Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[mymilliefleur]

Sorry to hear about your losses Buck! It could have been a opossum if it was large enough, and if it attacked at night it could have gotten the duck when it was sleeping. I doubt is was a cat, since even a big one would have a hard time taking down a duck, especially since you lost 3 in one night. Do you have a large farel cat population there? Do you have any dogs?

 

[Buck Oakes]

no se it wasn't a opossum they leave a big mess anyway when they kill or eat anything, and no i believe a opossum couldn't have done that and no not a large feral cat pop. and yeah we have 13 dogs but i don't see what that has to do with it, no what killed her was actually probably a fox so when i ctahc it i'm going to have to put it down or else it will never stop

 

[dan26552]

My dogs chased all the cats away

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

no se it wasn't a opossum they leave a big mess anyway when they kill or eat anything, and no i believe a opossum couldn't have done that and no not a large feral cat pop. and yeah we have 13 dogs but i don't see what that has to do with it, no what killed her was actually probably a fox so  when i ctahc it i'm going to have to put it down or else it will never stop

I'm so sorry Buck! I keep a gun by the back door at all times. In the spring and fall the predators are the worst! I killed 4 skunks last fall before I got the geese. After that I ended up with a pack of dogs that took out my favorite scovy! This spring so far there was a possum at the birds' food, but between the geese, our patrolling cat, a and me loading the gun, he took off and has not been back. It always breaks my heart to have to shoot critters just trying to survive, but I love my birds, and will do anything to protect them!
Hopefully you get your predator quickly!

 

[Buck Oakes]

skunks don't adult birds, its been proven but i see what your saying on as to why u killed them because its a predator and u want to keep them safe. I will probably do the same thing to any predator i catch as to me putting them down.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

skunks don't adult birds, its been proven but i see what your saying on as to why u killed them because its a predator and u want to keep them safe. I will probably do the same thing to any predator i catch as to me putting them down. 

They got into my aviary and killed a lot of my quail. One skunk killed for fun and just left a trail of carnage. Dead quail everywhere. I didn't feel bad killing him.... They can be relentless, and it is a challenge to get fencing in deep enough so that they can't dig under. I finally used metal flashing that extended several feet out from the fence line to keep them out!

 

[mymilliefleur]

no se it wasn't a opossum they leave a big mess anyway when they kill or eat anything, and no i believe a opossum couldn't have done that and no not a large feral cat pop. and yeah we have 13 dogs but i don't see what that has to do with it, no what killed her was actually probably a fox so when i ctahc it i'm going to have to put it down or else it will never stop

I wasn't thinking that the dogs would kill the ducks, but can they get in/around with them? Most of our fox problems went away when we got guard dogs. Are any of them good guard/alarm dogs? Yes, I agree sound like you have a fox around. Foxes usually make a ''hit and run'' attack, and don't leave much evidence other than a few feathers.

 

[RyanGriffeth]

Hello everyone I'm brand new to owning muscovy ducks. I have a question about feeding. I picked up 2 drakes and 6 hens last Sunday and they all seem extremely healthy. The problem I'm having is they seemed to have been raised on white bread and junk food all winter. I have an abundance of kale growing in my yard that my chickens love but the ducks seem completely uninterested. I'd prefer to raise these ducks completely organically with comfrey fruits millet and other things I grow myself. I also fish quite a bit so they will get fresh protein and oyster shells from the shore. These ducks are taking layer pellets fine but refuse everything else except rice. How can I encourage a better diet in my flock?? Ty. Btw they are all about 8 months old

 

[Kaessa]

Hello everyone I'm brand new to owning muscovy ducks. I have a question about feeding. I picked up 2 drakes and 6 hens last Sunday and they all seem extremely healthy. The problem I'm having is they seemed to have been raised on white bread and junk food all winter. I have an abundance of kale growing in my yard that my chickens love but the ducks seem completely uninterested. I'd prefer to raise these ducks completely organically with comfrey fruits millet and other things I grow myself. I also fish quite a bit so they will get fresh protein and oyster shells from the shore. These ducks are taking layer pellets fine but refuse everything else except rice. How can I encourage a better diet in my flock?? Ty. Btw they are all about 8 months old

Try floating it in their water (the kale). My ducks wouldn't touch kale until I put it in their pool, then it was great fun to chase it and eat it.

 

[Onlyducks]

I had posted a picture of my muscovy under my shed:


She had gone under there last summer to lay eggs and hide them. This morning, we went out to check on the ducks and two were missing. One appeared to be hiding under the shed, so hubby attempted to extract her. Unfortunately, said duck gained in size and weight over the winter and was stuck—very stuck. We had to get a pry bar and pry the shed up to get her out. Found the other smaller duck hiding even further underneath. Again, we dug out and pried up the shed and extracted her. There's now a board and a metal grate in front to prevent this very unwise behaviour. The ducks are lucky my husband wanted to go check on them or they could have been stuck for a very long time.