Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[Miss Lydia]

Opie now thinks my boot is the enemy.

 

[Loc20chick]

Opie now thinks my boot is the enemy.

Lol!!

 

[tmonaa16]

Question! It's almost time for the eggs to hatch..... Anything I should do to prepare? Is the mom going to be the one giving them food? Are they just going to be walking right away....or staying in the cage to dry up? (Sorry I don't know)

 

[Onlyducks]

I have five female muscovies and one male. I have begun to suspect the females are beating up the male. The feathers on the back of his neck are messed up and he didn't wnat to go in the greenhouse with the females tonight. My husband said that earlier the females were in the shelter in the garden and the male was standing alone outside. Do females decide to beat up the male? I guess I've always heard it the other way around.

 

[poult]

Question! It's almost time for the eggs to hatch..... Anything I should do to prepare? Is the mom going to be the one giving them food? Are they just going to be walking right away....or staying in the cage to dry up? (Sorry I don't know)

Your going to have to put food and water out for the mom and her babies the mom if she cares for them correctly will keep them warm and they will dry on their own being she will be warm.Unless the temperatures are too low where you live which I thought you said it's warm all the time there so they will be fine I would not allow any other birds near the babies other then mom.

I have five female muscovies and one male.  I have begun to suspect the females are beating up the male.  The feathers on the back of his neck are messed up and he didn't wnat to go in the greenhouse with the females tonight.  My husband said that earlier the females were in the shelter in the garden and the male was standing alone outside.  Do females decide to beat up the male?  I guess I've always heard it the other way around.

If the male can't stand up for himself they will beat him up making sure he knows his rank in the pecking order.Are you sure it's a male? ️Normally females that are mated with a lot have messed up feathers on their neck,head and back.

 

[Onlyducks]

Poult: Yes, I'm sure he's a male. He has the red caruncles on his face and he's twice the size of the females. Which makes it interesting that he appears to be afraid of them now. I've had the six together for most a year with no problems. He started having the ruffled feathers about 2 or 3 weeks ago. This is the first time he's resisted going in the greenhouse with the girls, though none of them have not been found of being in the greenhouse for long periods. It's pretty small (8 by 8) so I try to only keep them in over night and if it's warm enough, they go in their covered pen instead. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow of the messed up neck. It does look like what the pekin males I had did to the females, but this is definately a male and the girls are the ones going after him.

 

[tmonaa16]

Yeah, Guam's warm all year round. What kind of food do the babies eat? And by other birds, you mean my drake?

 

[poult]

Poult: Yes, I'm sure he's a male. He has the red caruncles on his face and he's twice the size of the females.  Which makes it interesting that he appears to be afraid of them now.  I've had the six together for most a year with no problems.  He started having the ruffled feathers about 2 or 3 weeks ago.  This is the first time he's resisted going in the greenhouse with the girls, though none of them have not been found of being in the greenhouse for long periods.  It's pretty small (8 by 8) so I try to only keep them in over night and if it's warm enough, they go in their covered pen instead.  I'll try to get a picture tomorrow of the messed up neck.  It does look like what the pekin males I had did to the females, but this is definately a male and the girls are the ones going after him.

Hmm yeah just a pecking order thing I'm guessing unless it's severe I usually let the birds handle their problems on their own and normally it works out. If it gets bad seperate them.

 

[poult]

Yeah, Guam's warm all year round. What kind of food do the babies eat? And by other birds, you mean my drake?

All other birds that aren't mom keep away from your ducklings.

You feed a duck feed with these proteins for these ages:

0-2 weeks: 21% protein

3-9 weeks: 17% protein

Over 9 weeks: 14% protein

After first egg: 16% protein

This is what McMurray Hatchery does for ducks.

 

[postalpoultry]

A fully mature Muscovey drake will develop a line of red "mini crauncles" (for lack of a better term) down the back of his neck and feathers sometimes become almost curly looking around it. I have more than 284 (at last count LOL) Muscovey they all live together forming their own groups and I have never in the last 16 years lost a duckling to a drake. Now that is not to say the drakes wont put the babes in their place from time to time, but that is the normal way of life!