Muscovies or Runner ducks - which do I want???

[momma's chickens]

I really thought I wanted runner ducklings and have been trying to hatch some. I still have 8 eggs in the incubator. My friend and I are going to Seattle to pick up a goat for her and I am looking over in that area. I haven't really found any yet but did find some cool Muscovies. The are blue, black or chocolate.

I am not sure whether I should keep looking for runner duicklings or get the muscovies.

 

[LoreenH]

It would depend on what you want them for....runners are egg laying machines, and scovies are seasonal layers. Scovies are also very quiet, runners can be quite talkative. Scovies will fly, runners usually don't once they are adults other than a couple of feet off the ground. It would just depend on what you are looking for in a duck.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

BOTH!!!

 

[momma's chickens]

Chickenwhisperer, you are no help at all!

LoreenH - I want them for egg laying and for ducklings. Here is the thing, I can't have them flying but since I live on outskirts of town, I don't want them extremely loud either.

 

[momof247371]

Muscovies are really quiet, good egglayers, and excellent mothers!

 

[Goat_Walker]

But scovies do fly...


Runners dont, both are great egg layers, BUT runners dont go broody .

I guess its really on what you want most. You can clip the scovies wings so they wont flya dn then they'll be jsut as good as the runners.

 

[momma's chickens]

Do scovies lay as well as runners?

 

[lauralou]

momma's chickens :

Do scovies lay as well as runners?

Mine lay about 15 eggs, then proceed to sit on them. It takes 35 days to hatch those eggs, then several weeks of mothering, then another 15 eggs. And so on...

 

[tplummer]

We have mallard, grey calls and muscovies. We just bought three more muscovies today. They are really friendly. I like the colors too.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

My muscovies do not lay at all during the winter. They lay until they get their nest full and then sit on them, They do a great job of hatching and taking care of the ducklings.

Muscovies are large, quiet, friendly, love to wag their tails and beg. Great bug catchers, cat food eaters. The ducks fly very well and the drakes are too heavy to fly much. They stay at home quite well once they know where their food is. They go any where for food. I think muscovies are great unless year round eggs are what you want. They are capable of big population increases over the summer.

I do not know anything about runners.

Muscovies are geneticly different than any of the mallard type ducks and any off spring of a muscovy/mallard cross will be sterile. Or they are called mules. Unless you have places to separate them, think about what you want before getting some of both breeds.