egg production MUSCOVY

[rehric00]

Hi all! I am getting a muscovy or two this week. How is their egg production? I read only 70/year :/ does this seem true to those of you who have raised this breed before? I will not be breeding, just keeping as pets for eggs ans general enjoyment.

And what about campbells? I heard they are egggcellent layers I just don't know of anyone who has any adult hens for sale in my area

Thanks in advance!!

 

[charlindabob]

Hi all! I am getting a muscovy or two this week. How is their egg production? I read only 70/year

does this seem true to those of you who have raised this breed before? I will not be breeding, just keeping as pets for eggs ans general enjoyment.

And what about campbells? I heard they are egggcellent layers

I just don't know of anyone who has any adult hens for sale in my area

Thanks in advance!!

Khaki Campbell ducks will rival ANY chicken in egg production and lay eggs just about year around. They are noisy though. Muscovys are usually "seasonal" layers (for lack of a better word) and may lay 2-3 clutches a year and they are broody too unlike most K/C ducks. Muscovys are quiet and IMHO make a much better pet than K/C's.

 

[rehric00]

Quiet is good. I guess you have to compromise somewhere my husband is not happy noisy animals so I think I'd have to go with the muscovy thanks!

 

[learycow]

Agreed, khaki hens are quite loud, but mine all out lay my chickens. You will get 300-350 eggs a year from each khaki hen (assuming they have adequate feed/housing/lighting etc). They tend to be a skittish breed though so tend not to be a good breed for picking up and petting.

Muscovy ducks are "quackless" so very very quiet. They make hissing and soft cooing sounds, that's about it.
They tend to be seasonal though it depends on where you live. Here in New England, mine start laying in March/April (depending on the temp and weather). If I let them sit and hatch eggs, they will hatch 2-3 clutches if 6-30 eggs each time, generally ending in October. But if I don't collect eggs, they will usually lay until it gets really hot in July, take a month or two off, then start up again from Sept to october.

 

[bearingeast]

Not sure if this would be the right thread to post on... But we are very new to Muscovies and we were given 3 drakes an 3 ducks this winter now we have fallen for them. They have bred and we now have several duckling running about. I am sure that they were all from the same hatch them selves,
1. should I introduce new genetic stock so they are not interbreeding with them selves an sell the drakes at the next auction or is it ok for them to continue to interbreed with such a small stock. We are on a large farm in eastern ontario so we can have many. We do find their antics very funny and how friendly they have become where they will actually climb into my daughter lap. we also have been amazed at how wonderful duck eggs are compared to chicken for baking.

 

[Amiga]

I am not a Muscovy caretaker, so we'll let more experienced folks help with that, but wanted to welcome you, I think you are in a fine place for asking about this though it's a bit of departure from the original question.

Muscovies are lovely ducks, I admire them though I have such a small place I like my little runners and buffs.

I agree about duck eggs. While I appreciate chicken eggs, I prefer the duck eggs for every purpose. I don't make meringue, which is the only thing I wonder if it would work well or not.

 

[learycow]

Not sure if this would be the right thread to post on... But we are very new to Muscovies and we were given 3 drakes an 3 ducks this winter now we have fallen for them. They have bred and we now have several duckling running about. I am sure that they were all from the same hatch them selves,
1. should I introduce new genetic stock so they are not interbreeding with them selves an sell the drakes at the next auction or is it ok for them to continue to interbreed with such a small stock. We are on a large farm in eastern ontario so we can have many. We do find their antics very funny and how friendly they have become where they will actually climb into my daughter lap. we also have been amazed at how wonderful duck eggs are compared to chicken for baking.

You can let them breed for up to 6 generations before you will see deformities. But my suggestion would be to get some new blood in there.
You can always let this group of the parents and babies stay together, but change out some drakes or hens next year. You won't want too many drakes anyways as they can cause overbreeding, lameness, and feather plucking on your hens. I try to keep 2-4 hens for every drake with my muscovy ducks.
And plan on LOTS more ducklings if you allow free ranging. Hens are usually very broody and will hatch any where from 6 to 30 ducklings at a time, 1, 2, or 3 times a year! So you can go from 6 ducks to 100 ducks all within a years time.

 

[bearingeast]

Thank you for the replies I will do that this fall I will replace the drakes with new stock and keep a very fair drake to duck ratio, closer to 1 to 6 to keep their numbers down. Then every few years after that trade some ducks and drakes just to keep it diverse. It looks like we will not have a shortage of ducks if they do breed that readily. Well I will just have to keep up wi the baking.
As with duck eggs they make a great meringue, angel food cake, and with all those extra yokes custards and ice cream! Luckily we have plenty of family an friend get togethers so we are not always inclined to eat them all.