Cajun Duck Mom has broody Muscovy!

[Luv Ducks]

Welcome to BYC. I have Muscovies and I would not let her sit or have any young ducklings. They do not always take to them and can possibly hurt them. I would lock her out of the coop and if you are concerned about her flying off clip one of her wings to stop that. Mine are clipped and don't go anywhere and I remove the eggs daily so that they don't stay broody. Good luck with yours, I am sure she will do fine without any babies.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I don't keep Ducks and can't give you much information however I agree with those that suggested you don't allow her to stay broody after one round already. Setting all day, not eating or drinking enough, not bathing enough, no sunlight, no exercise, it's draining on their bodies. Break her for now, letting her recuperate for a month or two, then she can get back at it.

Good luck with your bird!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hello, Lori, and welcome to BYC. Setting can be physically debilitating, and two cycles in a row is too much for her body. I would lock her away from the nest site and force break her to preserve her health. I would not give her a clutch of eggs and expect her to set another 35 days.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Boy these Muscovy! I have 2 broody right now, One even hatched 2 ducklings in June they are both 12 yrs old so be prepared to go through this a long time. lol Neither have eggs and my one that had already hatched this year comes out a lot during the day to eat drink poop bathe so From past experience I don't even try to break my girls They will hang on the hardware cloth on the door of their coop so I just let it run it's course. The other Muskie she will terrorize the rest of the birds she gets hold of a chicken and beats her with her wings so I just let her have her nest with nothing in it and make her come out a couple of times a day. Talk about hard-headedness. I love my girls but they really are obsessed.

Oh and I tried giving my one 4 little tiny Runner ducklings a few weeks ago Nope she would have none of it, not my other one either. My one Muskie hatched Runner ducklings in June so it wasn't because of the breed it's just because of them lol

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hello BYC Peeps! I became a duck mom when I was looking to jazz up my Louisiana pond with some ducks and fell in LOVE w/flock life I've had as little as 5 and as many as 20 in my flock.

I've been enjoying BYC for a couple of years now but just officially joined today and I have a problem in my current 6 duck flock.

I have a Muscovy hen, Rogue, that has gone broody. She has had 2 sets of clutches in the past. The first clutch was difficult in that she had around 4-6 eggs. Only two hatched and one duckling didn't survive. The second clutch was earlier this year and she hatched the entire clutch of 12! With no casualties and every single egg hatched!

6 hens and 6 drakes were too much to add to my backyard free-range flock. So, I found a nice farmer that was looking to expand his flock and took them all. Even the 2 that had angel-wing

Within a couple of weeks, she was setting on another clutch, or it was the beginning stages when we went on vacation for two weeks. Then the tragedy happened. My housekeeper spotted an enormous snake in our yard that was "lumpy" like he was full of eggs. He was quickly relocated but we believe he cleaned out the coup. And after 2 months of waiting for her to lay again, poor sweet Rogue is still sitting on an empty nest.

At first, I was feeding and watering her by her nest box in the coup, until I realized she hadn't laid any more eggs. Then I took the food and water away but it didn't make much of a difference. She does come out every few days, when she's really hungry and thirsty to eat with her flock mates i.e. 3 hens and 2 drakes, none of which are setting. But as soon as I try to look in the box to make sure she hasn't laid more eggs, she hisses and runs back to her nest. Muscovy's are the only ducks that incubate for 35 days, but it's been two cycles.

I thought by not agitating her and leaving her alone to "ride it out" would work, but it hasn't. When she's not setting a clutch, she is my only flyer thus the name, Rogue. I'm worried if I lock her totally out of the coup she will fly off and make a nest somewhere else although she's stayed close to home in the past. Her first clutch was in the same nest box where she's at now. Her second clutch was in the neighbors front yard flowerbed and we had to round up her and 12 ducklings once they hatched!

Apologies for the lengthy post. Trying to give all the details as I cannot find anyone that had this type of issue. It is time for me to take a more serious approach so that her health does not continue to decline. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks-Lori

Welcome to BYC!! Are you trying to stop her from sitting and hatching more eggs?

 

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC! pleased to meet you and thanks for joining us.