Muscovy duck Q&A

[Miss Lydia]

@crandal Here is a link you might be interested in.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-and-hatching-muscovy-eggs

 

[crandal]

@crandal if you are ok w/where your scovy's nest then that is all that matters. if you are not maybe @Miss Lydia could help you change things up?
she will answer us soon or you could pm her. i would like to know the answers too, as im sure others would also.
do you lock your ducks up at night? do you have racoons or coyotes nearby? hope not. i read that ravens will steal eggs from nest, if they find them. i will ck out your pictures of your ducks.
take care

I saw your bator, it looks great!! where did you get the idea from? i have seen bators made out of coolers and large refigerators. do you put paper towels down when they are ready to hatch? are the rocks like a sauna, they steam when you pour water on them? cool bator.
ETA: text & fix typo

Yea I lock them up at night I would like to learn a way to train them to be in the nest. I just sorta came up with the idea after seeing some styrofoam varies and I thought a nice wood box one would be better. I put the rocks down for a couple reasons. The temp will heat up the rocks that way when I open lid and close again that's just more stuff creating radiant heat to help maintain temp,. If it gets to hot in there I add a little cool water to some of the rocks to bring temp down a little and the cooler rocks will help maintain a cooler temperature in the bator when the bedroom is a little warm

I noticed that the environment changes a lot solely on the ambient temp that the room is where the bator is stored so when the room is warmer my heat lamp creates an environment that is to hot for the eggs and vice versa when the ambient temp in room is cool.

Lastly if I need to jack up the humidity fairly quickly I pour some warm water on the rocks to help evaporate the water quicker without changing the temp of the bator.

As for putting a cloth down before they hatch that's a good idea this is my first go at this never done it before but that wire grate I made on a frame to be removable so I'll probably just make a thick cloth one to exchange it with and switch them out just before lockdown. Will keep you posted but so far so good. Thanks

 

[crandal]

@crandal
    Here is a link you might be interested in.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-and-hatching-muscovy-eggs

Thank you I will check it out

 

[CyndiD]

@crandal i do believe that the site Miss Lydia posted above will tell you about which room to choose for your incubator. it should be a room that holds a constant temp, a room that you can direct the sunlight away from the eggs, (no direct sunlight on the eggs) and a room that is not drafty but not extremely stuffy. i have inexpensive styrofoam bators; 1 has a circulating fan to move the heat around and the 2nd one only has a heating bar. i do not like that styrofoam hoards bacteria. i dont think i will be incubating anymore eggs for a very long time, if at all. i have enough chicken and ducks and more than i need.
read the above link, it is very good. i use it for my ducks, cuz it is the best i have found for ducks.

you are so correct when you said your temps and humidity in your bator change constantly... it depends on your outdoor and also your indoor temps and humidity... it is very difficult to duplicate nature (mama duck). just by taking a shower in your home can change your humidity and temp or if it is raining in your town. it is amazing and difficult to manage at times and it takes many tries also, so if you do not get any to hatch or just one you are doing very well.
my first batch of 36 chicken eggs i only was able to hatch 1 chick. each time i hatched my % increased.
I write everything down also, so i can go back and see what i did. IMO, the most important thing is to set your temp and humidity and try not to adjust just because it is high or low, just watch it closely and make note of the time and how long it stays high or low. dont panic and change your dial.
my husband glued a toothpic on my dial cuz it makes it much easier to make tiny (degree) changes, rather than turning the large dial.

your flock and their health and fertility play a HUGE roll in your hatch rate also.

ok i will stop yapping.

 

[crandal]

@crandal i do believe that the site Miss Lydia posted above will tell you about which room to choose for your incubator. it should be a room that holds a constant temp, a room that you can direct the sunlight away from the eggs, (no direct sunlight on the eggs) and a room that is not drafty but not extremely stuffy. i have inexpensive styrofoam bators; 1 has a circulating fan to move the heat around and the 2nd one only has a heating bar. i do not like that styrofoam hoards bacteria. i dont think i will be incubating anymore eggs for a very long time, if at all. i have enough chicken and ducks and more than i need.
read the above link, it is very good. i use it for my ducks, cuz it is the best i have found for ducks.

you are so correct when you said your temps and humidity in your bator change constantly... it depends on your outdoor and also your indoor temps and humidity... it is very difficult to duplicate nature (mama duck). just by taking a shower in your home can change your humidity and temp or if it is raining in your town. it is amazing and difficult to manage at times and it takes many tries also, so if you do not get any to hatch or just one you are doing very well.
my first batch of 36 chicken eggs i only was able to hatch 1 chick. each time i hatched my % increased.
I write everything down also, so i can go back and see what i did. IMO, the most important thing is to set your temp and humidity and try not to adjust just because it is high or low, just watch it closely and make note of the time and how long it stays high or low. dont panic and change your dial.
my husband glued a toothpic on my dial cuz it makes it much easier to make tiny (degree) changes, rather than turning the large dial.

your flock and their health and fertility play a HUGE roll in your hatch rate also.

ok i will stop yapping.

Thanks for the advice. It's funny I read posts on people bating 30 and 40 eggs and I'm getting yelled at by my wife and mother for trying 8 on my first go at it. I told them I'd be lucky to hatch even 1 with all I've read but honestly I think I need at least twice as many as I have and I'm getting yelled at for doing it this time of year but I don't want to wait till spring I need to get the hang of this you know

 

[CyndiD]

@crandal i do believe that the site Miss Lydia posted above will tell you about which room to choose for your incubator. it should be a room that holds a constant temp, a room that you can direct the sunlight away from the eggs, (no direct sunlight on the eggs) and a room that is not drafty but not extremely stuffy. i have inexpensive styrofoam bators; 1 has a circulating fan to move the heat around and the 2nd one only has a heating bar. i do not like that styrofoam hoards bacteria. i dont think i will be incubating anymore eggs for a very long time, if at all. i have enough chicken and ducks and more than i need.
read the above link, it is very good. i use it for my ducks, cuz it is the best i have found for ducks.

you are so correct when you said your temps and humidity in your bator change constantly... it depends on your outdoor and also your indoor temps and humidity... it is very difficult to duplicate nature (mama duck). just by taking a shower in your home can change your humidity and temp or if it is raining in your town. it is amazing and difficult to manage at times and it takes many tries also, so if you do not get any to hatch or just one you are doing very well.
my first batch of 36 chicken eggs i only was able to hatch 1 chick. each time i hatched my % increased.
I write everything down also, so i can go back and see what i did. IMO, the most important thing is to set your temp and humidity and try not to adjust just because it is high or low, just watch it closely and make note of the time and how long it stays high or low. dont panic and change your dial.
my husband glued a toothpic on my dial cuz it makes it much easier to make tiny (degree) changes, rather than turning the large dial.

your flock and their health and fertility play a HUGE roll in your hatch rate also.

ok i will stop yapping.

Thanks for the advice. It's funny I read posts on people bating 30 and 40 eggs and I'm getting yelled at by my wife and mother for trying 8 on my first go at it. I told them I'd be lucky to hatch even 1 with all I've read but honestly I think I need at least twice as many as I have and I'm getting yelled at for doing it this time of year but I don't want to wait till spring I need to get the hang of this you know

the only thing about hatching this time of year, which i am sure you are very aware of, is that when you want to put your hatchlings outside, you will need a heat lamp and a seperate pen area for them. your other scovy's will most likely not accept them and will hurt them. so, i hope you are prepared for that?
sorry your wife and mom are not on the same page as you, but it seems to be that way w/most families, i think? my husband is not into animals, except our/his dog. we have horses, one for him, but he is not interested in riding any more. he says the chickens & ducks are my "thing" and we have meat rabbits too. he will do the culling, thank goodness. i got into hatching last winter, spring and almost into summer. i have way too many ducks and chickens but, how do i pic and choose which to sell, give away or cull? we do eat our chickens and ducks, but not my favorites. especially when i hatch them. i hatched a special needs pekin duck, she doesnt walk well, so i have to carry her to and from the pool & duck house. i put up chicken wire around her sleeping area inside the duck house so the other ducks dont trample her when they run around. and i think she doesnt see well out of her right eye. her name is Ali.
i have had ducks hatch malpositioned and tried to save them but could not... sad things happen when incubating & hatching...

have fun practicing hatching.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@crandal You will have to brood these ducklings inside for at least 4-6 weeks which will create a lot of mess [ducklings are messy] Since your wife isn't wanting you to do this sounds like your going to be doing alot of cleaning. lol

Okay Muscovy's don't nest in trees. or up high. They will roost in trees only. Maybe on roof tops too.lol

My Muscovy females make nest in the deep pine shavings I use in their houses. They like privacy though so if you can take plywood or something similar and give them some privacy that will help motivate them into making their nest inside where they will be safe. A duck sitting outside is a "sitting duck" and a predator will have a field day with her and eggs. It will just be a matter of time. I just take ply wood and lean it up against a wall screw it in place and there is a nesting area or egg laying area.

I have 1 scovy that likes to lay an brood in one of the chicken nesting boxes [they are cat litter boxes with tops on them.] I might let her start there but I don't let her hatch because they are up off the floor and if a duckling falls out it will have no way to get back to it's mama. So all nests for hatching are on the floor.

Muscovy's will lay a certain amount of eggs before committing to brood, this time of year they may only lay a few eggs because usually by now they are through laying for the year unless you are in a warmer climate. then they may lay year round. I have never had a Muscovy lay past mid October but we have had such weird weather this year I have 1 that has still been laying and wanting to brood too but I take her eggs up. I keep hoping she'll give up and begin her molt before real cold weather sets in. They molt in the fall of the year too so laying will prevent them from molting before the cold weather sets in which can hurt them being as protected from the cold. If your using light in your coop then your messing up their time schedule [inner] for what is normal for their bodies.

 

[CyndiD]

thank you @Miss Lydia for your muscoy brooding information, i learned alot.
as you know my ducks were broody in Jan 2016 and hatched 17 ducklings between 4 ducks. i think mine started early. so by time they were fully feathered and ready to go outside there was still snow on the ground and frozen water. so i had lots of ducks in my duck house, boy was that messy as they grew, but my first time experiencing this part of nature and i loved it.
thanks

 

[crandal]

@crandal
    You will have to brood these ducklings inside for at least 4-6 weeks which will create a lot of mess [ducklings are messy]  Since your wife isn't wanting you to do this sounds like your going to be doing alot of cleaning. lol

Okay Muscovy's don't nest in trees. or up high. They will roost in trees only.  Maybe on roof tops too.lol

My Muscovy females make nest in the deep pine shavings I use in their houses.  They like privacy though so if you can take plywood or something similar and give them some privacy that will help motivate them into making their nest inside where they will be safe. A duck sitting outside is a "sitting duck" and a predator will have a field day with her and eggs. It will just be a matter of time. I just take ply wood and lean it up against a wall screw it in place and there is a nesting area or egg laying area.

I have 1 scovy that likes to lay an brood in one of the chicken nesting boxes [they are cat litter boxes with tops on them.] I might let her start there but I don't let her hatch because they are up off the floor and if a duckling falls out it will have no way to get back to it's mama. So all nests for hatching are on the floor.

Muscovy's will lay a certain amount of eggs before committing to brood, this time of year they may only lay a few eggs because usually by now they are through laying for the year unless you are in a warmer climate. then they may lay year round. I have never had a Muscovy lay past mid October but we have had such weird weather this year I have 1 that has still been laying and wanting to brood too but I take her eggs up. I keep hoping she'll give up and begin her molt before real cold weather sets in. They molt in the fall of the year too so laying will prevent them from molting before the cold weather sets in which can hurt them being as protected from the cold. If your using light in your coop then your messing up their time schedule [inner] for what is normal for their bodies.

@Miss Lydia thank you for the advice. It's good to know what I'll be having to deal with if any hatch. Fingers crossed. No I'm not using any light in the coop. It's been unusually warm lately I think that's why they are laying. I don't know why but my scovies seem to stay pretty grounded. I have lots of trees in the yard yet they remain on the ground.

For nesting boxes I built a few on the floor of the coop and the chickens nests are about 3.5 feet up. I built boxes that have sides a front with a cutout a solid back and solid top. Is there a way to train them to use the nesting boxes. Like should I gather eggs from yard every day and put them in the nest?

The kids and I cooked our first duck egg today I must say,. I like them more than chicken eggs. What are your thoughts on meat birds. Does duck taste good,. I'm wondering if I should hatch and raise some for meat. The scovies I have now I couldn't do that with they are my first so they are pets to me. Just wondering if I should even bother trying duck.

 

[crandal]

...

@crandal
    Here is a link you might be interested in.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubating-and-hatching-muscovy-eggs
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"Miss Lydia
Thank you for the article,. It's funny you posted this for me. Ive been reading a lot of articles on incubating and I was sceptical because it seemed way to advanced to me until I came across this same article and once I read this one it is what motivated me to build a bator and give it a try. But I'd forgotten some of what I read and didn't know where to find the article again so I'm very thankful you posted it for me. Love this article,. Took the scare out of incubating for me and I'm doing my best to follow its advice