Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[Going Quackers]

Well I don´t believe they know which eggs are infertile, and they don´t cool them by pushing them out the nest. She´s just not quite got it together. Trouble is, these eggs that have started to develop, once they get too cold, will die, then turn rotten, and may pop in the nest

, so if you don´t intend to do that little experiment of marking them to see if it´s the same ones she´s pushing out, it´d be best to chuck them.

Disagree, while some may not i have seen ducks here 'clean house' so yes, they do if the instincts are still working right, in the wild these ducks don't have someone candling nor adding, taking away from nests a lot of my mamas here go off and nest outside the flock and i leave them be. Only AFTER the kids hatch do i usually step in to ensure the area is safe and proper feed.water i can only go natural so far, unfortunately.

 

[Going Quackers]

bellatrix was not happy. I candled the eggs to take the ones that have about a week or 2 left to incubate, so hope for a better hatch, and switched out with 19 more.

LOl they can be grouchy though nothing beats a chicken hen. ugh. AT least duck bills are rounded not pointed.

 

[TherryChicken]

They can but more eggs does risk pooer results and the typical muscovy nest is 8 on the whole i have almost 100% hatch rates i don't allow large nests it get overwhelming and again success rates drop, i also allow my mothers to free range after to many it's harder to keep track and i have some awesome, attentive mums here.

Again though, GL with round #2.

thanks

 

[TherryChicken]

LOl they can be grouchy though nothing beats a chicken hen. ugh. AT least duck bills are rounded not pointed.

yes, but dont forget the little bristles on their bills..

 

[livininbrazil]

Disagree, while some may not i have seen ducks here 'clean house' so yes, they do if the instincts are still working right, in the wild these ducks don't have someone candling nor adding, taking away from nests a lot of my mamas here go off and nest outside the flock and i leave them be. Only AFTER the kids hatch do i usually step in to ensure the area is safe and proper feed.water i can only go natural so far, unfortunately.

Fair enough. I can only go by mine, that free-range and nest in strange little hidden-away places. I just always dread the time that I don´t find the nest, and one emerges with 20!! So far that´s not happened. I find the nests, and take away most of the eggs to sell along with the chicken eggs...all for eating. (except this time, when I divided the 14 eggs from one duck between the four broody ducks and took all the rest away, because I want to see if she´ll produce one with her colouring) I don´t candle the eggs, I leave it all up to the moms. (it´s not worth the damage to hands and arms) They´re all great mums. There´s a very high rate of fertility, and just now and again there´s the odd one that goes bad. But the hens don´t push these no-good eggs out. so I figure they don´t know the difference. And all muscovies around here come from free-ranging stock, so it´s not as if their instincts would have been lost or anything. Just a different point-of-view. But that is why I suggested marking the eggs of the other poster, to see if they were the same eggs she was pushing out or not.

 

[livininbrazil]

yes, but dont forget the little bristles on their bills..

Oh, my ducks are far worse than my hens! The muscovies can really pack a punch, can´t they? ! If I want to meddle (sometimes I use them to incubate goose eggs), I lift their tails off the nest, then slide my other hand underneath. They can´t do so much damage with their tail suspended. They try, though!

 

[Fuzzybird]

I have been trying to keep the population down some here at the RV Park but we were happy to see that our Pekin ducks were breeding and the hen started laying eggs. She just layed tho and not sit. She left one nest I had to pick up and started a new one. Still she doesn't get broody so I wished I had a broody Muscovy to put the eggs with her. GOD came through. WE found a sneeky little muscovy sitting on about 7 eggs under a full tight bush, so when she got off I put the Pekin eggs under her. I was told by the guy who found her nest that she was sitting only for a few days so that should do well with the Pekin timing to hatch. Fingers crossed we get them hatched! Pekin must not be the best mothers?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have been trying to keep the population down some here at the RV Park but we were happy to see that our Pekin ducks were breeding and the hen started laying eggs. She just layed tho and not sit. She left one nest I had to pick up and started a new one. Still she doesn't get broody so I wished I had a broody Muscovy to put the eggs with her. GOD came through. WE found a sneeky little muscovy sitting on about 7 eggs under a full tight bush, so when she got off I put the Pekin eggs under her. I was told by the guy who found her nest that she was sitting only for a few days so that should do well with the Pekin timing to hatch. Fingers crossed we get them hatched! Pekin must not be the best mothers?

They aren't, but your Muscovy will do a good job most likely.

 

[TherryChicken]

Oh, my ducks are far worse than my hens!  The muscovies can really pack a punch, can´t they? !  If I want to meddle (sometimes I use them to incubate goose eggs), I lift their tails off the nest, then slide my other hand underneath.  They can´t do so much damage with their tail suspended.  They try, though!  

lol!

 

[TherryChicken]

Good news and bad news update.. update duckling 1: navel red and aggrevated, will be switching to shredded paper for bedding, however is still doing well. Ducklings 2 and 3: doing very well.. duckling 4 and 5: 4 is doing well so far, 5 died before getting out of shell. Im glad or I would of had to kill it myself, organs out of body. So so far we have 4 ducklings.. all chocolate. My concern is why did so many of them die or not make ir/ have problems. There were 9 eggs all fertile and well, even to lockdown. Then through out hatching they die.. is there something wrong genetically? Or do you think the heat played a role in it out side with it beingin the low 100s, during incubation? Or why is the rate like this? I know its not because I took the eggs, if I didnt none would of survived but maybe 2 if lucky..