Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[WaddleWaddle]

Here are my boys:


From Left to Right: Will, Jase and Phil


Phil, Jase & Will



Will



Jase



Jase

We have had the boys since the summer. Friends of ours were moving so we took their 3 muscovies and 11 chickens. I believe the muscovies are a little over a year. The boys are still learning to trust me and I have not been able to catch them yet to trim their toenails. They will let me pet them as they walk by rather quickly so that is a start!

Here is Phil in slow motion with his audition tape to be the next Pantene model!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here are my boys:


From Left to Right: Will, Jase and Phil


Phil, Jase & Will



Will



Jase



Jase

We have had the boys since the summer. Friends of ours were moving so we took their 3 muscovies and 11 chickens. I believe the muscovies are a little over a year. The boys are still learning to trust me and I have not been able to catch them yet to trim their toenails. They will let me pet them as they walk by rather quickly so that is a start!

Here is Phil in slow motion with his audition tape to be the next Pantene model!

Handsome boys, do they get along good?

 

[WaddleWaddle]

Thank you. Actually I have been having some behavior issues with them recently and posted about is on the duck forum (Muscovy duck escaping) any help would be appreciated. Its tough because they get along really well for the most part and then all of a sudden I find Jase out of their pen or I see Phil chasing and pinning someone down, although I did see Will pinning Phil down the other day. When I separate them when they are acting up I put the offender by himself seperated by fenceline and the other two sit right next to him by the fence and won't leave his side and then it is a big happy reunion when they are back together. I am just not sure what to do, bit there are more detail in my other thread.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you. Actually I have been having some behavior issues with them recently and posted about is on the duck forum (Muscovy duck escaping) any help would be appreciated. Its tough because they get along really well for the most part and then all of a sudden I find Jase out of their pen or I see Phil chasing and pinning someone down, although I did see Will pinning Phil down the other day. When I separate them when they are acting up I put the offender by himself seperated by fenceline and the other two sit right next to him by the fence and won't leave his side and then it is a big happy reunion when they are back together. I am just not sure what to do, bit there are more detail in my other thread.

What your seeing is normal behavior. I started out with 3 Muscovy drakes and they got along great One was the leader the other 2 followed, the pinning and holding down is all normal, they aren't drawing blood are they? What happened here was 3 Scovy drakes showed up or flew into our part of the mountain river we live above, Never having seen Muscovy ducks before I had no idea about them except I liked them so I began going down to see them everyday and took food, This started in June going on 10 years now. They did fine together swimming in the river and flying above it, well I decided I wanted some ducks so I started looking for females, That did it,. still not understanding drake/duck behavior I brought home 3 females and took them down to the river on a dog harness separately, well the boys followed us home of course, they'd come up in the morning and stay till late afternoon then they would walk back down to the river, I'd stand and keep watch in case of preds. [we live in the woods] well things weren't too bad at first the dominant drake I named Ernie the girls fell madly in love with him so that meant the other 2 drakes Bert and Dunny had to snatch a girl when Ernie wasn't looking which went pretty good for a while but then Ernie started getting where he was chasing the other 2 down to the river, which was okay till we saw Bert Beating Dunny up on day on a part of the river we couldn't get down to because of steep sides and covered in wild thorned rose bushes, By the time Bert was finished with Dunny he was injured internally and died over night in a dog crate I had set up for him. Then Bert went after Ernie so relentlessly that we had to get rid of Bert and bring Ernie here to live, where he has been ever since. So unless your going to make separate paddocks for these guys to have their own girls or you have lots of space for them to stay away from each other I'd keep it just the 3 drakes, I know have 4 drake including Ernie and 11 ducks and it can get pretty busy here with the boys once mating season begins. Lots of wrestling and some minor injuries but nothing like it was with the original 3, but I do know drakes can kill each other so I am always ready to break up a fight if it looks like it's getting out of hand. Most of the time I'm the one who gets the worst of it [they are usually fighting in mud] Right now it is blissful all the drakes are very peaceful and can even be in the same vicinity of each other. I said all of that to say this, unless they are drawing blood and injuring each other to the point they are inflicting serious injury Let them work it out. There is a pecking order in all poultry and they need to work it out, and sounds like your guys really do have a good relationship and just need to work that out. One thing you need to be aware of though is Drakes have been known to mate with chickens which usually ends in death for the chicken. So keep the boys separate from your hens. I don't want to scare you and make you think one of your drakes is going to kill the other, all my drakes live together during daylight hours free ranging in a large fenced in part of our property and I have never had a problem like we did with the first 3 drakes.

 

[WaddleWaddle]

Thank you. I have been told very similar stories from several other people. My concern is that I really want to get ducks in the spring (other than muscovies). The only way I can see it working is to get about 3 muscovy ducks for each drake and building them their own area and then have a separate area for the other breeds of ducks I want and then a separate area for my chickens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you. I have been told very similar stories from several other people. My concern is that I really want to get ducks in the spring (other than muscovies). The only way I can see it working is to get about 3 muscovy ducks for each drake and building them their own area and then have a separate area for the other breeds of ducks I want and then a separate area for my chickens.

Sounds like a plan and will work as long as you give them plenty of room and I don't keep my drakes together at night with the ducks, they have individual stalls and the drakes have their own bedrooms, I know for a fact mine would not sleep together peacefully. Yes if you want to keep your breeds true you'll need to keep them separate. It most likely will work if you have the space to do it.

 

[WaddleWaddle]

Thabk you. How much space would I need per each group of 3 ducks and 1 drake?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thabk you. How much space would I need per each group of 3 ducks and 1 drake?

I have no idea as much as you can give them lol in storey's guide to raising ducks he says 2-10sq' per duck depending on size. this is outside pen area inside 6sq' for large breed. The more room they have to forage and act like ducks the happier they will be.

 

[The Howards]

I'm looking at leg and feet also legs are set close together under body, and feet almost over lap which is much more duck than drake plus more of the American football shape in body. But I know how easily they can fool ya so we will see

for comparison 3 month old drake too bad we can't get them side by side.

Oh MY! Lovely

....

 

[Alaskan]

I finished my coop page! (I think) https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/my-coop-journey

The duck coop is towards the bottom of the page.

So, here is one picture of my ducks. The ice around their water pan is getting awful.