Muscovy ducks advice/info please

[Kevin565]

Do they do more or less damage then chickens do? and I plan to use the tractor for under my trees where we have some BAD ant problems, weeds and grass i want removed.... Plus I have some flower gardens out front that my plants died but weeds are doing great

I plan to move the tractor around on a daily basis during mating season.
BTW when/how long is mating season for ducks?

I've never had chickens but I would think ducks may do more damage. Their webbed feet have a tendency to stomp everything.
Muscovies are seasonal layers but I'm not sure of the official time frame for the breeding season.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

I've never had chickens but I would think ducks may do more damage. Their webbed feet have a tendency to stomp everything.
Muscovies are seasonal layers but I'm not sure of the official time frame for the breeding season.

i have chickens, they scratch up everything and eat the roots. Stomping it down is no big deal. I mean my dogs do that.

 

[ChampionAlex]

My muscovy male was really aggresive and he had 5 females for him and didn't even let the others eat. The female muscovys are great mothers though.

 

[yinepu]

I am trying to buy some muscovy ducks. First try failed. Second try happening after x-mas.
I'm trying to purchase 2 female and one male. That wont be to few females will it? Really depends on the drake.. some boys are nicer to their ladies than others are

Are their eggs easy to incubate? Or is it better to have them under a broody hen or broody duck? I hatch out muscovys every year in the incubator.. I think muscovys are much easier to incubate than most people claim. Usually people have the humidity too high and end up with ducklings that die in the shell just before hatch. Letting mom muscovy hatch them out is easiest for most people... you CAN let a broody chicken hatch them.. but be prepared with an incubator on standby since chickens incubate eggs for about 21 days.. and muscovys take longer (33 to 37 days). So some broody hens will get tired and quit; leaving the nest before incubation is complete. If you catch the nest in time the eggs can be moved to an incubator to finish up incubation artificially.

Can they fly? If so how tall of fence will i need for their free range time? I pinion the wings on ducklings when they are a day or two old. (Pinioning is removing the wing tip).. I only pinion one wing. Even with a pinioned wing I still have a drake that can clear a 4 foot fence. If you decide to clip wings on a older bird only clip the flight feathers on ONE wing. Don't try to pinion an older bird.. even though it can be done, they will lose too much blood and it's too painful.

I heard males can get 20 lbs, is that true? Males can get large.. but I think 20 pounds is pushing it a bit.. I think my largest drakes run around 15 to 17 pounds give or take.

I was thinking of hatching some from what I get and using males as food for my dogs (butchered and all that wont feed live I'm not cruel), and then sell female ducklings. How much are they worth? I don't want to over pay for them either. I don't feed muscovy meat to the dogs.. that's meat we keep for ourselves (it's more of a red meat.. closer to nice veal than to poultry). Muscovys here sell for between $ 15 and 25 for goslings (unsexed). Sexed adults go for around 25. I havent checked the prices at the sale lately.. but that's what they were selling for on ads at the feedstore.

Any info you can give me will be great especially if it's first hand experience. I've read a lot online but different sites have different info about them. Some controdicts. So now I'd rather hear from people that own this breed of duck. Lol.. they are actually "perching water fowl" They can be cross bred with "ducks" but you will end up with a sterile "mule" (unlike crossing a mallard with a pekin where the offspring would be fertile). So it's akin to crossing a donkey or a zebra with a horse.

Will they be okay being with my chickens or will i need to build a second pen? The chickens will most likely end up attacking the muscovys eventually (unless they are all free ranging). You could be lucky and they will all get along. But in my experience the chickens ended up being the aggressors

Are they friendly? It depends on how they are raised. If handled alot as ducklings they will be more friendly than if you turn them out and don't touch them. My drakes will chase the dog.. but don't dare attack me if I get too close to one of the nests

do they prefer deep or shallow swimming areas? Mine occasionally use a wading pool. They do not like the water as much as the cayugas, mallards or pekins.

weird here everyone wants more for males then they do females.

They are probably selling them as meat birds.. since drakes weigh more they dress out heavier.. hence more meat. and a higher price tag

My muscovy male was really aggresive and he had 5 females for him and didn't even let the others eat. The female muscovys are great mothers though.

Yeah, most of the females do make great moms. I have seen nests with 25 to 30 eggs being set on with most hatching.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

Thank you all for the advice, i'm sure i'll have more questions later. Today I'm excited I get to go get my ducks. I cannot wait to see the colors that were picked out for me. I am leaving it up to their current owner to choose based on personality which ducks would be right for me and my situation. I would rather have ducks that are use to dogs as I have a large service dog for balance. And I depend on him even when feeding my chickens.
I will post pictures probably tomorrow after the ducks get a chance to settle in.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

I got them home. What are the names for the colors? Is the male (far right) a lavender? and of course i know the white one is white.. LOL but what color is the female considered?

 

[Amiga]

 

[Valntyn]

Preeeeeetty!!

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

I know the pic wasn't the best but can anyone tell me the ages of the ducks? and if it is in fact 2 male and one female?

The left to right (estimated by picking them up out of the box) 4 lbs, 6 lbs, and Heavy can't really guess that last ones weight. I'm sure he's a He. His head is bigger and everything and it was trying to attack me from stress hopefully.
They were all supposed to be this years but when she showed up she said the male is last years hatch so he's over a year old. But she has 60+ ducks and is thinning her herd. So i am not sure if she knows for sure which are what age.

also anyone in Western WA that will meet up with her locally (i met her in Centralia) she's got a lot of males for sale but doesn't want to sell bulk males to people who will treat them cruel while fattening them up.
She was selling males for $15 each but said she's getting to the point that she'll make deals with people. Contact me and I'll give her e-mail for you to contact her. She asked me if I would ask around for people that are animal friendly that want some ducks.
she of course prefers them to go as pets/garden ducks

 

[jdywntr]

Looks like 1 male and 2 females to me. The (I'd say blue) one in the back of the pic is male. I would say the others are female.
The white may be a little older but the others look to be young. The male has very little caruncles (red stuff on face) to be over a year old. I'd say they are 4-8 months or so.

Frankly, the darker one in front of the white looks like it may be mixed. Not for sure but it's markings/coloring are unusual.