HERE is where we are going to talk about a sustainable meat bird flock

[CARS]

Well, I spent lunch hour reading up on ducks. I found this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=266482&p=1

I think I will pass. They sound like a lot of work and extremely messy critters. They put the fowl in fowl

 

[comp6512]

Quote:
It depends.

If you have room and preferably a pond, they are no work at all. All the mess goes into the pond, and night mess is easy to clean. Just rake up the bedding, pick out wet spots and sprinkle some more bedding on.

Ducks are more resilient than chickens and do not need medications. Plus, ducks grow to a butchering size much faster than a dual-purpose bird.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
I did not know that. So how long for a 6 lb. duck??

 

[pringle]

If you feed a pekin right they will gain 7 pounds in 7 weeks,not bad but there even worse than broilers,there poo is horrible they waste lots of feed, but you somehow become kinda attached to them too.I have 1 with my mallards right now and believe me shes making all the mess lol.

 

[kooltex]

I'm in the process of trading my pekins, they are too hard to process! Not too mention much cuter than chickens. They are sooooo messy! I'm done with ducks.

 

[danielnv]

I could be wrong, but isn't comparing muscovies to other ducks like comparing apples and oranges? They aren't related, and are referred to as a south American goose or some such. Does anyone here know if they have similar traits as far as gargling when they drink, etc.? Also, is their growth as rapid as other ducks? I believe they are known for their foraging ability, but also flight, so I'm assuming they would need to be trained to come into a coop at night to avoid the problems spoken of earlier with turkeys and predators.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
I don't know. I have been digging through the Duck section but dang, there is a lot of activity there. Maybe I should just post a few questions there and link the info here???
(shhh, don't tell the mods. It may be considered multiple posting

)

 

[pringle]

Quote:
Muscovys I think are pretty similar to "ducks".There is one bad thing about raising them for meat though,the males will get to be about 10 pounds or more but the females will only be half that!There very good at foraging and can live wild in non cold areas were there are greens and bugs year round.Im going to be crossing them with a pekin to see what I get.another plus to muscovys us that there meat is lean...

 

[saddina]

Quote:
I don't know. I have been digging through the Duck section but dang, there is a lot of activity there. Maybe I should just post a few questions there and link the info here???
(shhh, don't tell the mods. It may be considered multiple posting

)

Read away dear:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2004-10-01/Marvelous-Muscovies.aspx

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Something tells me you haven't tried Muscovy? It is delicious and much different tasting than other DUCK you might eat at say a chinese restaurant. Not greasy at all, and enough meat to really count.

Edited spelling! LOL (Dang iPhone with it's small keys!)

Muscovy reminds me of a roast beef in flavor , same as Canadian goose . Our drake [ a natural or wild variety black ] was too heavy for a sustained flight , but the white hen would fly out of sight every morning to return in about 15 minutes . An interesting thing to me was that they roosted , something I've never seen another duck or goose do , other than a Wood Duck going inside a den tree . The hen was not a truly prolific layer , but she did start laying before she was ready to brood ; the eggs were stronger flavored and firmer bodied than chicken eggs . Much easier to skin than pluck IMO ; but produce great meat with minimal feed , especially if you have a little pond of duckweed for them to clean up . They're a great choice for a sustainable flock ; but I do believe owners should take care not to allow them to escape and start a feral flock .