Muscovy Drake Concerns! ADVICE PLEASE!

[Knighstar679]

He eats the layer feed that the girls are on. They also snack on mealworms, romaine & kale, peas, blueberries, scratch, & cracked corn. I read about BOSS (I think it was Black Sunflower oil something) helping with the oils and water proofing.

Careful with feeding him layer feed the calcium can build up and cause damage to the kidneys.
I feed Black Sunflower seeds to my ducks and they often are thrilled. Their feathers are super shiny. They didn’t get a lot of them through the winter but I started doing it again recently.

 

[Isaac 0]

He eats the layer feed that the girls are on. They also snack on mealworms, romaine & kale, peas, blueberries, scratch, & cracked corn. I read about BOSS (I think it was Black Sunflower oil something) helping with the oils and water proofing.

All flock or Purina Raiser feed would be better for his long term health than layer feed. If its cold where you are I don't suggest doing this with a bird that has wet feather, but the best way to prevent and treat wet feather is to encourage bathing time in the water, If that means throwing treats in water or whatever you can to encourage him to practice some self-hygiene

 

[Quackattack717]

Worth a try. Keep us updated on what works.

What breed is your chicken?

Honestly we aren’t sure. We thought they were Easter eggers, we got them as chicks from our neighbor who had a broody hen. But we just recently added new adult (or almost adult) hens to our flock from someone who sells different breeds of chickens and knows her breeds and what she’s talking about and we found out our hens aren’t Easter eggers. They may be some kind of mix with an Easter egger but definitely not full bred Easter eggers. Any tips you may have for broody hens please let me know! She’s definitely broody, not egg bound! Thankfully! But she’s being very persistent. I’ve been forcing her out of the coop every morning and closing up the coop so she can’t get back to her nest box. But that’s unfair to my other hens because they can’t go in and lay if they need too. And we think one of our new hens laid her first egg yesterday since we brought them home so that makes me really want to open the coop up so my new hens have the option to lay and get comfortable with their nest boxes but I don’t want her sitting on her empty nest all day.
And not to write you an extremely long book, but my Muscovy hen went broody yesterday! GAHHH! So I have both coops closed up trying to break their broodiness. I’ve destroyed my Muscovy hens nest 3 times now. And she just keeps making a new one.

 

[Quackattack717]

Careful with feeding him layer feed the calcium can build up and cause damage to the kidneys.
I feed Black Sunflower seeds to my ducks and they often are thrilled. Their feathers are super shiny. They didn’t get a lot of them through the winter but I started doing it again recently.

Really? I didn’t know that. So how do I feed my hens layer feed and not him? Or should I just switch them to whatever he needs?

 

[Quackattack717]

All flock or Purina Raiser feed would be better for his long term health than layer feed. If its cold where you are I don't suggest doing this with a bird that has wet feather, but the best way to prevent and treat wet feather is to encourage bathing time in the water, If that means throwing treats in water or whatever you can to encourage him to practice some self-hygiene

He is very clean. And baths daily. He’s not the biggest fan of the baby pool in the enclosure but if we let them out to free range he takes a decent dip in the creek before he gets out and cleans/preens himself forever.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You could switch to an all flock like Purina flock Raiser and offer oyster shell in a separate container for your layers they eat them as needed. As for your broodies well I have a broody hen and I am just letting her break herself. I make sure she doesn’t have any eggs under her and make sure she comes out everyday which she is. I do the same with my Muscovy I’ve had this breed since 2004 and have never been able to break one so I just use the same tactic that I am using with my hen I just let it run it’s course. It keeps me sane and lets the hormones run their course. AND keeps the coop open for the others!

 

[Quackattack717]

You could switch to an all flock like Purina flock Raiser and offer oyster shell in a separate container for your layers they eat them as needed. As for your broodies well I have a broody hen and I am just letting her break herself. I make sure she doesn’t have any eggs under her and make sure she comes out everyday which she is. I do the same with my Muscovy I’ve had this breed since 2004 and have never been able to break one so I just use the same tactic that I am using with my hen I just let it run it’s course. It keeps me sane and lets the hormones run their course. AND keeps the coop open for the others!

So if I let them sit on their empty nest, they will eventually give up?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yep happens here. Just lift them up and make sure no one has contributed to their effort!

 

[Quackattack717]

Yep happens here. Just lift them up and make sure no one has contributed to their effort!

Oh yes. Luna (my chicken) had two eggs under her yesterday. One her sister that she grew up with, they lay in the same box, laid in the box with Luna still in the box. She didn’t even have to move. Yesterday was the first time I saw them both in the nest box together! And the other egg she must have moved over from another nest. We collect eggs everyday so keeping the eggs from them shouldn’t be hard, although my Muscovies like to hide the eggs in their coop. So I’m always scared I’m missing some! Thank you so much for your help! I’m headed out to let my drake out of drake jail (I’ve been giving the ladies free time in the AM to eat in peace before I let him out with them!) so I’ll open all the coops up and hopefully they break themselves soon!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They will just let it run it’s course. Just make sure they come out to eat and with your lil hen dust bathe. I am having to separate my Muscovy from my Runners an Buffs and geese to try an keep the peace. My 2 Runners are over the top with their hormones where my Muscovy drake has no interest in their girls. 3 ring circus around here.