How many Muscovy Ducks to keep through the winter?

[Mammachix]

I currently have 8 Muscovies that we hatched out this spring, under a hen. Six are ducks and two are drakes. We want to raise them for meet. Any idea how many ducks I should keep through the winter? One drake obviously. My understanding is that they do not lay in the winter, easily go broody in the spring. So, I am thinking that if we keep three ducks and one drake, we would have enough ducks to re-populate in the spring and raise new ducks for freezer camp later in the summer. Does this sound right? Any other thoughts? I'm obviously trying to keep my food/bedding/cleaning costs and efforts down during the winter. The flock free-ranges during the day, but if it's anything like the last winter we had in the NorthEast, I should plan to keep a minimal flock in the winter.

Thanks for your good thinking!

 

[Baybrio]

I'm certainly no expert but this is my experience:

In March I bought one young drake (not even hen sized when I bought him) and five females. It took the drake a few months to mature. I now have about 90, if you include the 37 that hatched last week. Yes muscovy ducks will sit on a clutch of 16 eggs and hatch out 15 with no problems.

The eggs seem to appear in the nests like magic. We thought we were 6 in the nest and 14 ducklings appear.

 

[Mammachix]

Oh my goodness! Thanks for the warning. We have two drakes and like them both. It's so hard to choose which one to keep! I'm thinking I'll trim down to one drake and three hens through the winter because they are a bit crowded in the coop and I certainly don't need 90 ducklings next spring!! You must have a full freezer right now.