My muscovy are free range. They share a large 40x40 shed with chickens, goats, geese, and donkeys. They usually make nests in the corners of pens, or in the nestboxes. I use a stick to push them off the nests when collecting eggs daily. Some are more aggressive than others. I don't need a million muscovy so I pick up the eggs.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.
I have found that mine will only nest under cover, so that eliminates a lot of places. I have had them nest under an outside hay manger, and one once tried in a tree stump, but otherwise they always nest in my shed. Sometimes they move elsewhere in the shed if I keep collecting.
So far in the 20 years since I've been keeping them I haven't had any surprise clutches. I do make sure to keep track of the hens just in case.
This year I let a single hen sit 4 eggs. 2 hatched. That's plenty for me. Takes me back up to 17 total. Enough to keep my yard clear of invasive, and troublemaking bugs.
