Moskovie question

[cindyschicks]

Okay, new to Moskovies. I had purchased two drakes and three hens. I had each drake in a different pen with some chickens and their respective hens. Well, one of the hens died. When we found her her head was bare and she was very weak. By the next morning she had passed away. I think the bare head occurred after she went down during the day. I think the chickens pecked at her. However, this leaves her drake alone and he seems depressed. I am considering letting him out to free range. I wanted to leave the hens in a coop so I can collect their eggs easily. I had read horror stories about the drakes fighting, and I know that I do not have enough hens for both drakes and hens to free range.

My question is should I have a companion for my lonely drake to free range with?

 

[Bleenie]

He absolutely should have TWO companions. it sounds like he overbred her & sometimes they can kill the hens. Muscovy drakes are notorious for being agressive during mating. he is most likely the cause of her bald head too, that's where they grab the girls so they dont move when mating. I personally wont keep an agressive drake and have never had any problems with my boys being penned with just 1 hen, even my horny chocolate drake.

try to find at least 2 hens for him or it could happen again. Good luck!

PS: you should also keep an eye on the other drake & his hens too, just in case.

 

[Lund Poultry]

totally agree with the last post! More than likely the drake did the bald head on your female and she passed away because of that! I have seen it happen many times! You are just going to have to get more females or limit there time together.