Muscovy Duck Care

[Miss Lydia]

Well sounds like a Muscovy's paradise there especially if they are fenced from dogs. But do yours fly? I have to clip the wings on my females we have a mountain river down below us that if they were to fly too most likely I'd never get them back. Oh and don't worry about getting ducklings next year you'll have more than you can imagine if you don't practice birth control they are very similar to cats and kittens they like to produce a lot of ducklings. So you might want to limit the amount of eggs you let your females sit and hatch.

 

[Going Quackers]

I found a male Muscovy wondering around our neighborhood. I could tell he had been attacked - no tail feathers, one wing was damaged and he seemed very disorientated. I put him in with my chickens and he did well until he became an adult and very amorous. We had to kick him out, but we found a couple of females to keep him company. They are still young and I wasn't sure how to take care of them - what type of environment, and what about nesting.

I wonder about their nesting places. Mine seem to like anywhere but the nesting box my husband built - it is quite open - three sides and a roof. I find them sitting against the house and digging in the dirt to make a nesting place.

Should I just spread some straw around where they generally sleep and forget about the nesting house? We live in Hawaii, so there is no need for shelter from the snow. I don't think they mind the rain when we get it - we are entering our dry season now. We provided a small pool for them, which they love to take advantage of. They sleep on the ground, for now, do they need something to roost on - up off the ground?

My females did always like to be "up" to be honest they roosted over night quite often on the buildings and other cages, sometimes even going onto the roof of the house.

For the most part despite providing proper "nesting" spots mine typically created their own some in not so great places unfortunately, i used to put a two by six board resting on concrete blocks that they enjoyed roosting on.

My drakes are generally ground dwellers and they are mainly all i have now for Muscovy(only 1 female remains) so i don't bother with much for roosting anymore.

 

[SkyeT]

Only one of my females jump up on anything higher than 4 inches. I think my Muscovies are the definition of Lazy Duck. My male did fly over our fence back in September and we cut his front feathers just in case. He is probably too heavy now to fly, but we weren't taking any chances. Two of our females have cut feathers, as they proved to be master flyers. One squeezed herself under the fence gate, and I mean squeezed, one morning to see what was over the other side. We found her nestled in the thick grass of our neighbor's yard by the fence. SO be aware of disappearing acts!

The biggest thing I have learned with Muscovies is that they are chill ducks and love a chill home. We have near adult children, so there isn't any craziness in our backyard. We frequently just go outside and sit in the yard, and they tend to gather around and sit with us.

They LOVE to hunt and forage so we make sure there are several leaf litter covered areas and mulch stations. And, they are also big teddy bears and love to be hand fed treats. The only time mine run is when they see romaine lettuce in my hands. The Drake is fast... only for lettuce.


We love our Muscovies!

 

[Miss Lydia]