Muscovy ducks--mated pairs

[frankenchick]

Help! I have 2 mated pairs of Muscovies, plus 2 single ducks. They are all laying, and one is setting a nest. This is a huge problem, because I only wanted a pair of ducks for snail control (they work marvelously), but these ducks are crazy good mamas and I'm overrun!

The fee for them is mostly to help with expenses. Last year, I sold young duck at $6/lb and made $100 after processing (USDA cert). This year, I missed the window for butchering (7-8 weeks), so am stuck with these breeders. They aren't show-quality because the original pair were a rescue, but if you want firm, not-greasy meat and lots of eggs, these are for you!

I can deliver, or we can arrange a meet.

 

[frankenchick]

Update: These ducks are producers!! I am awash in eggs, and I currently have 2 ducks setting clutches! One has 14 eggs, and the other I'm not sure of because she's under the little barn. If nest size is a reliable guide, I'd say she has at least 12!

 

[Krazyquilts]

I may be interested in some, but I wouldn't be able to take them until later this summer. We are in the process of buying a 50 acre farm with an almost 1-acre pond on it and I've been thinking that Muscovies would be a great addition to our farm!

How are they being raised right now? Free-range, penned, etc?

 

[frankenchick]

They live in a 1.25-acre fenced pasture. I have a lovely pen for them that no one will use because their mama, Coco, is nesting in there and they're all scared of her.

Muscovies like to perch (they are native to the jungles of South America) rather than swim, but they drink a lot of water. They do fly very well and would have to be enclosed for a time to get used to the idea of living with you, but they love to eat, and as long as you put out the chow, they should hang around!

Early on, we lost two to predators, but that was because they flew out of the pasture. Neither one had a mark on them--I suspect that our dog scared them to death (literally. They are prone to heart attacks.)

We love our ducks! They are quiet, beautiful, and fairly friendly. We love their eggs, too. I was a little leery of them at first, but they are delicious. The eggs, I mean. Although we did butcher one for Thanksgiving a couple years back, and it was good.

 

[Krazyquilts]

A third of the property is timbered with a lovely creek running through it - I wonder if they would like living in a fenced in area in the woods by the creek? There's rotting trees everywhere so I'd imagine that there would be tons of bugs for foraging during the day and to bring them back in for the night, I could feed them the same locally grown non-GMO grain that our ducks eat.

What kind of shelter do they have now? How tall is your fenced in pasture and pen? That is really funny about the "scary" momma. When will her eggs hatch? Also, how many clutches does she usually raise a year and of how many ducklings?

Do yours prefer to sleep in trees at night or to roost in a coop like chickens?

Before we got our ducks, I used to buy duck eggs at a farm store and I'm pretty sure that they were Muscovy eggs. Very tasty indeed. And with being such good mamas, it sounds like Muscovy ducks would be a great self-perpetuating flock for meat too.

I'm definitely interested but since I wouldn't be able to take any until probably August, if someone else comes along who can take them sooner, that's fine.

 

[frankenchick]

What do your present ducks do at night? Our ducks are safe in the pasture because we are in open farmland--and they share it with a pair of llamas. In a wooded area, it might be better to have them in at night . . . Otherwise, with all the bugs, they should be happy.