Magnificent Marvelous Muscovies!

[Miss Lydia]

Oh my gosh they are gorgeous!! Congrats!

 

[Kiwibird]

Thank you! I am spending a lot of time just sipping coffee and watching them

 

[AquaDuck]

I did not get to see an adult bronze or blue, as some other birds have been moved on. Bronze ducklings will be available in a few weeks. Here are the babies (about 6 weeks old) which I bought today:

NewDucks2

• Kiwibird
• Sep 13, 2019

NewDucks1

• Kiwibird
• Sep 13, 2019

The little black one is showing iridescence already, which surprised me. My black and white girls were older than this before they showed any.

What a gorgeous collection of birds, all sorts of colors!

 

[Kiwibird]

Thank you
They are camped out on the grass tonight, so much for getting them a little house! Mind you, the pied girls prefer hanging out under the trampoline over going into their coop, too. I just thought these young ones would prefer some shelter until they were fully feathered, but no, they are too tough for the indoor life. There are not many predators here, so they should be okay.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Not many predators? Surprise! They tend to come out of the wood work when we bring home poultry. I’d work on putting a fence up around their house and herd them in every night. They love routine and starting them young is the trick. Mine love their houses and my Muscovy roost right along side my chickens. 2x4 roosts for those big feet.

 

[Kiwibird]

Thank you for your concern. They have a fence. A dog off its leash is the biggest risk where we live. I have read about the predators which attack poultry in the US, and these things just don't live here. In some areas here, ferrets and hawks are a risk, but both are very unlikely in my location.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Of all the predators we have here loose dogs are the biggest concern too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Has NZ ever had large or small predators?

 

[Kiwibird]

There are no native mammals except bats and no snakes. The original predators were birds of prey, and omnivorous birds such as pukeko (purple gallinule), which will take chicks and ducklings. Ferrets, stoats, weasels, rats, cats and dogs have all been introduced. Our largest predator, Haast's eagle, is extinct, but legends tell of this bird taking children. I'm quite happy not to co-exist with these!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I can understand why. How about Hobbits got any of them running around?