female Khaki Campbell. These "four friends" as we call them are a year old and have grown up together. Even though the ratio is way off they love each other so much and are inseparable. Now that Spring has sprung it is obvious I need to add more females. So starting slowly I added two sweet muscovy females, who appear a bit younger than a year old. It's been 6 days and there has been no bonding between the newbies and "four friends". They are so cliquey it seems like they don't want to let the muscovies into their clique. The muscovies came from a very large flock so I am concerned they are a bit depressed as well. Is there anything I can do to help the bonding process or do muscovies tend to stay only with their own breed and not like different breeds? I'm new to their breed and would love any info on their behaviors too. Thank you so much!

My Muscovy girls hang out together and My Runner and Buff girls hang out together. My Muscovy's hatched the Runners and Buffs last May.

 

[Nyla]

Have you been on the Indiana thread at "where am i where are you" Might find some one close who has Scovy's.@Nyla

I found someone, also bought 15 female white Muscovy ducklings from Freedom Ranger Hatchery! Thanks!

 

[mama2girlies]

My Muscovy girls hang out together and My Runner and Buff girls hang out together. My Muscovy's hatched the Runners and Buffs last May.

I just learned a whole lot about this yesterday when I added some Pekin females and a Cuyaga female to the four friends. They were crazy excited to see them. So it's obvious now how they go for their similar breeds. Fun to learn though!