How do you house your Muscovy?

[ozark hen]

I have two four week old muscovy ducklings. I have put them up in a brooder cage that is built into the coop and mid afternoon saw the two of them outside in the yard free ranging with the flock!? I captured them and put them back in a separate brooder room and closed the door....before long...there they were in the main coop sitting on the floor and the door to their room was still closed!? I am going to name them Hoo & Deenie! How ever do you keep them up at night to keep yours safe? I find that these two just return to the main coop at night with the flock and they are just babies. They are afraid of me right now and haven't decided it was time for treats since the flock would bowl them over to reach any treats thrown to them. I would prefer they stay in with my pilgrim geese at night but so far the geese won't have them close so I am letting the ducklings return to the coop at night. I know that they can't stay in there as ducks always make quite a mess. Any suggestions from duck owners?

 

[chickboss]

I don't know if this is helpful you your situation, but since my Muscovies were five weeks old they were in their house (an extreemly large dog house) with a large area fenced off with electric netting. At least they are returning with the flock. Good luck!

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
Thanks, these little guys are quite the escape artists.
I was just wondering if anyone with Muscovy ducks put them up at night or what??? I have an amazing watch dog and she guards the place from predators but wondered how to get the ducks up at night. Only feed them at night like I do my Pilgrim geese? I only feed the geese in their pen at night and they go willingly now.

 

[chickboss]

Mine do get put in at night. And there is a door on the house. That may work, just feeding them in the evening. I noticed that mine graze a lot, and before long, in the a.m. they would head to the grass before heading to the feed dish, so you maybe could just feed them at night like the geese. Little buggers, LOL. Are they climbing out?

 

[ozark hen]

I truly do not know how they are doing it?

Little buggers but so far the flock ignores them unless they get too close. I have never seen them drink any water or eat...they must be getting nourishment in there though? I have three waterers in the two rooms of the coop and they look muddy like the buggers have gone for a swim so they must be eating and drinking. These two are like none I have had before. LOL

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have been lucky enough to have hatched 57 muscovy ducklings and I have housed them in a dog kennel (10'W x 10'L/5'W x 15'L x 6'H) similar to the one posted below. Because they were small enough to get out of the openings in the kennel and they got out ALL THE TIME, I put tin around the entire kennel so that they couldn't squeeze through. I have had no problems at all with any of them getting out and no problems with predators. I have not lost 1 single duck. I put the mamas in there as well. Although the mamas scale/walk the fence UPWARDS and then fly out, they always fly back in to be with the babies. When I'm in the barnyard, I open the kennel and let them out to free range to eat grass and bugs. At night, I round them up and they know exactly where to go. No problem getting them back in. I place a large tarp covering the kennel at night but take the tarp off during the day. In the morning, they are waiting for me to open up. I make sure that all of them eat before opening up the kennel. After all of them have eaten, then I open the kennel. But they cannot get out of that kennel until I have seen them eat and drink.

As far as the older muscovy ducks, they like to just lay wherever in the barnyard at night to sleep. Their area is about 1/2 acre. They sleep on the ground with the geese. They do not have their own house but they do have access to sheds if they want to go in. I have been VERY lucky because I have not lost any adult muscovy ducks to any predators. I don't know if the geese and sheep run off the predators or not but it all works out.

 

[keeperofthehearth]

I put mine up at night in a shed and duck house. They generally go in, most of them anyway, right before dark but I usually have to round up one or two who think they should get to stay out and play or roost in the trees.

We do have troublesome racoons and coyotes so do put them in. Scovy like to roost, esp. as they get older, so don't be surprised if they want in the coop at night. My shed has wide shelves that a number of them roost on as well as roosting on the tops of the nest boxes or sleeping in them. Last year, before I clipped wings, I had 8 Scovy girls sleeping on our house roof regularly.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
thanks kuntrygirl! I have a pen that size but it has a wire top to it. We put a heavy-duty tarp over the top for weather protection for the dog when we had one in there. I can cover the bottom section with small wire..a little bigger than hardware cloth for them. I was concerned as to how people housed them when they are grown. Thanks for the info.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
thanks that is good to know. I had some scovy before but when they wouldn't go up into their pen at night, I ended up giving them away as I didn't have a good watch dog. Now I have the dog and would prefer not to clip wings so we will see what happens.

hopefully, they both will prefer to go back into the coop at night or pen with the geese when they grow up since they prefer the coop now. thanks for everyone's help!

 

[LittleSquidgenHome]

We have 10, 10 week old scovie ducklings, and mom, in an 8x8 pen at night, and occasionally when they are particularly mischievous escape artist during the day, like today when I found them OUT of the FENCED pasture and in the childrens pool in the back yard. They were hatched and brooded in that pen outdoors as well. They have a fenced acre and a half and a pond to play in, and they insist on finding any place in the fence they can squeeze out of to wander the rest of the property.
Their night pen has a solid floor and then is covered on the sides and top in 2x4 welded wire with poultry fencing over that to keep little ducks in and raccoon arms out. They have 3, 35 gallon barrels to sleep in and get out of the rain and then two other contraptions constructed out of halved barrels on legs for shade.

In the winter they are housed in the barn, with the frostbite issues it is better this way, and the Anconas sleep in the night pen outside.