Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[MsPoultry]

Yeah

 

[irisshiller]

Hi everyone, I'd like to share too

I have a diverse, colourful collection of chickens and ducks, mostly consisting of rescues, anonymous drop-offs and giveaways. (It is surprising how many people keep cute little chicks in a city apartment and then find out that they grow )

I posted once before about the first muscovy duck I got (Shulman) and I couldn't figure out whether he was a male or female. Now, it is obvious that he is a male, as he is huge, but he still doesn't have any trace of red caruncling on his face. He is more than a year old by now. This is him (here with Boris)




Then, I got two white ducklings who grew into a male and female (Boris and Katya), they must be around 6 months old by now.



Two more ducklings turned out to be two very pretty females (Layla and Luz):



And recently I got yet another pair... These two are about 2 months old by now. I can't see if they are males or females yet but I suppose we will find out soon.



We also have a pair of mallard ducks (my husband had his heart set on them, he thinks the muscovies are ugly )



A load of them splashing in the pool




So those are my ducks! I also have some questions which I am hoping someone might know the answer to...

Since the arrival of the mallard ducks, the male is hogging the pool and chases out anyone who ventures inside, even the muscovy males who are twice his size! The female immediately started laying eggs and is now sitting on a collection of 12 eggs. The nest is close to the pool edge. Could this be the reason he chases off all other ducks? I am hoping he will let the others back into the pool once the ducklings have hatched. He is very protective of her.

It seems a strange time of year for a duck to start building a nest. I live in Israel though and the winters here are much milder than in Europe (where I am originally from and the mallard ducks too, I suppose). The rainy season has just started, but it doesn't get extremely cold. It never snows or freezes where I am. I suppose the ducklings will be OK even if they hatch in December and it isn't actually spring?

We suspect there might be a couple of chicken eggs in the nest, too - we've seen one of the chickens sitting in there with her. If this is true and those eggs hatch, they will hatch about a week before the ducklings, am I right? I wonder what the mother duck will think of this? Will she push the chicks out or harm them? Is there a chance she will accept them as her own? I suppose we should keep a sharp eye out.

Lately, the female muscovies have started flying around a little. The males stay on the ground, but the females like to roost in trees or on the roofs of the coops. I used to put them in with the chickens at night, but now it's impossible and they stay out. The guinea fowl do the exact same thing. Until now, predators have never managed to get inside the enclosure, but it has happened once or twice that a chicken flew out and was caught by a fox or something else (a load of feathers outside by the fence and the chicken gone).

Unfortunately now, both lovely black female muscovies have disappeared. When the first one went, I assumed she had flown out and was taken by a predator. I didn't see any trace of a fight, but who knows. About a week later though, the second one also went - same thing, just gone without a trace of feathers or blood or anything. I don't know how old they are exactly as they were dropped off by someone in the night, but I estimate around 5 months old. Would it be possible that they have both started laying eggs like the mallard duck, somewhere outside the enclosure and have now started sitting on them?? What would be a likely place for a muscovy to nest? Until now, I have only looked on the ground, but maybe they like to nest up higher, in a tree or something? I am a bit at a loss. The last time I saw her was last night, when she was peacefully sleeping on the roof. What could have got to her up there..?

Should I be afraid for my last remaining female (Katya) and clip her wings? Also, I wonder if these ducks migrate? Could they have seen a flock of migrating ducks flying overhead and tried to join them? Even more worrying, will the mallard ducks try this as soon as their ducklings have grown??

OK sorry for this load of questions I am still relatively new to this! Anyway nice to meet you all!

Iris

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hey guys she is gonna get better, they have her some medicine and then she actually pooped normal!! If the mass doesn't go away she's gonna have surgery and in gonna get her oviduct taken out as well because they think she got a mass because she was trying to hard to lay some eggs, so she's gonna be a retired duck even though she's only 4 years old

I'm so thankful that she's gonna be okay

That's great news Buck that she'll be okay.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Summer hatch silver drake I call Ironman.

Ironman is so handsome love the blk on shore too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi everyone, I'd like to share too

I have a diverse, colourful collection of chickens and ducks, mostly consisting of rescues, anonymous drop-offs and giveaways. (It is surprising how many people keep cute little chicks in a city apartment and then find out that they grow )

I posted once before about the first muscovy duck I got (Shulman) and I couldn't figure out whether he was a male or female. Now, it is obvious that he is a male, as he is huge, but he still doesn't have any trace of red caruncling on his face. He is more than a year old by now. This is him (here with Boris)




Then, I got two white ducklings who grew into a male and female (Boris and Katya), they must be around 6 months old by now.



Two more ducklings turned out to be two very pretty females (Layla and Luz):



And recently I got yet another pair... These two are about 2 months old by now. I can't see if they are males or females yet but I suppose we will find out soon.



We also have a pair of mallard ducks (my husband had his heart set on them, he thinks the muscovies are ugly )



A load of them splashing in the pool




So those are my ducks! I also have some questions which I am hoping someone might know the answer to...

Since the arrival of the mallard ducks, the male is hogging the pool and chases out anyone who ventures inside, even the muscovy males who are twice his size! The female immediately started laying eggs and is now sitting on a collection of 12 eggs. The nest is close to the pool edge. Could this be the reason he chases off all other ducks? I am hoping he will let the others back into the pool once the ducklings have hatched. He is very protective of her.

It seems a strange time of year for a duck to start building a nest. I live in Israel though and the winters here are much milder than in Europe (where I am originally from and the mallard ducks too, I suppose). The rainy season has just started, but it doesn't get extremely cold. It never snows or freezes where I am. I suppose the ducklings will be OK even if they hatch in December and it isn't actually spring?

We suspect there might be a couple of chicken eggs in the nest, too - we've seen one of the chickens sitting in there with her. If this is true and those eggs hatch, they will hatch about a week before the ducklings, am I right? I wonder what the mother duck will think of this? Will she push the chicks out or harm them? Is there a chance she will accept them as her own? I suppose we should keep a sharp eye out.

Lately, the female muscovies have started flying around a little. The males stay on the ground, but the females like to roost in trees or on the roofs of the coops. I used to put them in with the chickens at night, but now it's impossible and they stay out. The guinea fowl do the exact same thing. Until now, predators have never managed to get inside the enclosure, but it has happened once or twice that a chicken flew out and was caught by a fox or something else (a load of feathers outside by the fence and the chicken gone).

Unfortunately now, both lovely black female muscovies have disappeared. When the first one went, I assumed she had flown out and was taken by a predator. I didn't see any trace of a fight, but who knows. About a week later though, the second one also went - same thing, just gone without a trace of feathers or blood or anything. I don't know how old they are exactly as they were dropped off by someone in the night, but I estimate around 5 months old. Would it be possible that they have both started laying eggs like the mallard duck, somewhere outside the enclosure and have now started sitting on them?? What would be a likely place for a muscovy to nest? Until now, I have only looked on the ground, but maybe they like to nest up higher, in a tree or something? I am a bit at a loss. The last time I saw her was last night, when she was peacefully sleeping on the roof. What could have got to her up there..?

Should I be afraid for my last remaining female (Katya) and clip her wings? Also, I wonder if these ducks migrate? Could they have seen a flock of migrating ducks flying overhead and tried to join them? Even more worrying, will the mallard ducks try this as soon as their ducklings have grown??

OK sorry for this load of questions I am still relatively new to this! Anyway nice to meet you all!

Iris

Gorgeous ducks, You Mallard is protecting his mate and most likely will keep everyone away for a while even after the ducklings hatch, they don't usually get involved with caring for the ducklings though that's left up to mama. But he will protect his mate. any way you can section off the area they are in so the rest can have pool time? it will keep the newly hatched ducklings safe too. any chicks that hatch will have to be taken from your duck because they will imprint on her and follow her into the pool and drown.
Do you have night time preds like owls? something like that my have flew in ans grabbed a duck one night and came back the next for the other one, sad but it happens. or they flew off to open water. or they are nesting lol hard to say which it is but in 35 days if you don't find them before they will come waddling back with their kids, but usually if they are brooding they will turn up sometimes in the day to eat. they will nest just about anywhere they can climb under. and it doesn't have to be large. Scovy's are tree ducks but haven't ever heard anyone say theirs nested in a tree. I would clip to keep her on the ground,I clip here because we have a fast flowing mountain river below us and I worry about them flying down and getting carried down stream and not finding their way home. Mallards are good flyers so you may want to clip wings there to if your enclosure isn't covered where you keep them. Your Scovy's are gorgeous and thanks for sharing them with us. and Welcome. Nice to meet you also.

please keep us updated on ducklings hatching and your 2 missing ducks. Oh and since your Mallard is sitting on 12 eggs and being so small close to hatch day you may want to set up a brooder just in case the weather turns cold because having 12 she may not be able to keep them all warm. Always better to be ready.

 

[irisshiller]

Miss Lydia, thanks so much for your advice! I had not thought of flying predators, that could definitely be a possibility... then it would probably be an owl or some other night flyer and not a hawk or something, because my chicken chicks and everyone who goes in at night are fine. Poor duckies

And you're right, if they were brooding I should have to see them every now and then as they come to eat and drink. It happened to me before with a chicken.

There aren't really any large bodies of water nearby but as it has started raining now, it could be that swamps have formed in certain places. Oh well. I will have to wait and see. And clip Katya's wings :/

I will post updates about the ducklings when/if they hatch. Keeping a brooder ready and a separate place for the other ducks to splash is a good idea, I will get onto that!

Thanks! Iris.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Miss Lydia, thanks so much for your advice! I had not thought of flying predators, that could definitely be a possibility... then it would probably be an owl or some other night flyer and not a hawk or something, because my chicken chicks and everyone who goes in at night are fine. Poor duckies

And you're right, if they were brooding I should have to see them every now and then as they come to eat and drink. It happened to me before with a chicken.

There aren't really any large bodies of water nearby but as it has started raining now, it could be that swamps have formed in certain places. Oh well. I will have to wait and see. And clip Katya's wings :/

I will post updates about the ducklings when/if they hatch. Keeping a brooder ready and a separate place for the other ducks to splash is a good idea, I will get onto that!

Thanks! Iris.

Your very welcome and looking at your signature looks like math has gotten hold of you too. lol

 

[Julie Birb]

Hi everyone, I'd like to share too I have a diverse, colourful collection of chickens and ducks, mostly consisting of rescues, anonymous drop-offs and giveaways. (It is surprising how many people keep cute little chicks in a city apartment and then find out that they grow ) I posted once before about the first muscovy duck I got (Shulman) and I couldn't figure out whether he was a male or female. Now, it is obvious that he is a male, as he is huge, but he still doesn't have any trace of red caruncling on his face. He is more than a year old by now. This is him (here with Boris) Then, I got two white ducklings who grew into a male and female (Boris and Katya), they must be around 6 months old by now. Two more ducklings turned out to be two very pretty females (Layla and Luz): And recently I got yet another pair... These two are about 2 months old by now. I can't see if they are males or females yet but I suppose we will find out soon. We also have a pair of mallard ducks (my husband had his heart set on them, he thinks the muscovies are ugly ) A load of them splashing in the pool So those are my ducks! I also have some questions which I am hoping someone might know the answer to... Since the arrival of the mallard ducks, the male is hogging the pool and chases out anyone who ventures inside, even the muscovy males who are twice his size! The female immediately started laying eggs and is now sitting on a collection of 12 eggs. The nest is close to the pool edge. Could this be the reason he chases off all other ducks? I am hoping he will let the others back into the pool once the ducklings have hatched. He is very protective of her. It seems a strange time of year for a duck to start building a nest. I live in Israel though and the winters here are much milder than in Europe (where I am originally from and the mallard ducks too, I suppose). The rainy season has just started, but it doesn't get extremely cold. It never snows or freezes where I am. I suppose the ducklings will be OK even if they hatch in December and it isn't actually spring? We suspect there might be a couple of chicken eggs in the nest, too - we've seen one of the chickens sitting in there with her. If this is true and those eggs hatch, they will hatch about a week before the ducklings, am I right? I wonder what the mother duck will think of this? Will she push the chicks out or harm them? Is there a chance she will accept them as her own? I suppose we should keep a sharp eye out. Lately, the female muscovies have started flying around a little. The males stay on the ground, but the females like to roost in trees or on the roofs of the coops. I used to put them in with the chickens at night, but now it's impossible and they stay out. The guinea fowl do the exact same thing. Until now, predators have never managed to get inside the enclosure, but it has happened once or twice that a chicken flew out and was caught by a fox or something else (a load of feathers outside by the fence and the chicken gone). Unfortunately now, both lovely black female muscovies have disappeared. When the first one went, I assumed she had flown out and was taken by a predator. I didn't see any trace of a fight, but who knows. About a week later though, the second one also went - same thing, just gone without a trace of feathers or blood or anything. I don't know how old they are exactly as they were dropped off by someone in the night, but I estimate around 5 months old. Would it be possible that they have both started laying eggs like the mallard duck, somewhere outside the enclosure and have now started sitting on them?? What would be a likely place for a muscovy to nest? Until now, I have only looked on the ground, but maybe they like to nest up higher, in a tree or something? I am a bit at a loss. The last time I saw her was last night, when she was peacefully sleeping on the roof. What could have got to her up there..? Should I be afraid for my last remaining female (Katya) and clip her wings? Also, I wonder if these ducks migrate? Could they have seen a flock of migrating ducks flying overhead and tried to join them? Even more worrying, will the mallard ducks try this as soon as their ducklings have grown?? OK sorry for this load of questions I am still relatively new to this! Anyway nice to meet you all! Iris

Israel cool. You've got a beautiful assortment of ducks there. Enjoyed the pics and reading your story. Had to laugh at your husband's comment. Keep us all in the know about your web footed quackers.

 

[gardengoats11]

Buck Oakes what color would you call her. She is chocolate with a blue gene.

 

[gardengoats11]

Chocolate hen and blue drakes from the September hatch.