Attention Muscovy lovers

[Miss Lydia]

Why do you not want all boys? I am new to ducks. I ended up with an adult drake (muscovy) because someone hit him right in front of my son and I while we were feeding him and his girlfriend. He was lucky enough to just get his tail feathers ripped out, a scrape on his belly and a ? sprained leg. Since it is illegal to release muscovies in Fl, I am now the owner of a duck. I was thinking about getting him a male friend (or two). I dont have the room for a bunch of ducks. In the community where we feed the ducks there are several small bachelor groups that get along. Can someone tell me if this would be okay?

Most of the time bachelor groups work fine as long as their are no females close by. Other members on BYC have them, Bless you for helping this drake, I love Scovy's so much and it's heart breaking to see how they are treated. All the best with your new friend. And we'd love to see a pic when you have time.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

My Khaki Campbell's get along with my muscovies.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Khaki Campbell's get along with my muscovies.

There ya go experience talking... You'll still see mating behavior and some dominance behavior too as they work out who is leader but things should settle down and become harmonious as summer goes on. just make sure the breeds will be very close in size, I wouldn't mix Scovy's with Calls or Runners or other light breeds.

 

[TherryChicken]

Cant wait till sunday, finally going to get my chocolates

 

[Alaskan]

I don't know.

I guess because I had parrots before I had Muscovy, I trimmed both wings.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for replying. There is nothing in the privacy fenced yard but his duck run and my son's playset. I watched a few videos on how to clip their feathers and researched the "wing anatomy" I clipped them a bit but i know i didnt clip them enough cause he has no problem flying out of the tub and perching on the side when taking a bath. Its kind of scary to cut them back so far.
I have a question. Why do ducks get only one side clipped to make them off balance when every pet parrot (or exotic bird) gets both cut? I havent found a post about that. Do you know?
There are farm swaps here in Florida where people get together twice a month and sell their animals and other farm related things. Maybe you can find something like that in your area so you dont have to travel so far.

I have always clipped just one wing and yes it keeps them off balance, I'll find the link I used when clipping.

 

[Alaskan]

@andreacroyle your great photos inspired me to post one of my just hatched nest!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Mine always pick on one another

My drakes go at it and my ducks boy oh boy can they put on a show.

 

[Alaskan]

My drakes go at it and my ducks boy oh boy can they put on a show.

no kidding

Maybe that is why my flock is so sweet.,.. They have been together a long time, and only one drake.

 

[jdywntr]

I can tell wwith some at as young as 1 week. It is going to be harder to tell because of the age difference. A week can make a huge difference. At the ages you have, you should be able to tell between the 4 week olds. If one is noticeably smaller, it is most likely female. With the 6 week old if it is really huge, it too is probably male.
This is not always 100%, some can be slow/ fast growers. But it sounds like you may have 3 males and 1 female. If this is indeed the case, you will need to make some decisions about what to do with the extra boys.