Has anyone gotten muscovies to use raised nest boxes ?

[RAREROO]

Hi

I realize that muscovies will sometimes nest in trees and other high places of their choosing when they are allowed to range, but I wanting to keep a pen of them just for brooding other waterfowl so they would be enclosed it a pen I would to build them a small building with stacked nested boxes that are about 18x24 each so I could hopefully have more nest boxes than just what would fit around the floor of the pen, and I was wondering if they would actually use upper level nests ? Has anyone had them nest in raised boxes before ?

Thanks

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I haven't had any muscovies in years Clint, but at one time had quite a few. I never could get mine to use raised nest boxes. But I have heard others say they had good luck with double tiered boxes, so maybe I just didn't do it right.

 

[RAREROO]

Thanks, I could understand if they didn't want to use something as open as chicken nests but if they were provided with nice big, dark boxes like what I'm planning (18x24 with a small intrance whole ) then I would they they would like it just as good as one on the ground, and id give them a nice sized platform for them to fly up to before going in the nest.

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

I have, I have a box I built for Mandarins, then for the heck of it made the hole bigger and put it on the side of our garage, about 5ft off the ground, and much to my suprise one of my Muscovy hens hatched ducklings in it.... Then I have a nest box for my chickens about 7ft off the ground that I have Muscovies have layed eggs in before.

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Thanks, hopefully they shouldn't mind going up to the boxes I'm planning.

 

[goosedragon]

We put some in our chicken coop. They took over the top roost bar the first night. when they started to lay they would claim the top boxes [3 boxes high] we finally got wise and isolated the drakes and brought the ducks to them to mate. They,the drakes, could be vicious and would mate anything that they could catch. Seemed like they had only one thing on their mind.

 

[Suzie]

My Muscovies also lay eggs in the chicken house in nesting boxes - although it is fair to say that they have a ladder to reach the boxes - I have to oust them back into their own house in the evenings though - usually mine will hatch on a bed of straw in their own compound with great success.

Suzie

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Thankyou, that's. Good to hear. So the drakes were active with other duck ? I'm wanting to experiment in crossing muscovies with pekins to see how well how well fertility is from this interspecies cross to see if it would be worth hatching mule ducks for meat.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:

Hi Suzie