Attention Muscovy lovers

[charlindabob]

I have found this thread interesting as I have 14 shipped Muscovy eggs in my GQF and am "dry" incubating and last night was day 10 and I candled. All 14 are viable. I live in central Florida and we have had rain most every day and my incubator humidity even without adding any water is running 40-45% which IMO is a bit on the high side.

I have hatched quail, chickens, turkeys and pheasants with little problem, but have always had trouble with duck eggs. I used to have a flock of about 50 Mandarin ducks and have tried incubating at least a hundred of their eggs and never hatched one! Only luck was leaving them in the nest box. Muscovys can't be as difficult, but I have changed my incubating mindset and intend to go with a much lower humidity. I am following a suggestion I read on BYC about incubating Muscovy eggs and am following it to a T. Last night I cooled (10 minutes & lightly misted) after I candled them.

Incubating the eggs is fairly easy, hatching is a whole different story.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have found this thread interesting as I have 14 shipped Muscovy eggs in my GQF and am "dry" incubating and last night was day 10 and I candled. All 14 are viable. I live in central Florida and we have had rain most every day and my incubator humidity even without adding any water is running 40-45% which IMO is a bit on the high side.

I have hatched quail, chickens, turkeys and pheasants with little problem, but have always had trouble with duck eggs. I used to have a flock of about 50 Mandarin ducks and have tried incubating at least a hundred of their eggs and never hatched one! Only luck was leaving them in the nest box. Muscovys can't be as difficult, but I have changed my incubating mindset and intend to go with a much lower humidity. I am following a suggestion I read on BYC about incubating Muscovy eggs and am following it to a T. Last night I cooled (10 minutes & lightly misted) after I candled them.

Incubating the eggs is fairly easy, hatching is a whole different story.

Keep us updated we're interested.

 

[Dianne88]

I have found this thread interesting as I have 14 shipped Muscovy eggs in my GQF and am "dry" incubating and last night was day 10 and I candled.  All 14 are viable.  I live in central Florida and we have had rain most every day and my incubator humidity even without adding any water is running 40-45% which IMO is a bit on the high side. 

I have hatched quail, chickens, turkeys and pheasants with little problem, but have always had trouble with duck eggs.  I used to have a flock of about 50 Mandarin ducks and have tried incubating at least a hundred of their eggs and never hatched one!  Only luck was leaving them in the nest box.  Muscovys can't be as difficult, but I have changed my incubating mindset and intend to go with a much lower humidity. I am following a suggestion I read on BYC about incubating Muscovy eggs and am following it to a T.  Last night I cooled (10 minutes & lightly misted) after I candled them.

Incubating the eggs is fairly easy, hatching is a whole different story.

I'm in Florida also, I've got 4 out of my original 12 shipped eggs that are still viable and yes humidity is hard to keep low. My first batch is on day 22 and my second batch of 15 eggs are on day 4 so I'm hoping for better luck on the second batch since they weren't shipped. Best of luck to you and keep us updated!

 

[charlindabob]

Well, another day of reading extremely high humidity on the weather page here. 12 hours ago humidity readings in the 'bator were 48 & 44 so I added a pan (about square foot size) of non-scented silica gel to the bottom and humidity now reads 45 & 43 which is going in the right direction. Wish it was closer to 40 & 40, but working on it. Might have to add a much larger surface area of the gel. I can't add a dehumidifier in the room as incubator is located in a building that get a constant fresh air exchange. Hard to lower humidity INSIDE the incubator while keeping up a fresh air exchange in there. Will see where we stand later today and make adjustments if necessary.

We are on day 12 and will weigh the eggs on day 15 to see how much weight they have lost. Also on day 15 we will gently lay the eggs on their side and hand turn once a day while still in the automatic turner. Will still be misting with distilled water once a day while cooling. Day 15 will certainly tell whether we need to raise or lower the humidity....I'm anxious.

For those that might be interested, I numbered and weighed the eggs (in grams) before I started incubating them. From 1 through 14 here are the weights: 81, 85, 81, 84, 81, 86, 74, 81, 82, 83, 75, 80, 84 & 76. In two weeks, the eggs should have lost 5.6 % or thereabouts.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well, another day of reading extremely high humidity on the weather page here. 12 hours ago humidity readings in the 'bator were 48 & 44 so I added a pan (about square foot size) of non-scented silica gel to the bottom and humidity now reads 45 & 43 which is going in the right direction. Wish it was closer to 40 & 40, but working on it. Might have to add a much larger surface area of the gel. I can't add a dehumidifier in the room as incubator is located in a building that get a constant fresh air exchange. Hard to lower humidity INSIDE the incubator while keeping up a fresh air exchange in there. Will see where we stand later today and make adjustments if necessary.

We are on day 12 and will weigh the eggs on day 15 to see how much weight they have lost. Also on day 15 we will gently lay the eggs on their side and hand turn once a day while still in the automatic turner. Will still be misting with distilled water once a day while cooling. Day 15 will certainly tell whether we need to raise or lower the humidity....I'm anxious.

For those that might be interested, I numbered and weighed the eggs (in grams) before I started incubating them. From 1 through 14 here are the weights: 81, 85, 81, 84, 81, 86, 74, 81, 82, 83, 75, 80, 84 & 76. In two weeks, the eggs should have lost 5.6 % or thereabouts.

Can I ask since your in Fl and it seems the state is over run with Muscovy's why you are wanting to hatch them? seems you could probably find ducklings just about anywhere. Just curious. I have heard and don't know how true that the authorities have told the pop they can humanely kill any they see.

 

[charlindabob]

Can I ask since your in Fl and it seems the state is over run with Muscovy's why you are wanting to hatch them? seems you could probably find ducklings just about anywhere. Just curious. I have heard and don't know how true that the authorities have told the pop they can humanely kill any they see.

I have an answer to your question........Yes, there are Muscovy ducks available here in Florida, but they are not the Muscovy ducks I want. I want the white "French" Muscovy duck which are all white with a black cap on their heads, larger in weight and much prettier (IMO) than wild colored Muscovys. I've had a few light colored Muscovys in the past and enjoyed them, but I wanted something that was Muscovy, but didn't really look like a Muscovy.....does that make sense? lol. And, I needed eggs because I will pinion day olds.

If you go to eBay and type in Muscovy eggs and scroll (you won't scroll very much) until you find an ad by wowsafarms (I think I spelled it correctly) and watch the short video on their eBay page, you will see what I'm after. I bought a dozen eggs and they sent me 14 and all are viable.

And pertaining to your last statement, I just don't understand why Muscovys haven't entered the food chain for American consumers. Much less fat than other ducks, better meat quality (IMO) and a quiet breed of poultry. No quacking, no crowing, very little noise at all. If they want to control them, why not harvest them and eat them? Educate the masses and let people take a net and catch them for food? Much better than killing them and throwing them in a landfill or whatever. I understand they are a nuisance in some communities and need controlled, but make use of the bird.

Miss Lydia, check that video out and let me know what you think, ok?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have an answer to your question........Yes, there are Muscovy ducks available here in Florida, but they are not the Muscovy ducks I want. I want the white "French" Muscovy duck which are all white with a black cap on their heads, larger in weight and much prettier (IMO) than wild colored Muscovys. I've had a few light colored Muscovys in the past and enjoyed them, but I wanted something that was Muscovy, but didn't really look like a Muscovy.....does that make sense? lol. And, I needed eggs because I will pinion day olds.

If you go to eBay and type in Muscovy eggs and scroll (you won't scroll very much) until you find an ad by wowsafarms (I think I spelled it correctly) and watch the short video on their eBay page, you will see what I'm after. I bought a dozen eggs and they sent me 14 and all are viable.

And pertaining to your last statement, I just don't understand why Muscovys haven't entered the food chain for American consumers. Much less fat than other ducks, better meat quality (IMO) and a quiet breed of poultry. No quacking, no crowing, very little noise at all. If they want to control them, why not harvest them and eat them? Educate the masses and let people take a net and catch them for food? Much better than killing them and throwing them in a landfill or whatever. I understand they are a nuisance in some communities and need controlled, but make use of the bird.

Miss Lydia, check that video out and let me know what you think, ok? I will and thank you for your answer

I will check them out but I have seen the French Whites they are a beautiful bird,. and thank you for your answer I agree 100% why kill these awesome birds just to kill them when they can be food.? I looked at wowsafarms video and they are very pretty birds.

 

[Dianne88]

I've got new pic of my Muscovy's in their new pen with my chicks. Looking at the pics of them next to my 9/10 week old chicks you can kinda get an idea of how big they are. I'm guessing 6 weeks old??? Anyone else have a guess?? My husband and I used a wooden swing set to make them a bigger coop, I have to say he did a wonderful job!!! It's not quite finished yet, we're going to add flowers around the outside and another piece of plastic siding at the top to give more protection from sun and rain. I was thinking of putting sand on the floor of the coop so it's not always muddy. Ricky and Lucy are getting along so far with the chicks, the only chick that picks on the ducks is my bantam Silkie (I think she has a complex from being the smallest). My 4 original eggs (27 days) are still going strong and the 15 from the second batch (7days old)and growing well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I've got new pic of my Muscovy's in their new pen with my chicks. Looking at the pics of them next to my 9/10 week old chicks you can kinda get an idea of how big they are. I'm guessing 6 weeks old??? Anyone else have a guess?? My husband and I used a wooden swing set to make them a bigger coop, I have to say he did a wonderful job!!! It's not quite finished yet, we're going to add flowers around the outside and another piece of plastic siding at the top to give more protection from sun and rain. I was thinking of putting sand on the floor of the coop so it's not always muddy. Ricky and Lucy are getting along so far with the chicks, the only chick that picks on the ducks is my bantam Silkie (I think she has a complex from being the smallest). My 4 original eggs (27 days) are still going strong and the 15 from the second batch (7days old)and growing well.

Oh my goodness they look so good and I see chocolate. Excited to see how these 2 turn out. and that is a really nice pen ya'll did a great job. I'd say 6- week since mine just lost the baby fuzz on her head and they are 8 weeks old now. Good news about the eggs too, soon your going to be over run with ducklings. were are you going to put them all? lol

 

[Going Quackers]

I've got new pic of my Muscovy's in their new pen with my chicks. Looking at the pics of them next to my 9/10 week old chicks you can kinda get an idea of how big they are. I'm guessing 6 weeks old??? Anyone else have a guess?? My husband and I used a wooden swing set to make them a bigger coop, I have to say he did a wonderful job!!! It's not quite finished yet, we're going to add flowers around the outside and another piece of plastic siding at the top to give more protection from sun and rain. I was thinking of putting sand on the floor of the coop so it's not always muddy. Ricky and Lucy are getting along so far with the chicks, the only chick that picks on the ducks is my bantam Silkie (I think she has a complex from being the smallest). My 4 original eggs (27 days) are still going strong and the 15 from the second batch (7days old)and growing well.

What a clever re-use of materials! yeah, i'd agree with ML 6wks ish is about right, mine are more feathered than that but are older ..