Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[Miss Lydia]

Lovely ducks! I just let 2 eggs stay with my ducks...sometimes just one if she doesn´t lay on that first day of incubation. Great little moms. I have 9 ducks. If I only let them raise just 2 each, I´ll still end up with a mountain of ducks! But they´re very sweet. I have 2 more hatched out 2 days ago....mum´s just started taking them out of the nest to eat and drink. Pic later if I get around to it.

Would love to see a picture of them. And hey whats a matter with you?? at least you can walk outside with out sliding on the ice and freezing your bum off, go get that camera

 

[livininbrazil]

Would love to see a picture of them. And hey whats a matter with you?? at least you can walk outside with out sliding on the ice and freezing your bum off, go get that camera

I´ll go, I´ll go...it´s just about 100F out there at midday, though it´s not so bad at the mo as there´s a anice breeze. I´ll go in a bit......my hubby said he saw her take them down to the little pond today. Its water comes froma little spring, and there´s shade there, too, so I´ll go and mosey on down there.....

 

[DaisyMeadow]

Sad news!

This morning only 6 of the 10 babies showed up with mama for breakfast. So I searched the area and found 3 of them in the creek -- too late. It seems mama took them for a swim but didn't make sure everyone got back out. First time mama mistakes, I suppose. I'm going to assume the 4th floated downstream.

I only hope that she will do a better job now that she has fewer to look after.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I´ll go, I´ll go...it´s just about 100F out there at midday, though it´s not so bad at the mo as there´s a anice breeze. I´ll go in a bit......my hubby said he saw her take them down to the little pond today. Its water comes froma little spring, and there´s shade there, too, so I´ll go and mosey on down there.....

stay in the shade if at all possible 100* is hot.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sad news!

This morning only 6 of the 10 babies showed up with mama for breakfast. So I searched the area and found 3 of them in the creek -- too late. It seems mama took them for a swim but didn't make sure everyone got back out. First time mama mistakes, I suppose. I'm going to assume the 4th floated downstream.

I only hope that she will do a better job now that she has fewer to look after.

So sorry, I think ducks depend on their ducklings to stay up with the group and when so tiny it doesn't always work out that way.

another reason my mamas and babies have limited space for a few weeks just gives the ducklings an edge to learn the ropes.

 

[DaisyMeadow]

I think if I penned in the babies, the mama would fly out to eat and then come back. I don't have enough material to pen everyone in every time they have babies, so I have to make do. We like them to be as free and wild as possible, too, so that sometimes means sadness, I'm afraid. I'll see what I can do about possibly making the area more baby-friendly, but it seems they're always finding new ways to get into trouble. We had one mama raise 19 babies last year, and she only "lost" the ones we caught and sold from her little baby-train. So this is something that's not come up before. Also, the geese are done investigating and are now just ignoring the babies.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think if I penned in the babies, the mama would fly out to eat and then come back. I don't have enough material to pen everyone in every time they have babies, so I have to make do. We like them to be as free and wild as possible, too, so that sometimes means sadness, I'm afraid. I'll see what I can do about possibly making the area more baby-friendly, but it seems they're always finding new ways to get into trouble. We had one mama raise 19 babies last year, and she only "lost" the ones we caught and sold from her little baby-train. So this is something that's not come up before. Also, the geese are done investigating and are now just ignoring the babies.

Thats good about the geese, I use that plastic poultry fencing from Lowes when I have tinies, I have a chicken coop turned nursery mama and babies stay inside this temp fencing and use the coop as shelter and safety at night. Mama could fly out any times she wanted but she stayed i just kept food and water in there for them, and a small shallow tub for them to swim in.I like my flock to be as free and wild as possibly but I also hate when one dies if I could have done something to prevent it, But i do understand where your coming from, not all survive in the wild and for one to have raised 19 last year is awesome. I have to limit my ducks hatchlings so I guess I am too over protective. [If I let one of mine hatch 19 ducklings I'd be minus a dh]. lol

 

[DaisyMeadow]

I've got 56 wooded acres with a seasonal pond and two creeks. By the time I even find my muscovy nests, they're already most of the way to hatching. If I took eggs in the house to incubate this time of year, I'd be minus a dh. Last year we incubated (2 incubators) for about 6 months non-stop, and brooded on the living room floor in a kiddie pool. That's half a year of stinky, peeping (although adorable) mess. If I started in January with inside babies, he'd hit the road, for sure. As it is, we're working with most of our available time on putting in brooder housing so we don't have any in the house again. Unfortunately, I've already broken that promise and have 4 two-week-old pekins in the bathtub.

What? They needed a new home.

I can generally find all the other duck eggs, but I'll sometimes find a clutch of chicken eggs under a tree on a random walk, and I almost never find the muscovy nests unless I purposefully follow a suspicious hen back into the briars. Right now, I know there is one muscovy nest under the rabbit hutches, but that's only because I did a once-a-year purging of the empty feed bags. Otherwise, I would have never known. They're sneaky, these ones. Although they're very friendly, they do like to have their secrets.

 

[livininbrazil]

Sad news!

This morning only 6 of the 10 babies showed up with mama for breakfast. So I searched the area and found 3 of them in the creek -- too late. It seems mama took them for a swim but didn't make sure everyone got back out. First time mama mistakes, I suppose. I'm going to assume the 4th floated downstream.

I only hope that she will do a better job now that she has fewer to look after.

Like everything, they have to learn. My ducks are pretty good mums first-time-round, but they´re really excellent second-time-round...

 

[livininbrazil]

I think if I penned in the babies, the mama would fly out to eat and then come back. I don't have enough material to pen everyone in every time they have babies, so I have to make do. We like them to be as free and wild as possible, too, so that sometimes means sadness, I'm afraid. I'll see what I can do about possibly making the area more baby-friendly, but it seems they're always finding new ways to get into trouble. We had one mama raise 19 babies last year, and she only "lost" the ones we caught and sold from her little baby-train. So this is something that's not come up before. Also, the geese are done investigating and are now just ignoring the babies.

I´ve found that the more I try to pen the babies in, the more dnagerous it becomes, because either mom or babies are determined to get out, and then that leaves unprotected/lost babies. Mine here just get on with it, and I have very few losses and the geese have taken absolutely no notice at all of the new mom.