Muscovy Hen Beak

[Quackattack717]

Hello,
My Muscovy hen’s beak and curncles (have no idea if I spelled that right) are a little beat up from our drake peaking her in the face during his mating rituals or whatever they are. We just brought home two more Muscovy hens around the same age, little younger by a month maybe, in hopes he would mate with her less and equal it out between all of them. In total he has 6 hens to mate with, 3 being another breed of duck (but he has mated with them, he just chooses Khaleesi (his Muscovy hen he grew up with) most often. He wants to mate with the other Muscovy hens we brought home he just cannot for the life of him catch one. It’s sad really. He eventually gives up and goes for Khaleesi because she just lets him even though she looks rough from the mating. Hopefully he manages to catch one soon. We think the new Muscovy hens we brought home are use to mating in the pond they always had access too. So mating on land is new to them, and they do not like it.
But anyway, the reason for this post, is there anything I can put on Khaleesi’s face (beak/curncles) to help them heal and look better!
Thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If possible I'd separate her out for a few days to a week to give her a break, and to let the drake focus on the other hens. Otherwise remove the drake for a while. I've never seen a drake mess up a hens face before, so your drake may be too rough in general.

 

[Quackattack717]

I was thinking about doing that, but I feel like that’s a punishment for Khaleesi and she doesn’t deserve to not enjoy being let out everyday. He is rough but I’ve heard that duck mating isnt pretty to begin with. They were our first ducks, so I I’ve never seen ducks mate before them. He does like to peak in the face sometimes and walk around them. That’s why he doesn’t get anywhere with the new hens because he dilly dallies in the beginning and they get away before he actually does anything. And they are fast compared to Khaleesi who doesn’t really put up a fight. I’m off work because of all this craziness in the world, so I’ve been letting the girls all out in the A.M. and leaving him in the run of the coop while the girls get to eat breakfast and relax for about an hour or two before I let him out. They are in a very large enclosure though because we have some relentless hawks in the area.

 

[Quackattack717]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Than leave the drake penned up. Muscovy mating isn't as vigorous or often as the other mallard based breeds of ducks. Muscovy drakes need the hens to submit or else the females can get away. Muscovy drakes take a long time to position themselves. It isn't a quick thing like other breeds. I will tag a couple of other muscovy owners, perhaps they have seen this before. What I have seen is mostly neck biting and holding, never the face.

@casportpony @Miss Lydia

 

[Quackattack717]

He definitely does the neck biting and holding. He walks around her and up on top of her back and sometimes stops and peaks her face area. I’ve seen him do it a couple times. He doesn’t always do it though. She loves him to death, they grew up together and are definitely bonded as well as the oldest members of our flock and we refer to them as the “King & Queen” of our flock. The new girls have only been here for 5 days now and have only free ranged once, we’re hoping once they free range this weekend and are on the water with him they may be more interested in letting him mate with them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My muscovy mate only on land or in shallow water. I've never seen mating in deeper water. The drakes can't do in the water it I believe. They are too clumsy.

 

[Quackattack717]

My muscovy mate only on land or in shallow water. I've never seen mating in deeper water. The drakes can't do in the water it I believe. They are too clumsy.

Oh he’s mated in the water too. It seems less stressful on the hens when he does it in the water. Our ducks prefer it in the water, and it seems so do our new Muscovy hens. His mate, Khaleesi is the only one who tolerates it on land. We have a creek in our yard, so when they get out to free range they love swimming!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It is interesting to me to see how things work for other people. My drakes are always big fellows, so that may play into my experiences as well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My drake mates on dry land or small kiddy pool. The girls def prefer the water. He doesn’t smash them as much lol. Only my Runner drakes go for the face on my Muscovy that’s why they are separated now.