Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[TherryChicken]

Still have 2 broody muscovies. I feel guilty I cant let them hatch, but im afraid with all these 4 drakes.

 

[mymoneypit]

Babies are growing and growing. I built them a grow out cage over the weekend, so they can be outside all day, but they still have to spend night's in the tub. Next I build their house, and decide who is staying. At 3 weeks, I already have half of them visibly bigger, I am assuming they are all boys, but hopeful at least one of the black ones turns out to be a girl.

The one with the messed up beak is starting to straighten out, and the one with the dented head, we call lumpy, has a big bald spot. Both of them got a little stunted, but are growing at their own pace.

 

[hookem horns]

Hi all.  I live in NE Iowa and have a 1-acre homestead.  We currently  have chickens and meat rabbits.  We are located near a very large dairy farm, and the Mississippi river.  So of course, we have flies and mosquitoes constantly!  A friend of mine has a flock of beautiful muscovies and has offered me some of her offspring to help with the bugs, and to raise for meat and eggs.  I do have room for them in a separate run near the chickens, but I really only want one male and one female to roam the property, lay eggs, and hatch some ducklings for meat.  My questions are:  1) Will having only 1 hen be okay or will the drake "wear her out" like a rooster would to a hen?  2.)  If I clip their wings at a young age do they stay clipped or do I have to re-clip each spring like a chicken?  We have an above ground pool, and would like to keep them out of it.    3.)  Would I constantly be  trying to get them out of the surrounding cornfields, or would they stay in the yard?  We have a fence all around our property, so I assume that if they can't fly, they'd stay put.  

Sorry if these questions have already been answered, but I don't have time to read all 848 pages.  Thanks in advance for all the replies!  I can't wait to get my ducklings!!  My hubby is a little hesitant cause of the pool and surrounding corn fields and I'd love to be able to put his worries to rest.    

I would get at least 2 hens if not 3. I clip there wings maybe 2 times a year. You can see when they grow new feathers.. and I have only had one get over a 4 foot fence once and that was because my drake chased her when two of my 4 hens was sitting..

 

[hookem horns]

Hi all.  I live in NE Iowa and have a 1-acre homestead.  We currently  have chickens and meat rabbits.  We are located near a very large dairy farm, and the Mississippi river.  So of course, we have flies and mosquitoes constantly!  A friend of mine has a flock of beautiful muscovies and has offered me some of her offspring to help with the bugs, and to raise for meat and eggs.  I do have room for them in a separate run near the chickens, but I really only want one male and one female to roam the property, lay eggs, and hatch some ducklings for meat.  My questions are:  1) Will having only 1 hen be okay or will the drake "wear her out" like a rooster would to a hen?  2.)  If I clip their wings at a young age do they stay clipped or do I have to re-clip each spring like a chicken?  We have an above ground pool, and would like to keep them out of it.    3.)  Would I constantly be  trying to get them out of the surrounding cornfields, or would they stay in the yard?  We have a fence all around our property, so I assume that if they can't fly, they'd stay put.  

Sorry if these questions have already been answered, but I don't have time to read all 848 pages.  Thanks in advance for all the replies!  I can't wait to get my ducklings!!  My hubby is a little hesitant cause of the pool and surrounding corn fields and I'd love to be able to put his worries to rest.    

and muscovy meat is so delicious

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wow I clipped mine when they first feathered in as babies.
They've just turned nine months old and I will probably need to do it again in a month or so.
Every few weeks would be bedlam here.

I only clip when the ducklings get their flight feathers grown in around 5-6 months of age and then don't clip any more till after molt in the fall , it last all year if done right.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Babies are growing and growing. I built them a grow out cage over the weekend, so they can be outside all day, but they still have to spend night's in the tub. Next I build their house, and decide who is staying. At 3 weeks, I already have half of them visibly bigger, I am assuming they are all boys, but hopeful at least one of the black ones turns out to be a girl.

The one with the messed up beak is starting to straighten out, and the one with the dented head, we call lumpy, has a big bald spot. Both of them got a little stunted, but are growing at their own pace.

Great news and look forward to more pics.

 

[countrygirl5]

Thanks for all the info. I am going to give them a try. If things don't work out, we can always put them in the freezer.

 

[Buck Oakes]

Hey y'all guess what! Canvas, one of my chocolates, hatched a baby, but unfortunately she or the other female, black cap, got stressed and ate two more eggs, but that one baby is going fine, the other two babies that got their egg eaten were both canvas'a eggs because they had her pattern he had when she was little and black cap is white with well a black cap, so since canvas's babies were the ones eaten i expected it was blackcap so I threw her out and now canvas can hatch the rest of the eggs in peace, this happened on the 12th, so it's been a few days since then,
I'll post the babies pictures later


The other baby that was hatching died , it was premature because it didn't even absorb it's yolk sac so yester day when I was supposed to hatch and I found that out I was pretty depressed. But everything I ok and hopefully even more babies later !

 

[learycow]

Anybody looking for hatching eggs?
I have 10 ready to ship wednesday (will add any extras laid between now and then).
Normally I get $20 per half dozen but asking $20 for all (I will calculate shipping based on your location).

Flock consists of black pied, black barred, blue pied, lavender pied, lavender barred, chocolate barred, and some are bibbed. I've hatched all of the above plus lilacs and silvers. A majority have been barred patterned.

Here are just a few pics








First one to PM me gets them!

 

[mymoneypit]

Got an issue. Babies are 3.5 Weeks old, and one of the boys is yanking mouthfuls of feathers out of the others. I saw him do it, and picked him up. As soon as his feet hit the ground again, he ran over and chomped a mouthful out of another one. He is eating the feathers. Right now he's in solitary confinement and mad about it. Should I boil him an egg to eat and try putting him back? He is really noisy cause he hates being alone.