Muscovy ducks development pattern.

[Coopscraft]

just getting some this evening that are advertised as adolescent. I am wondering, seasonally, what development schedule should I expect. Might they be broody in spring? How often will they go broody? I live in western Oregon.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They should start to lay next year, some time in spring and should start going broody by late spring generally.

 

[Coopscraft]

How often will they be broody?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Most of mine go broody 2-3 times a season if I collect the eggs. If I let them raise some it may be once depending on time of year.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I should add I'm in Wisconsin, so brooding season may be shorter for me than others who don't have as long of winter or cold as we get.

 

[Muscovy-palooza]

Most of mine go broody 2-3 times a season if I collect the eggs. If I let them raise some it may be once depending on time of year.

I'm confused. Yours go broody if you collect the eggs? Can you elaborate? My Muscovy free range and I have had a heck of a time training them to go to the coop. I have a couple that will not lay in the coop, they would rather lay in the crawl space under our house. That works out fine if I want them to hatch their eggs but is a bummer since I want to collect the eggs. For the record, I thought t HD at I had the crawl space sealed up but they found a way in. I have had a few to lay in the prepared nesting boxes in the coop. I feel like a thief taking their eggs because they are so protective. I am concerned that if they are so traumatized by me stealing their eggs that they may start laying outside or somewhere that I can't find. In my experience the hens catch on to my egg collection and will begin to set on any eggs that they lay to protect them. I have been adding a couple of fake eggs as was suggested by some friends on here to encourage them to keep laying. One of my hens was laying very regularly, one egg a day, but then after laying a dozen she started to sit on the last egg along with the two fake eggs. It was as though she was keeping count and after laying a dozen she went broody. Can ducks count? I took the real egg and observed to see what she would do. She sat on the fake eggs for a few days until I finally removed the eggs and the entire nest. Only then did she feel relieved of her duties to sit. I am trying to master collecting eggs from my muscovy but feel that it is an uphill battle with the way that they go broody and try to hide their nests. Can you share your set up and experience? Are you Muscovy penned or do they free range? Where do they lay? Do they try to hide their nests or do they nest in places that you provide?
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

My two were born at the beginning of June, 2018. They started laying the following spring at about 10 months of age. One of them went intensely broody at the end of laying her first clutch (somewhere around 12-18 eggs) and stayed broody for a couple of months, even though I had removed all eggs and she had an empty nest. My other hen didn’t go broody until the summer. I do not have a drake, and I remove eggs as they lay them. I have also started to destroy nests when they start getting broody as they can get really grumpy with each other. So, while each of them has only gone thoroughly broody once so far, I’ve “interrupted” several other attempts to become so. Both are currently exhibiting what I call pre-broody behavior (they do a particular loud chirpCHIRP, spend more time on the currently-shared nest, and walk around with spread out tails and fluffed our feathers, etc.).

By the way, congratulations on your new ducks! Please share pictures when you can

 

[Miss Lydia]

Broody Muscovy females are defiantly something else once they set their minds to brooding oh boy!

 

[Coopscraft]

 

[Coopscraft]

Also, do Muscovy ducks sleep on the ground or do they like to be up.