Can't find homes!

[NamahKatana]

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Yes we have. As much as I don't want to(they are my babies) We may end up doing that.

 

[iajewel]

Its only been 4 days, nothing sells over night so I hope you get them sold. The truth about breeding anything is you will always have to many males. In some species being born male is termanal. 99% of all male cattle are termanal. My point is, when we breed, we end up learning to eat our way out of it. I had never butchered a duck either. I love LOVE my ducks. I have since learned to do it and now my family enjoys a better diet. Its hard at first, but when you see that your flock is happier with less males, and you eat better it gets easier.

 

[NamahKatana]

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I don't breed. I bought them in spring hopeing for girls for eggs but got boys.

 

[iajewel]

That stinks. Sexing Muscovy is a trick. You have to wait untill they start to feather out a bit, then look at the wings. The girls get feathers on the wings befor the boys in the same clutch, also normally the legs of the males are much larger and longer then those of the girls. You can't always go by size, as that can very allot in the same clutch, the wing feathers however will never fail you.

 

[NamahKatana]

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We got them at 5 wks so no feathers then lol When we got them we really had no idea how to sex them. I think going by the legs and sound they make after 4 months is the easiest way.

 

[iajewel]

Muscovy are not like other ducks. You can't sex them by sound. They don't really quack and so that won't work. Legs won't work that young either. They have to be fledglings in order to sex them.

 

[GrannyCarol]

I had 9 extra Saxony ducklings this summer. I did wait a bit to try selling them, I am keeping the prettiest girl for my flock. I spent a good month advertising and finally got a nibble off of Craig's list, no go, and sold a pair of them from putting a flier with a picture up at a feed store. I am trading two more of them to a gal getting into poultry processing - she will take a breeding pair and we will butcher the others together. She has done a lot of chickens, but not ducks before. I was sure hoping for more action on some very pretty rare breed ducklings, but I live in a very rural area, 50 miles from any sort of real town.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You do have some other options.

You can build them a separate pen and keep them separated from the chickens.

You could always get rid of the chickens and keep the ducks.

 

[NamahKatana]

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No room for another pen on the property and not getting rid of the chickens as we use them for eggs.