Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[Muscovynmore]

Well, they are till they get in the mud

Oh, noooo. They're even more striking then.

 

[RoyalT]

Well do you have room for just a pet drake? I have one basically, i don't breed with him, but he's so docile and one of the first ducks so he stays, he's good with the girls too and stays with them well during free ranging.

Not really, DH is already going a wee bit stir crazy with the extra male mouths to feed around here! I may try selling him, but the splash is dinner, he's not nice.

 

[Going Quackers]

Not really, DH is already going a wee bit stir crazy with the extra male mouths to feed around here! I may try selling him, but the splash is dinner, he's not nice.

Understood!

 

[Adorkable]

So they are 4 weeks old today and there isn't much difference in size so I didn't bother taking any pics for size comparison

I will try at 5 weeks if I see any difference in sizes!


Here they are at about 3 weeks old. I'm almost positive that the lighter white-ish one on the bottom is a girl and I have named her Lyla-cakes. She is very sweet, super chatty and always runs to me to beg for peas even when I don't have any. I swear I saw her trying to bob her head at me today... very cute lol. The one in the middle is the most dominant of the 3 scovies and I have named him Hamsteak because if we end up with 2 drakes we will probably eat him. I've seen him chase one of the other scovies all around the brooder while trying to bite its head/neck off. Now I'm not sure if that's normal duck behavior, but none of the others have done this before. The one on top is calm, gentle, has HUGE feet and is the one that Lyla-cakes usually cuddles with. No name for him as of yet!


I was in the process of filling up the tub for them. The one on the right seems larger in size, but I'm pretty sure it's just the angle.


Lyla-cakes


Hamsteak


So this last picture is from today. Hamsteak usually jumps right out of the tub when he has had enough bath time and I had ducky poo-poo running around the house so they got together and ran my shih-tzu (Toby wan kenobe) off his bed and made themselves comfortable LOL.


I introduced them to grass about a week ago at 3 weeks old. I have also been giving them frozen (thawed) peas as treats. About 4 peas per duck daily after their bath. I offer parakeet grit every couple of days as well. Am I giving them too many or too little peas? How often should I let them have grass? They ate all of this grass in about 45 minutes. I had no idea how special ducks were. I'm so happy my hubby let me have them. I love them so much (but I really want them out of the house soon lol)

First time having grass.

 

[Going Quackers]

So they are 4 weeks old today and there isn't much difference in size so I didn't bother taking any pics for size comparison

I will try at 5 weeks if I see any difference in sizes!


Here they are at about 3 weeks old. I'm almost positive that the lighter white-ish one on the bottom is a girl and I have named her Lyla-cakes. She is very sweet, super chatty and always runs to me to beg for peas even when I don't have any. I swear I saw her trying to bob her head at me today... very cute lol. The one in the middle is the most dominant of the 3 scovies and I have named him Hamsteak because if we end up with 2 drakes we will probably eat him. I've seen him chase one of the other scovies all around the brooder while trying to bite its head/neck off. Now I'm not sure if that's normal duck behavior, but none of the others have done this before. The one on top is calm, gentle, has HUGE feet and is the one that Lyla-cakes usually cuddles with. No name for him as of yet!


I was in the process of filling up the tub for them. The one on the right seems larger in size, but I'm pretty sure it's just the angle.


Lyla-cakes


Hamsteak


So this last picture is from today. Hamsteak usually jumps right out of the tub when he has had enough bath time and I had ducky poo-poo running around the house so they got together and ran my shih-tzu (Toby wan kenobe) off his bed and made themselves comfortable LOL.


I introduced them to grass about a week ago at 3 weeks old. I have also been giving them frozen (thawed) peas as treats. About 4 peas per duck daily after their bath. I offer parakeet grit every couple of days as well. Am I giving them too many or too little peas? How often should I let them have grass? They ate all of this grass in about 45 minutes. I had no idea how special ducks were. I'm so happy my hubby let me have them. I love them so much (but I really want them out of the house soon lol)

First time having grass.

They are so cute! All my ducklings last year were raised outside in the barn and then put out in either a small pen or left with mama, Lilly had her brood out with the flock and foraging at 2-3wks.. they were penned prior to that to grow up a wee bit. So they were eating grass, bugs you name it.

By 5wks you should start to see, tbh i am already seeing differences in sizing there... drakelets outside ducklets pretty steadily after 5wks. With good predator proof housing and decent temps being 4wks old they should be more than fine out of your home.. that is if you like

 

[Miss Lydia]

One more thing try putting peas in the tub when their in it it's a blast watching them dive for peas. they are adorable by the way. when feeding anything other than their starter they should have grit available 24/7. it's the only way they can chew up their food. just sprinkle some on the bottom of their brooder or offer in a small bowl next to their feed, they'll use it when needed. Just make sure they don't run out of feed or they may eat too much grit.

 

[Adorkable]

Quote: Thanks! Our barn has mousers, the occasional feral cat, possum and/or coon that lives in there so that's not do-able unless I build a secure coop in there.

I don't know if I can wait another week before I find out what they are so if you have any ideas I would love to hear what you have to say lol.

I've been raising chickens for a few years, and we live out in the country with lots of predators so I'm pretty good at making coops like fort knoxx but I'm not sure about the temps. We're having lows at night between 30 and 45 degrees. Daytime temps are around 45 to 60

I was planning to take a day and make them a simple duck house with some free lumber that hubby got from work that is in excellent condition, but hubby just dragged over a 10x10 deck that was out in the pasture and said he wants to make a larger coop for the chickens so that the ducks could have the current 5x8 chicken coop!

Maybe I could section off a part of the coop so that the chickens won't eat em and put them in there till the large coop is done. Weather permitting of course. I hope he realizes that a larger chicken coop = more chickens lol

 

[Adorkable]

One more thing try putting peas in the tub when their in it it's a blast watching them dive for peas. they are adorable by the way. when feeding anything other than their starter they should have grit available 24/7. it's the only way they can chew up their food. just sprinkle some on the bottom of their brooder or offer in a small bowl next to their feed, they'll use it when needed. Just make sure they don't run out of feed or they may eat too much grit.

I tried the peas in the tub when they were smaller, but they're so big now they can hardly dive in the tub

Thanks for the tip about the grit! I will make sure whenever they have anything other than starter they have the grit available. If I let them free range will they be able to find their own grit like chickens do?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I tried the peas in the tub when they were smaller, but they're so big now they can hardly dive in the tub

Thanks for the tip about the grit! I will make sure whenever they have anything other than starter they have the grit available. If I let them free range will they be able to find their own grit like chickens do?

Yes as long as there isn't snow or ice all over the ground they should be able to find grit. I keep grit out through winter just to be sure mine have access to it when everything is covered in snow.

 

[kiaa]

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