I have quite a few Muscovy duckling questions...

[FarmrGirl]

Quote:
^ 2x ^

Also, try peas... they'll love them and they can float in the wading water so it's fun for them the "catch". Don't try to put them back in the booder once they've been outside for the day. Whereever you plan to house them as adults, get that set up for them and teach them to sleep in there - they don't take change very well so try to keep that to a minimum. I find that Muscovy are somewhere between chickens and ducks in their behavior. They'll put themselves up at night far quicker and more frequently than my ducks and they herd about as good as chickens - LOL! It's easier to just pick them up and carry them where you need!

If you're housing them with older ducks (eventually) then you can just set up a divider if you have more than one pop door on your duckbarn (that's always a good idea). If that's impossible, you can always set up a doghouse for them right next to the duckbarn as a temporary solution. At least they'll be in the correct general area when it's bedtime but you'll still have a bit of a time re-orienting them to the new space when the time comes.

I built a double-decker duck barn. The ducks and geese sleep downstairs and the Muscovy climb the ramp (or fly) up to the upper level. The nestboxes are mounted up near the ceiling and the girls seem to prefer them since they seldom get the chickens in there bothering them like those bossy hens do down on the lower level.

Good luck!

 

[Going Quackers]

Thank you.

We tried them with cherrios last night(soaked, actually floating in a bowl) once they got over the 'fear' of said new bowl

they loved it...

Right now our temps are not steady enough for them to go outside... but once as it is out they will be. They are the only ducks here, so it will be just them. We're going to be using an old dog run and wooden insulated dog house for now, i have a small wading pool(kiddies) that i will add some shallow depth water to. I hope to eventually let them 'free range'(shut in at night of coarse) but that will have to wait till there larger so there safer.

We may try building something more elaborate i am searching all over to gain ideas and such, some of the set-ups here are awfully impressive! My biggest concern is winter... we get real cold, -20C or worse(sorry don't know F equivalent)








Quote:
^ 2x ^

Also, try peas... they'll love them and they can float in the wading water so it's fun for them the "catch". Don't try to put them back in the booder once they've been outside for the day. Whereever you plan to house them as adults, get that set up for them and teach them to sleep in there - they don't take change very well so try to keep that to a minimum. I find that Muscovy are somewhere between chickens and ducks in their behavior. They'll put themselves up at night far quicker and more frequently than my ducks and they herd about as good as chickens - LOL! It's easier to just pick them up and carry them where you need!

If you're housing them with older ducks (eventually) then you can just set up a divider if you have more than one pop door on your duckbarn (that's always a good idea). If that's impossible, you can always set up a doghouse for them right next to the duckbarn as a temporary solution. At least they'll be in the correct general area when it's bedtime but you'll still have a bit of a time re-orienting them to the new space when the time comes.

I built a double-decker duck barn. The ducks and geese sleep downstairs and the Muscovy climb the ramp (or fly) up to the upper level. The nestboxes are mounted up near the ceiling and the girls seem to prefer them since they seldom get the chickens in there bothering them like those bossy hens do down on the lower level.

Good luck!

 

[FarmrGirl]

Quote:
Yeah, Muscovy don't care for cold weather... mine pretty much stay inside if it's snowing. Luckily we don't get a whole lotta snow. If it's really cold you can always pop a brooder lamp in the house for them at night but if they can snuggle up for warmth they'll probably be fine.

I also let the straw decompose in the duckbarn over the winter, I just add a new layer about every 2 days or so depending on how soiled it gets. As the very bottom layer starts to compost down it releases heat inside the duckbarn and helps them stay warmer. Plus, keeping my Muscovy in the "upstairs" allows them to take advantage of the heat rising from both floors of composting straw.

 

[Mom 2em All]

My muscovies did great all winter! They have down coats!

They need protection from the wind- and they like to roost on things- I used hay bales for them to roost on in various places in the yard- and I built them a lean-to shelter that they could be out of the wind, and that is all they needed. many many many times they were out in the snow like it was a spring morning. I dont give them swimming water once the pond freezes- but I did make sure they always had fresh thawed drinking water to use.

They really did fine all winter long. Better than me, I think!

 

[tink0602]

I built a double-decker duck barn. The ducks and geese sleep downstairs and the Muscovy climb the ramp (or fly) up to the upper level. The nestboxes are mounted up near the ceiling and the girls seem to prefer them since they seldom get the chickens in there bothering them like those bossy hens do down on the lower level.

farmrgirl - Could you post a picture of your duck barn? We have 8 Muscovy Duck eggs incubating, and we need to decide what we are going to build to keep them in at night. We have a pony stable that we were thinking about turning into some kind of coop for them. We are in Florida, so no problem with cool weather here.