Muscovy duck Q&A

[crandal]

  LOL    Now you know why alot of us don't use a bator.  I'd never get anything done.  Face planted right there. 

Lol it seriously is just like watching paint dry but with a lot more excitement

 

[crandal]

Well... That's done,. It's been very cold at night dropping the temp down in bator to like 91 so last night I put a towel over it like a blanket,. Woke up this morning,. 108!!!! I'm sure I've lost them,. So stupid of me,. But not going to give up until I know they aren't developing anymore. Grrr. Being momma duck sucks...

 

[crandal]

If it's like 20 degrees out can momma duck hatch eggs,. And 2 if I put the eggs from the bator into a nest and showed momma,. Would she go broody on them or reject them

 

[Miss Lydia]

If it's like 20 degrees out can momma duck hatch eggs,. And 2 if I put the eggs from the bator into a nest and showed momma,. Would she go broody on them or reject them

Unless she is already broody she isn't going to brood them. I wouldn't want my Muscovy hatching in 20* weather. Mine have hatched in spring and we get a cold snap where it's gotten into the 30's and I worry about the little ones. Once I even brought mama and ducklings inside for a couple days in an Xlarge dog crate because it got too cold.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well... That's done,. It's been very cold at night dropping the temp down in bator to like 91 so last night I put a towel over it like a blanket,. Woke up this morning,. 108!!!! I'm sure I've lost them,. So stupid of me,. But not going to give up until I know they aren't developing anymore. Grrr. Being momma duck sucks...

Yikes! well you never know so maybe there is still a chance. If these are gone just wait till next spring and let mama do the brooding alot less stress for sure.

 

[Jjfester]

I have 2 male Muscovy that are about 5 months. One of them keeps nipping at the other one. He used to pluck the others wing feathers as they were both just starting to get them in and now he nipps at the others neck. It doesn't seem to be hard but the other duck hisses at him and tries to get away. They have free range during the day, but come inside at night and are in a pen in the kitchen about the size of a small duck house. Would this be considered normal dominance behavior or am I likely looking at an overly aggressive male? Before spring we do plan on rehoming one and getting two females. So would aggressive duck be the logical pick or is it likely either will be fine as they get older?

Also do you usually ration how much food you give them? and do you give them access to food at night? Mine have food available all the time but they seem to waste a lot of food. They are on pellets but they get them so wet that they turn a lot of it into a mushy mess that needs to get tossed.

We have chickens and we decided to add ducks and picked Muscovy because they are quiet and we live in a small town. Turns out we aren't allowed any other "farm" animals other than hens. Our local LEO politely came to the house and let us know that if our ducks are inside the house at night they are considered indoor pets and we can keep them. However we now have 2 male ducks I our kitchen inside a baby gate set up with tarp underneath and bedding material. This is probably a long shot but has anyone else had to house adult males in the house? If so how did you house them while making it the easiest to clean. Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 2 male Muscovy that are about 5 months. One of them keeps nipping at the other one. He used to pluck the others wing feathers as they were both just starting to get them in and now he nipps at the others neck. It doesn't seem to be hard but the other duck hisses at him and tries to get away. They have free range during the day, but come inside at night and are in a pen in the kitchen about the size of a small duck house. Would this be considered normal dominance behavior or am I likely looking at an overly aggressive male? Before spring we do plan on rehoming one and getting two females. So would aggressive duck be the logical pick or is it likely either will be fine as they get older?

Also do you usually ration how much food you give them? and do you give them access to food at night? Mine have food available all the time but they seem to waste a lot of food. They are on pellets but they get them so wet that they turn a lot of it into a mushy mess that needs to get tossed.

We have chickens and we decided to add ducks and picked Muscovy because they are quiet and we live in a small town. Turns out we aren't allowed any other "farm" animals other than hens. Our local LEO politely came to the house and let us know that if our ducks are inside the house at night they are considered indoor pets and we can keep them. However we now have 2 male ducks I our kitchen inside a baby gate set up with tarp underneath and bedding material. This is probably a long shot but has anyone else had to house adult males in the house? If so how did you house them while making it the easiest to clean. Suggestions would be appreciated.

I only ever had 1 Muscovy drake inside till he was 3 months old rejected by his mama so I became his mama. I used an Xlarge dog crate for him to sleep in at night door closed [we have dogs] I put a board across the front on the inside to keep the shaving inside more than if there was just the reg opening. It worked pretty good other than smelly so I cleaned everyday. They are going to get their feed wet i don't know how my ducks do it other than carrying water in their mouths but they somehow manage to walk 6' to their feed bowl from bucket or vise versa. You could try making a container to hold the water so that stays at minimum. but my ducks once they turn 6 weeks old don't get water or food inside at night. Once it's dark.

I would say what your seeing is one drake being dominant over the other one usually there is one dominant and one submissive. As long as they have plenty of room to get away from each other during the day it shouldn't escalate into fighting. The dominant may try mating though.

 

[crandal]

I have a new question for everyone here. I cracked open a chicken and duck egg a couple days ago and the whites of the eggs were sticking to the shell and not coming out. Does this mean they were fertilized eggs or is it just common in home grown eggs for that to happen?

 

[crandal]

OK scratch the last question figured that one out. New question,. How do I keep fresh water for my birds readily available when it's so cold the water outside is just turning to ice

 

[Miss Lydia]

OK scratch the last question figured that one out. New question,. How do I keep fresh water for my birds readily available when it's so cold the water outside is just turning to ice

I use to have to break ice and carry fresh water more than a few times a day until I found heated buckets. TSC has them and although they cost around 35.00 they last a long time I have some that are 5yrs old and they work on thermostat.