Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[WildWestChick]

I've got one like that too mymoneypit, and it's my largest drake :/ I've tried everything to get him to stop but he keeps doing it. So I'm afraid he is destined to go to freezer camp once he is large enough.

 

[mymoneypit]

I've got one like that too mymoneypit, and it's my largest drake

I've tried everything to get him to stop but he keeps doing it. So I'm afraid he is destined to go to freezer camp once he is large enough.

This guy was destined for camp before this happened, since it appears 8 of them could be boys, we have plenty to choose from for a drake to keep... Problem is, what do I do with him until then? DD and I were referring to him as a duck nugget when we saw him chomp down on her baby's tail feathers.

 

[WildWestChick]

How much space do they have to get away from him? Mine are older, like about 2ish months old. And I've been free ranging them since they were a month old, and they have to whole yard (4ish acres) to get away from my feather puller. But he still manages to get a couple of feathers here and there, they have gotten wiser and steer clear of him when they can.

 

[mymoneypit]

I built them a 21 square foot cage over the weekend to get them out of my bathtub. I let them wander while supervised, but can't just cut them loose due to neighborhood dogs. I haven't finished their run yet, but I did get the fencing up. Still need to secure it more. We have every predator here, and I want them to be safe. I guess when I get the run finished, the picker can live in the cage if he can't behave.

 

[mymoneypit]

They will be 1 month on the 25th.

 

[LBejaran]

Hey, y'all! It's been awhile, but I finally have a chance to post a pic of one of the muscovy ducklings I hatched beneath a broody!



Unfortunately, out of the 8 eggs I started with, only three hatched and one of them died right away. It wasn't fully formed, I don't think, and by some fluke it still started to hatch out. It was pretty surprising. However, that broody wasn't a very good mother despite her being excellent last year when she was raising chicks. I imagine it has a lot to do with the fact that these ducklings were super quiet and she wasn't used to that at all, haha!

I also just bought an adult muscovy drake yesterday from a local feed store that said they "never" have these beautiful birds. For $15, I'd say I got a pretty good deal for such a great big drake. I named him Arrow. He and his new girlfriend, Indie, seem to be getting along just fine.

The "muscovy" duckling I bought in San Antonio about a month and a half ago is looking less and less like a muscovy. In fact, it's beginning to look a heck of a lot like a mallard. I mean, I know that they wouldn't purposely cheat me out of the breed I wanted, but I'm pretty disappointed because I need more muscovy ducks so I have halfway decent breeding stock. With Arrow and Indie, I hope to have some ducklings later but there is no guarantee. Just look at the little guy/girl!



When I bought him, he was just a little ball of fluff that I had assumed would become a black muscovy. However, now I'm starting to see weird things about him/her that make me think that it's a mallard. Like the way his tail curls up in a way that I don't see in muscovy ducks. In the newly hatched ducklings, there is a distinct difference between their tails and the tail of the other non-muscovy duckling that we hatched out. The muscovy ducklings have a very straight tail that doesn't curve much. The other duckling does have some curve to his little fluffy tail.

I'm guess I'm just going to have to wait until he feathers out fully to see what happens. I'll be pretty sad if it doesn't turn out to be a muscovy, but I guess I'll still have another duck! If it is a mallard, it looks like a female. That'll be lucky, considering the last time I went to Tractor Supply and bought three ducklings, they all survived and all turned out to be females, haha!

 

[MuscovyLover]

Hey, y'all! It's been awhile, but I finally have a chance to post a pic of one of the muscovy ducklings I hatched beneath a broody! Unfortunately, out of the 8 eggs I started with, only three hatched and one of them died right away. It wasn't fully formed, I don't think, and by some fluke it still started to hatch out. It was pretty surprising. However, that broody wasn't a very good mother despite her being excellent last year when she was raising chicks. I imagine it has a lot to do with the fact that these ducklings were super quiet and she wasn't used to that at all, haha! I also just bought an adult muscovy drake yesterday from a local feed store that said they "never" have these beautiful birds. For $15, I'd say I got a pretty good deal for such a great big drake. I named him Arrow. He and his new girlfriend, Indie, seem to be getting along just fine. The "muscovy" duckling I bought in San Antonio about a month and a half ago is looking less and less like a muscovy. In fact, it's beginning to look a heck of a lot like a mallard. I mean, I know that they wouldn't purposely cheat me out of the breed I wanted, but I'm pretty disappointed because I need more muscovy ducks so I have halfway decent breeding stock. With Arrow and Indie, I hope to have some ducklings later but there is no guarantee. Just look at the little guy/girl! When I bought him, he was just a little ball of fluff that I had assumed would become a black muscovy. However, now I'm starting to see weird things about him/her that make me think that it's a mallard. Like the way his tail curls up in a way that I don't see in muscovy ducks. In the newly hatched ducklings, there is a distinct difference between their tails and the tail of the other non-muscovy duckling that we hatched out. The muscovy ducklings have a very straight tail that doesn't curve much. The other duckling does have some curve to his little fluffy tail. I'm guess I'm just going to have to wait until he feathers out fully to see what happens. I'll be pretty sad if it doesn't turn out to be a muscovy, but I guess I'll still have another duck! If it is a mallard, it looks like a female. That'll be lucky, considering the last time I went to Tractor Supply and bought three ducklings, they all survived and all turned out to be females, haha!

There is no way that is a muscovy in my opinion sorry. I'm in Aus so don't know what it is but it looks native.

 

[LilyD]

Just got my muscovy babies today from Country Hatchery.I was supposed to get 5 blues and 5 chocolates, but it looks like instead I got 6 chocolates and 4 blues. They are absolutely adorable. I will take individual pictures once they have settled into their actual brooder. This is only a temporary one since it's freezing outside and raining and I don't want to sit outside to take their water away from them every 15 minutes for then next hour lol.

 

[countrygirl5]

I was wondering how long it takes a muscovy to get up to dress weight and how long it takes to get to maturity/egg laying?

 

[hookem horns]

I was wondering how long it takes a muscovy to get up to dress weight and how long it takes to get to maturity/egg laying?

about 12 weeks and up will get them in the freezer.and mine started laying around 5-6 months unless they hit that age late fall.. then they wait till next spring. .