Squeaking female muscovy

[ruthhope]

Has anyone come across a muscovy -- that was previously very vocal babbling with normal female muscovy gurgles -- that started squeaking? [like a rubber duck!]

My sweet little female muscovy, Max, started squeaking 2 or 3 weeks ago. She lives with her two buddies that are pekin females and all go around together and sleep close to each other in the coop. The only change has been the presence of a feral rooster for 5 or 6 weeks during the day. All 4 birds spend most of the day close together foraging and resting in the shade. All 4 are by the back gate waiting for me every evening. The rooster overnights in the garden shed so that his 3am cockadoodling doesn't disturb the neighbors.

I have not come across a squeaking muscovy before

https://youtube.com/shorts/6oTWigEg_os?

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Oh yeah, she's broody. That's the noise they make to tell you don't touch me - leave me alone.

 

[Yardmom]

How old is she? Is she possibly starting to go broody. No need for a drake to go broody.

 

[ruthhope]

Oh yeah, she's broody. That's the noise they make to tell you don't touch me - leave me alone.

She is laying daily and is often in the nest box sitting on 2 or occasionally 3 eggs as the ducks all insist on laying in the same box. But it is mainly the larger pekin female that stays on the eggs. That is stays on until I open the coop to feed them. From then on neither the muscovy nor the pekin is interested in the eggs. I have left the eggs in the nest box for a day, but they are ignored and so I take them out at night. There is no drake and so the eggs are not fertile.
However...Max does let the feral rooster mount her each morning. She inveigles him! When he first showed up, she was straight over to him, flattening her back like a pancake and holding her bottom up high!!! He did a sideways shuffle over to her and within a few days he was mounting her every morning. The Pekin females were very frightened of the rooster at first. but have warmed to him. I have seen him mounting one of the pekins -- she does not flatten her back and encourage him, and she holds her head up high as if she is saying "What a rooster on my back? No way no rooster is getting on me". The other pekin female shouts very loudly and does not consent to such behavior. They are now all happily living together during the day. Is mating with a rooster another symptom of being broody?

 

[ruthhope]

How old is she? Is she possibly starting to go broody. No need for a drake to go broody.

She's 10 months old.

 

[ruthhope]

Oh yeah, she's broody. That's the noise they make to tell you don't touch me - leave me alone.

She does occasionally still come and talk to me one on one! But not every morning as previously

 

[Yardmom]

My Muscovies go through a pre broody stage squeeking and sitting on the eggs some nights (not all) before they truly start to sit on eggs during the day. My guess is she is in early stages of broodiness.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

She is laying daily and is often in the nest box sitting on 2 or occasionally 3 eggs as the ducks all insist on laying in the same box. But it is mainly the larger pekin female that stays on the eggs. That is stays on until I open the coop to feed them. From then on neither the muscovy nor the pekin is interested in the eggs. I have left the eggs in the nest box for a day, but they are ignored and so I take them out at night. There is no drake and so the eggs are not fertile.
However...Max does let the feral rooster mount her each morning. She inveigles him! When he first showed up, she was straight over to him, flattening her back like a pancake and holding her bottom up high!!! He did a sideways shuffle over to her and within a few days he was mounting her every morning. The Pekin females were very frightened of the rooster at first. but have warmed to him. I have seen him mounting one of the pekins -- she does not flatten her back and encourage him, and she holds her head up high as if she is saying "What a rooster on my back? No way no rooster is getting on me". The other pekin female shouts very loudly and does not consent to such behavior. They are now all happily living together during the day. Is mating with a rooster another symptom of being broody?

That's the sound mine make when they are broody. They can be broody, but not fully sitting on the eggs yet. But, she could still be telling you (or the other ducks) not to touch her for some other reason.
Mine don't let the rooster touch them.

 

[frankenchick]

Mine don’t set on the eggs until they’re satisfied with the number of eggs in the nest, usually 12-15.