Anyone have a good idea of how long it takes muscovy ducks to fly?

[Summernole]

I don't think @Miss Lydia was trying to make you feel bad and neither am I but why did you take the eggs to begin with if you weren't going to take care of the birds for life?
It is my opinion that you should have left them alone.

You have been feeding them...do you really think that they will survive if you just "let them go"?

You are adding to the already existing problem of these birds having to fend for themselves in the wild.
If you did this, in my state, you would probably get in trouble with the law.

Do the birds a favor and find them a home.

They have a home. Here. They can come and go as they like and I will always have food here for them. I do not intend to clip their wings. Then they will be helpless. I can't believe I am being criticized for saving these birds. There are other muscovy ducks in the neighborhood.

 

[Kiki]

They have a home. Here. They can come and go as they like and I will always have food here for them. I do not intend to clip their wings. Then they will be helpless. I can't believe I am being criticized for saving these birds. There are other muscovy ducks in the neighborhood.

Oh I am sorry.
I thought you said you couldn't keep ducks in your neighborhood.

 

[Kiki]

Yes, I am going to let them leave on their own. I guess you don't understand. I can't have them as pets. I never intended them to be pets. I'm not allowed to have them here. I just didn't want them all to die in their shells. I can only hope that they will be okay when they are able to fly and leave. I actually would love it if they stayed and my dogs didn't attack them but I cannot count on that. They need to go to the retention pond or some other place where they can continue to grow and raise their own families. Muscovy ducks are not welcome in my residential neighborhood and I could get in a lot of trouble for even raising them in my backyard. I don't know where you live but here in Central Florida they are not welcome. Don't get me wrong. I am in love with each and every one but never intended to keep them forever. Just wanted to give them a chance to live and grow up.

 

[Summernole]

Oh I am sorry.
I thought you said you couldn't keep ducks in your neighborhood.

I'm not supposed to keep ducks in my backyard but there are already muscovy ducks that live around the retention pond behind my house. There must be at least six. People do feed them. Some people like them and others do not. I just couldn't bring myself to letting the eggs become cold when they were getting ready to hatch. The ducks behind my house come and go. I see them flying off and flying back. They even come into my front yard where they eat my birdseed. I don't know if I made a mistake or not but I am an animal advocate and just couldn't leave them to die in the nest. I tried to find homes for them when they were babies but the three people that contacted me either had no fenced in yards and/or no pens for shelter at night. Plus, they lived out in the woods where there are known coyotes, raccoon, fox, otters, large owls and hawks and other predators. Here I have opossum and large owls and hawks but they are penned up every night. I will do what I can to keep them safe but know that they are going to fly away and, hopefully, come back. I just have to somehow pray that no one complains to the county.

 

[Kiki]

They have a home. Here. They can come and go as they like and I will always have food here for them. I do not intend to clip their wings. Then they will be helpless. I can't believe I am being criticized for saving these birds. There are other muscovy ducks in the neighborhood.

Saving the birds would be keeping them and not sending them on their way to fend for themselves after they know nothing more than you feeding them daily for months.

Had they hatched on their own in the wild they would have been taught to find their own food but their flock. You can't possible teach them now to find their own food if you kick them out. They don't know how to live like wild ducks now.


If you found a litter of day old puppies crying on the side of the road would you take them home, nurse them to health, then at 2 months old just open your door and send them on their way and hope they make it?

Sounds nuts doesn't it.
It's no different.

You may think I am criticizing you and maybe I am...it is wrong, period, what you are doing/want to do by turning them loose.

 

[Kiki]

Look for a duck rescue in your area.
Post ads on Craiglist.

Do more to find them a home.
It's wrong to just abandon an animal.


And next time don't pick up an animal if you don't intend to keep it.

 

[Tesumph]

The correct course of action would have been to find a wildlife rehabber who could raise them with a hands off approach in a natural setting. These birds have been raised on feed and have no idea what it’s like to forage in a lake or compete for food. Not to mention their friendliness to humans and very likely tolerance to dogs; what’s to stop them getting hit by a car or mauled by a loose pet because they didn’t learn how dangerous these things are? These are real challenges when rehabilitating wild animals.

You say you didn’t give them away because the potential owners didn’t have a fenced in area or any protection.. how is that any different from releasing them into your neighborhood’s lake area?

I understand how frustrating getting backlash must be after rescuing an animal, but please understand we want the best for these ducks as much as you do.

At this point it’s a little too late to do anything. If you release them then you’ll more than likely watch them waste away or disappear one by one, as horrible as that is to say. The best course of action would be to contact a wildlife rehab for advice and/or give them to someone looking for some pets who can properly watch out for them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Muscovy’s are not protected in Florida they are considered invasive and a lot meet horrendous deaths because of it. We have a feral flock here but thankfully nothing like other places where they are killed just because they are Muscovy.

 

[Kiki]

Muscovy’s are not protected in Florida they are considered invasive and a lot meet horrendous deaths because of it. We have a feral flock here but thankfully nothing like other places where they are killed just because they are Muscovy.

I know this...we have the same "problem" here in Texas but it still doesn't make it right for the OP to release them into the wild.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I agree Kiki. Many people let their Muscovy fly off I know some here that have done it. That is one of the main reasons mine get their wings clipped every fall after molt I don’t want to add to the flicks that are already here and it get to the place where they are hunted down and killed. We have to be responsible for what we hatch and raise. I also love mine and would be heart broken if one flew away and got lost.