Muscovy Duck Questions!

[Faithymae25]

Hey ya'll. I just got 2 adult Muscovy Ducks and their 3 babies that I was told hatched on May 26, 2016. They are in a big pen with kiddie pools but the pen does not have a top. The dad, Daffy, has his wings clipped and they said the mom, Darcy, had not been clipped but she doesn't fly ever. To me her wings do look clipped. The biggest of the 3 have started "practicing" flying. He runs across the pen with wings out flapping them. What age do I need to clip their wings? I think they are older then what I was told. and also once you cut their wings once do you have to do it again?

 

[Ren2014]

Hey ya'll. I just got 2 adult Muscovy Ducks and their 3 babies that I was told hatched on May 26, 2016. They are in a big pen with kiddie pools but the pen does not have a top. The dad, Daffy, has his wings clipped and they said the mom, Darcy, had not been clipped but she doesn't fly ever. To me her wings do look clipped. The biggest of the 3 have started "practicing" flying. He runs across the pen with wings out flapping them. What age do I need to clip their wings? I think they are older then what I was told. and also once you cut their wings once do you have to do it again?

and welcome to the world of Muscovy. Adult males are usually to heavy to fly clipped or not. The momma probably isn't flying because she has babies on the ground. The babies won't fly until they get their flight feathers at about 10 - 12 weeks. Yes, once you clip you will need to clip after each molt.

Do they have a covered pen/house you can shut them up at night to keep safe from predators?

 

[Faithymae25]

Thank you. And Yes they go into a smaller covered pen at night that is inside their big pen.
These are the babies. I'm thinking they might be older than I was told but I'm not sure.

 

[quackingdom]

This video explains wing clipping and shows how to do it:

Except that when I made it, I forgot to mention that they will be tremendously calmed down if you cover their eyes while doing it. Many animals aren’t afraid of what they can’t see. Covering eyes works with almost any animal, from Andean condors to giraffes to little pet ducks. The only thing is that it’s hard to hold a duck down, cover their eyes, and clip all at the same time. It’s easier with two people.

(Ren2014 – all the Muscovy males I’ve had were able to fly. They can’t go as far, but they like it almost as much as the females and are just about as mad as the females when they realize somebody chopped their feathers off.)

Oh and those are cute names! I have a Daphne duck, but sometimes she gets called Daffy.

 

[Welshies]

Does anyone know what color of ducklings and what markings this breeding pair will produce?
Do Muscovies need roosts? If I give them raised besting boxes to incubate in will this prevent the MD breeds from incubating their mule eggs (because no nesting sites, and collected every morning) as well ss the Muscovies from adopting the mule eggs?

 

[quackingdom]

I finally answered the roosting thing here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1120927/need-to-know-muscovy (with lots of pictures)

I really don't know if they would use raised nest boxes...they like to lay on the GROUND, and I've had some that refused to lay in a nest with wire bottom and straw - they wanted dirt on the bottom. The ones I have now aren't nearly so picky, but they still prefer digging out their own hollow in the ground. If your ducks did use the raised ones, I'm sure the MD ones wouldn't.

There's no telling they'll use the nest boxes at all. Mine sometimes refuse to lay in the nest box in their pen, and hold the egg until we let them out. Then they run off to whatever hidden nest they've formed. It can be annoying when they're free range.

 

[Faithymae25]

Does anyone know what color of ducklings and what markings this breeding pair will produce?
Do Muscovies need roosts? If I give them raised besting boxes to incubate in will this prevent the MD breeds from incubating their mule eggs (because no nesting sites, and collected every morning) as well ss the Muscovies from adopting the mule eggs?

The adults I have are the same colors. And the 3 babies I posted above are theirs.

 

[Faithymae25]

This video explains wing clipping and shows how to do it:

Except that when I made it, I forgot to mention that they will be tremendously calmed down if you cover their eyes while doing it. Many animals aren’t afraid of what they can’t see. Covering eyes works with almost any animal, from Andean condors to giraffes to little pet ducks. The only thing is that it’s hard to hold a duck down, cover their eyes, and clip all at the same time. It’s easier with two people.

(Ren2014 – all the Muscovy males I’ve had were able to fly. They can’t go as far, but they like it almost as much as the females and are just about as mad as the females when they realize somebody chopped their feathers off.)

Oh and those are cute names! I have a Daphne duck, but sometimes she gets called Daffy.

Thank you! I told my little cousin she could name one of them and she picked the name Ducky. LOL

I also have another question. I am new to owning ducks. I have always had chickens. If any of the ducklings end up being males will I need to separate them? I know with chickens it is best to only have one male, is it the same with Muscovy ducks?

 

[Gray Farms]

I'd just cover their pen if its feasible.

 

[Gray Farms]

Does anyone know what color of ducklings and what markings this breeding pair will produce?
Do Muscovies need roosts? If I give them raised besting boxes to incubate in will this prevent the MD breeds from incubating their mule eggs (because no nesting sites, and collected every morning) as well ss the Muscovies from adopting the mule eggs?

You'll get chocolates, blacks, chocolate pied, and black pied mostly. However, there is a chance that you get other colors from each parents background as well. Muscovys don't need a roost but will likely use one if its available to them. Muscovys won't use a raises nest, the prefer short nest boxes one the ground. Preferably with a dirt bottom like DuckLover said. Muscovys are very protective of their nesting places and won't likely let other ducks lay with her. If they do the Muscovy eggs are usually easy to spot, they are much larger than quackin duck eggs.