Adding Muscovies

[Papagena]

I want to add some Muscovies but don't know how many to get. I want them for pest control in the garden, a few eggs (maybe), and hatching ducklings to sell. I can get them straight run from someone locally. I have three Khaki Campbell hens already. How many Muscovies should I get? Three? Five?

I don't want to wind up with too many drakes for my ducks and I definitely want to raise from babies so flock integration is easier. My concern is that I'll wind up with a too-high drake ratio and be stuck until I can get more babies in the spring

 

[Miss Lydia]

I want to add some Muscovies but don't know how many to get. I want them for pest control in the garden, a few eggs (maybe), and hatching ducklings to sell. I can get them straight run from someone locally. I have three Khaki Campbell hens already. How many Muscovies should I get? Three? Five?

I don't want to wind up with too many drakes for my ducks and I definitely want to raise from babies so flock integration is easier. My concern is that I'll wind up with a too-high drake ratio and be stuck until I can get more babies in the spring

You bound to get drakes when hatching but you need at least 3-4 ducks to 1 drake that way none of the ducks gets too much attention and gets to keep all her feathers. [rough mating]

 

[Papagena]

I'm thinking if I get three, the odds are much higher that I'll have too many drakes. If I get five, I am much more likely to have enough females...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm thinking if I get three, the odds are much higher that I'll have too many drakes. If I get five, I am much more likely to have enough females...

Good idea let us know how you make out?

 

[Papagena]

Certainly!

 

[Gray Farms]

I agree, I'd get 5 to start and see what ya end up with. How old are they? If they are like 4-5 weeks you can sex them by size. The bigger ones are the boys.

 

[quackingdom]

How are you going to make sure you don’t end up hatching Muscovy/Khaki crosses and selling those?

(Can you tell Khaki eggs apart from Muscovy eggs? I’m not sure what Khaki eggs would look like, but Muscovies lay large white or creamy white eggs.)

I think it would be a good idea to prepare a dog kennel or other pen to separate them just in case you end up with a ratio like 3 males and 2 females.

 

[Welshies]

How are you going to make sure you don’t end up hatching Muscovy/Khaki crosses and selling those?

(Can you tell Khaki eggs apart from Muscovy eggs? I’m not sure what Khaki eggs would look like, but Muscovies lay large white or creamy white eggs.)

I think it would be a good idea to prepare a dog kennel or other pen to separate them just in case you end up with a ratio like 3 males and 2 females.

Well I thought (just my 2 cents, not sure what the poster was thinking of doing) I'd just take all the MD duck breed eggs each morning and leave the Scovy eggs for them to hatch. It's easy to seperate them at night, although harder during the day.
Later you could raise two breeds purely by seperating at night and keeping one breed in the pen and let the Scovies free range.

 

[Papagena]

My plan was to remove the Khaki eggs from the nest and only allow the Muscovies to hatch their own eggs. I hadn't even thought about not being able to tell the difference.

I would've thought the Khaki eggs would be smaller since the birds are smaller. Any Muscovy and MD owners want to weigh in?