Is a muscovy A good duck?

[Banana01]

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.

I heard they like to crossbreed muscovy with pekin for the increased size. I personally would consider raising pekins or smaller duck breeds only if they eat less feed than muscovies, but to me i am happy with pure muscovies because they are really big and the meat is great.

The only thing i am considering getting is geese, but they definitely dont cross breed with muscovy, at least that is what i have been told. My neighbor has a female goose that comes in front of my house sometimes, but my muscovies have never shown any interest in her.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

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."

I used to be a teacher. I sent an email to a parent with the greeting, "Hell, ....", instead of Hello.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I will be back to post about Muscovy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Muscovy are a wonderful breed. I have only had them since 2004 so not anywhere near as long as HennyPenny but to me they are very special. I only have 5 left now all in age from just shy of 14 to age 9 yrs. 1 drake 4 females. For many years I had at least 4 drakes with their own females in their own part of their property fenced but in 2016 I decided to find homes for the 2 young drakes and just have 1 drake their daddy. I have never been able to have more than one Muscovy drake and they live happily together. The only thing I have seen as they get old is their legs begin to wear out. My oldest female is struggling with walking now so she is kept where she can still see and interact but no one can bully her[Runners] She's still feisty though. lol
We've never eaten any of our ducks so can't comment on taste but they make great pets. This is Ruth Ann she will be 14 next month.

 

[Henny Penney]

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.

That’s interesting they are hard to find where you live in Peru, I’ve always read it is one place where there are wild Muscovies. Modern domestic Muscovies have been bred to be heavier, and for other traits, but the earliest indications of domesticating them is from the Mochica culture in southern Peru 2000 yrs ago!

 

[lost-duckling]

So I'm thinking about getting some muscovy ducks but would like to know more about them! Do the hens go broody once a year? Are they friendly? Can they live with my other ducks? The breeds are KC hookbill and a pekins (the pekins lives alone because of his leg problem)

broody maybe 3 times a year and aslong as you dont go french meat strain they are friendly.

 

[Pierre duck drake]

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!

Wow! She is beautiful! I love muscovies!

 

[Pierre duck drake]

Muscovy are a wonderful breed. I have only had them since 2004 so not anywhere near as long as HennyPenny but to me they are very special. I only have 5 left now all in age from just shy of 14 to age 9 yrs. 1 drake 4 females. For many years I had at least 4 drakes with their own females in their own part of their property fenced but in 2016 I decided to find homes for the 2 young drakes and just have 1 drake their daddy. I have never been able to have more than one Muscovy drake and they live happily together. The only thing I have seen as they get old is their legs begin to wear out. My oldest female is struggling with walking now so she is kept where she can still see and interact but no one can bully her[Runners] She's still feisty though. lol
We've never eaten any of our ducks so can't comment on taste but they make great pets.

I will probably get muscovies this spring! They are great ducks!!

 

[nchls school]

Yes to all questions. If they have plenty of food, etc. they will nest year around. Mine lost her nest last week to flooding water. I noticed yesterday that she was already looking through nesting spots/dog carriers. They seem to prefer a covered nest and medium dog carriers are just the right size. From now on I plan to put the carriers above the ground so flooding won't take any more nests.

Many people have muscovys in our area and, as a result, they do not sell well. Yesterday I noticed on craig's list someone giving them away.

In personality and intelligence, I find muscovys superior to other breeds.

 

[Pierre duck drake]

Muscovy are a wonderful breed. I have only had them since 2004 so not anywhere near as long as HennyPenny but to me they are very special. I only have 5 left now all in age from just shy of 14 to age 9 yrs. 1 drake 4 females. For many years I had at least 4 drakes with their own females in their own part of their property fenced but in 2016 I decided to find homes for the 2 young drakes and just have 1 drake their daddy. I have never been able to have more than one Muscovy drake and they live happily together. The only thing I have seen as they get old is their legs begin to wear out. My oldest female is struggling with walking now so she is kept where she can still see and interact but no one can bully her[Runners] She's still feisty though. lol
We've never eaten any of our ducks so can't comment on taste but they make great pets. This is Ruth Ann she will be 14 next month. View attachment 2967830

She is a beautiful muscovy! I love her colors!!!