Is a muscovy A good duck?

[Pierre duck drake]

Muscovies are wonderful. They are not true “ducks” and related to other domestic ducks, all of which are descendants of mallards. Muscovies are a very old South American tree bird, or ”duck”, introduced to Europe, some say, by Russians thus the name Muscovy, others say by Spanish conquistadors. They are good mothers, be watchful, they like to hide their nests out while foraging. They are cautious but friendly, smart, very curious, forage well, eat LOTS of bugs, and slugs. They need water to eat with and like to take baths but do not have the water instincts/needs other ducks have. They do like to fly up! Roof tops, etc. Most get too heavy as they get older but we have a 15 yr old who still can get up on the roof and we have to coax her down with treats. She sits on the roof of her house to sleep, just under the coop roof, more than in the house. They need the same protection from predators as any domestic fowl. Their eggs are rich, make good omelets and great for baking. I don’t eat my birds, but people say their popular meat taste like chicken meat. I have only had 2 aggressive birds out of dozens in 35+ yrs of raising them, one was a drake, the other a duck….both got rehomed.

a fifteen year old duck! Thank you for telling me about them!!

 

[Quatie]

a fifteen year old duck! Thank you for telling me about them!!

They can potentially live up to 20 years old.

 

[Aunt Angus]

They can potentially live up to 20 years old.

I didn't know that. How cool!

 

[Quatie]

Ooh! Ooh! I gotta good autocorrect-gone-wrong story!

I'm a teacher, and I used to run a community service club at my previous high school. One year, we did a holiday gift drive where we granted the wishes of disadvantaged and seriously ill children. We answered their letters to Santa.

Well, club president - super nice, straight A student who is now in law school studying immigration policy - sent out a reminder to club members about answering the "letters to Satan."

That is a good one!

 

[Pierre duck drake]

They can potentially live up to 20 years old.

I didn't know that! I thought ducks lived ten to twelve years!!

 

[Henny Penney]

a fifteen year old duck! Thank you for telling me about them!!

At least, we lost count. She is actually our last, and we adore her and hope she has a few more yrs. She is still a character, as Muscovies are, moves a little slower this past yr. They do live long lives!

 

[Quatie]

I didn't know that! I thought ducks lived ten to twelve years!!

The mallard breeds live 10-12 years, often shorter for breeds like Pekin. Muscovy however live 10-12 in the wild and up to 20 in captivity (essentially as pets).

@Miss Lydia also have a few older Muscovy.

 

[Quatie]

At least, we lost count. She is actually our last, and we adore her and hope she has a few more yrs. She is still a character, as Muscovies are, moves a little slower this past yr. They do live long lives!

She is a beautiful girl

 

[Banana01]

Ok! Thank you they seem like great ducks! Do you know if they are easy to breed and sell?

Easy to breed and sell for me. I had a single male and female raise their first brood of fourteen eggs. Then I sell them to neighbors and trade males with other duck owners. I live in Peru so my experience is going to be different. But their meat is rare to find, i could sell it if i wanted, but i raise them for personal use.

The males are in high demand here, people like to trade males or buy them. I get strangers coming to my house asking to buy males. Someone came wantint a male to mix with Peking females, so i assume they will cross breed but not sure i understood for certain.

As for breeding, they lay a lot of eggs, around 15 per brood. And they hatch after 32 or something days (i dont count). They do have more than one brood a year.

The other posts in this thread have been really informative too, all true and good details. I let mine fly and they love to get exercise in the morning, and sit on rooftops. But the males and females are protective of each other so i never worry about them seperating or running.

 

[Quatie]

The males are in high demand here, people like to trade males or buy them. I get strangers coming to my house asking to buy males. Someone came wantint a male to mix with Peking females, so i assume they will cross breed but not sure i understood for certain.

The Muscovy and mallard breed produce mule and hinney ducks. I can't remember which was which. One the drake is a Muscovy, the other the drake is a mallard breed. But the hybrids are like 60 % drakes, so you have lots of large drakes to eat. The offspring are all sterile, but female will still lay eggs. Pekin and Muscovy are the most commonly breed hybrids.