Moscovy

[Miss Lydia]

Better clip a wing or you'll be where plumtuckered is right now, they sure are pretty.. I love mine.

 

[RavenWood]

I'm picking up my first two tomorrow. Do I need special housing for them?

 

[Cottage Rose]

Unless you want to risk them being eaten by predators at night they will need to be closed in at night in a predator proof shelter or you will need: a well trained livestock guard dog with your flock 24/7 or a very secure pen with a hot wire on the top and a barrier under the ground to prevent digging but that still does not protect again owls and coons will reach in through wire and grab and kill through fencing. A pond is not a haven of safety either. Predators are a thread by day as well but the risk generally runs much higher at night. Good luck with your new Muscovies.

 

[jdywntr]

Congrats on gettting some. Muscovy like to roost so you can provide them with roosts similar to chickens or even something that they can get on top of to sleep. They do need a predator proof shelter. It does not need to be elaborate just secure. Roosts can be as simple as 2x4s with the wide side up about 18-24" off the ground. Make sure the roosts aren't within reach of any openings about 18" from the walls is good.

 

[RavenWood]

Unless you want to risk them being eaten by predators at night they will need to be closed in at night in a predator proof shelter or you will need: a well trained livestock guard dog with your flock 24/7 or a very secure pen with a hot wire on the top and a barrier under the ground to prevent digging but that still does not protect again owls and coons will reach in through wire and grab and kill through fencing. A pond is not a haven of safety either. Predators are a thread by day as well but the risk generally runs much higher at night. Good luck with your new Muscovies.

They will be kept in my duck pen with my Rouen/Khakis which has a 6 foot fence. We live in the northern forest in BC so there are predators (wolves, coyotes, fox, eagles, bears), but we have kept poultry for many years without incident, so hopefully that enclosure will suffice. I'm confused by info I've found though - do Muscovy fly? There is no top on this pen as it is in a forested area and difficult to cover without cutting down the trees (which I refuse to do) so I'm hoping the fencing is high enough to deter them from flying out, otherwise I'll have to clip wings.

Congrats on gettting some. Muscovy like to roost so you can provide them with roosts similar to chickens or even something that they can get on top of to sleep. They do need a predator proof shelter. It does not need to be elaborate just secure. Roosts can be as simple as 2x4s with the wide side up about 18-24" off the ground. Make sure the roosts aren't within reach of any openings about 18" from the walls is good.

Interesting. I didn't realize any duck breeds liked to roost. I can certainly arrange some sort of roost in the shelter I have thrown together. My biggest concern is giving them an area out of the elements as it does drop down to -35 celcius here in winter sometimes. Their shelter isn't insulated, but will block wind and keep them dry, and it will have lots of nice warm straw/shavings to nest in. Sure hope that will work for them. This was a rather impromptu purchase as I had never seen them advertised up here before so I jumped on the opportunity when it present itself.

 

[jdywntr]

Muscovy females fly well, males do to but become more grounded when they are bigger. You can clip one wing to keep them grounded. Do keep in mind that if your other ducks and the muscovy breed, the offspring will be sterile.

Muscovy are not derived from mallards, as other duck breeds are. They will sleep on the ground but they do prefer to roost once they are a few months old.