First time muscovy owner

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Miss Lydia said:
They really are a very nice breed of duck!! Glad your happy with them! What ever came of the hatching I guess I missed all of it while I was out of internet.
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We ended up with 6 little ducklings. I really feel like the crazy wish washy weather we had did a number on the eggs. We have already rehomed 2 and have 4 left. Mama has been amazing at taking care of the babies and she integrated them into the flock immediately. She was our very first duck and definitely the dominant one so no one has messed with the babies at all. It couldn't have gone better!
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Jbently28 said:
Thank you so much everyone! I told my husband that I was pretty certain of the sexes when we brought them home. I'm not absolutely certain of the ages as the breeder had many in different age ranges, but I'm guessing about 5-6 weeks. They both seem to have the same amount of feathering at the moment and there is definitely a noticeable size different. The chocolate, which I presume to be a female, is just so petite and girly looking to me so I'm just going based off of that. I've been researching muscovies for a while now and have gone back and forth about getting them only because of the flying aspect, but I do plan on clipping their wings if it becomes an issue. I can tell you that I am already hooked on the breed. They are just so much calmer and approachable than any other ducklings I've ever had at this age. Definitely nothing like any duck breed I've had before. When I reach down to pet them they nestle their little heads into my hands much like a newly hatched duckling would do before the fear instincts kick in. I can definitely see adding more hens in the future. We have our local chicken swap once a month March-October and muscovies seem to be very prevalent in our area. There are more colors and patterns available at every swap than you could imagine. My muscovy obsession may become a problem for my husbands wallet :lau I've heard from so many muscovy owners that you can never have enough and I completely understand now
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On the topic of wing clipping, I’m one of the few around here that never got around to it. Luckily, it hasn’t been a problem. My “flock leader” is a 99% non-flying Rouen. My two Muscovy girls followed her lead growing up. My smaller Muscovy hen does take short flights (when she’s not essentially glued to her nest, being broody), but her flights consist only of going from the barn to the house and back. My larger Muscovy hen hated flying from the beginning as she hurt her leg on her first landing and never really improved her landing skills. She finds it safest to walk along with Daphne, my Rouen.

At any rate, while I’m sure that trimming wings is the best idea, don’t panic if you are unable to do so immediately.

That being said, there’s currently a friendly Muscovy drake that’s been cruising my town’s ponds for a while, always 1 step ahead of his very embarrassed and worried owner. :oops::barnie:pop
 
Daphne_loves_mealworms said:
On the topic of wing clipping, I’m one of the few around here that never got around to it. Luckily, it hasn’t been a problem. My “flock leader” is a 99% non-flying Rouen. My two Muscovy girls followed her lead growing up. My smaller Muscovy hen does take short flights (when she’s not essentially glued to her nest, being broody), but her flights consist only of going from the barn to the house and back. My larger Muscovy hen hated flying from the beginning as she hurt her leg on her first landing and never really improved her landing skills. She finds it safest to walk along with Daphne, my Rouen.

At any rate, while I’m sure that trimming wings is the best idea, don’t panic if you are unable to do so immediately.

That being said, there’s currently a friendly Muscovy drake that’s been cruising my town’s ponds for a while, always 1 step ahead of his very embarrassed and worried owner. :oops::barnie:pop
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I'm hoping that since none of my other ducks fly that they will follow their lead as well and I won't have to worry about it.
 
They might and might not... I clipped all of my girls wings last year after they melted because they tested out their wings and scared me.
Then I got the two unknown babies that cant fly along with mocha the KC - beedee is muscovy and she basically grew up as older sister to the littles - and she was flying everywhere in the room, down the hall to the top of the fence... I clipped hers yesterday.
Coco tries to flap her wings to imitate beedee but cant get off the ground, thank goodness...
 
It depends on where you live to if you have neighbors with dogs in a fenced in back yard you don't want your Muscovy flying and possibly land there. We haven't neighbors but we do have woods and a mountain river down below our home and They wouldn't stand a chance either place. So my females get wings clipped every fall after they molt and grow in their flight feather. It's not that they want to leave home. But being able to fly is exciting but can get them into a boat load of trouble. As seen by what Daphne_loves_mealworms said. My big drake has never even tried to fly. But there are a lot of feral Muscovy's living out on lakes ponds etc because the flew away and couldn't find their way home.
 
Miss Lydia said:
It depends on where you live to if you have neighbors with dogs in a fenced in back yard you don't want your Muscovy flying and possibly land there. We haven't neighbors but we do have woods and a mountain river down below our home and They wouldn't stand a chance either place. So my females get wings clipped every fall after they molt and grow in their flight feather. It's not that they want to leave home. But being able to fly is exciting but can get them into a boat load of trouble. As seen by what Daphne_loves_mealworms said. My big drake has never even tried to fly. But there are a lot of feral Muscovy's living out on lakes ponds etc because the flew away and couldn't find their way home.
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I'm definitely gonna have to take all of that into consideration. I live in a pretty rural area, but I do have neighbors close by with dogs. I will most likely be clipping their wings just for their own protection. My ducks all tend to stay close to home, but I'm sure a flying muscovy would leave them to ponder what is beyond the yard. When clipping their wings, is it best to clip both or just one? I of course will be waiting until they are fully feathered.
 

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