Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[Miss Lydia]

What shelters do you guys have for free range ducks in snow??? I need ideas fast. It snowed like four inches out of nowhere

A 3 sided structure would be nice/with roof @CyndiD made one for her ducks for shelter. Do you lock them up at night? Sure hope so.

 

[PoultryQueen101]

A 3 sided structure would be nice/with roof  @CyndiD
made one for her ducks for shelter.  Do you lock them up at night?  Sure hope so.

They are not as of now. We couldn't get rid of as many as we needed to this year. (Extra young males) so we left them out. I could lock 15 of the 37 up, but that wouldnt be fair. I've lost two that I've found dead. One was a mink (traps are set), other was an owl. Lost one to a hawk in the spring and an adult on a nest Maybe July-ish. Hhad some ducklings flat up disappear. I think they drowned. Locked up those babies until they feathered and didn't lose anymore.

The problem is not the night time at all. They float on the pond all night long or around the brushy edges. Everything I've lost so far this year was taken after sunrise and after the morning feeding at like 9:00.
My grandparents are too old to be locking them up at night and rounding them all up. And too emotional to lose any to a massacre if they arent Locke up before sunset. Right now I'm making the most of what I have. There is a gated fence that goes in the water a few feet surrounding the area that they spend the day on. It's going to be filled with Straw asap. They have a structure to hide under but i can go out and surround it from wind.

Ugh. I wish my parents would listen to me about penning them up but no one will!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are not as of now. We couldn't get rid of as many as we needed to this year. (Extra young males) so we left them out. I could lock 15 of the 37 up, but that wouldnt be fair. I've lost two that I've found dead. One was a mink (traps are set), other was an owl. Lost one to a hawk in the spring and an adult on a nest Maybe July-ish. Hhad some ducklings flat up disappear. I think they drowned. Locked up those babies until they feathered and didn't lose anymore.

The problem is not the night time at all. They float on the pond all night long or around the brushy edges. Everything I've lost so far this year was taken after sunrise and after the morning feeding at like 9:00.
My grandparents are too old to be locking them up at night and rounding them all up. And too emotional to lose any to a massacre if they arent Locke up before sunset. Right now I'm making the most of what I have. There is a gated fence that goes in the water a few feet surrounding the area that they spend the day on. It's going to be filled with Straw asap. They have a structure to hide under but i can go out and surround it from wind.

Ugh. I wish my parents would listen to me about penning them up but no one will!!

That's a lot of ducks to try and shelter from in-climate weather. Mine have places they can get out of the weather, wood shed is one under the small chicken coop is another old feeding station is one too. But they usually prefer to lay right out in the open.They are locked up at night.

It's very hard to get some to understand how important it is to secure our birds from predators. Maybe you should try posting an ad on craigs list about the ones you want to re home and get you flock down to a more manageable size so you could put them up at night.

Sorry for your losses

 

[OneMountainAcres]

What shelters do you guys have for free range ducks in snow??? I need ideas fast. It snowed like four inches out of nowhere

Mine have learned to go in to the chicken coop with the rest of the chicken flock. Right now they're locked up even though they don't mind the snow but it's protected from the wind in there so I don't open it up

 

[rachelsflock]

Mine have learned to go in to the chicken coop with the rest of the chicken flock. Right now they're locked up even though they don't mind the snow but it's protected from the wind in there so I don't open it up

X2, except I let mine out during the day. They often go back in after drinking and stay there except for water. I'm up by Detroit in Michigan.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

X2, except I let mine out during the day. They often go back in after drinking and stay there except for water. I'm up by Detroit in Michigan.

I'm in Central, PA. I'm sure they'd be perfectly fine left out and I may let them in a month or so. They've just gotten in to the habit over the summer of going in the coop via the big side door which I now keep closed at all times. Last time I left them out, they and a few young chickens were lined up on the ramp outside that door after dark because they wanted in that way and couldn't figure out to go in through the run and up through the little door. They all know how to do it now but I want them to REMEMBER it lol.

My coop last night

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm in Central, PA. I'm sure they'd be perfectly fine left out and I may let them in a month or so. They've just gotten in to the habit over the summer of going in the coop via the big side door which I now keep closed at all times. Last time I left them out, they and a few young chickens were lined up on the ramp outside that door after dark because they wanted in that way and couldn't figure out to go in through the run and up through the little door. They all know how to do it now but I want them to REMEMBER it lol.

My coop last night

Pretty.

 

[PoultryQueen101]

They have a 3-sided, roofed shelter with straw to nestle under.

Anyhows. I finally convinced the fan that they need better. I'm going to split the ducks between the winter pen, my duck pen at my house, and my Chicken run (temporary).

Just need to mink proof it all first

 

[macgro7]

My remaining muscovies:

Now they have to be locked up because of the bird flu in the UK

 

[Miss Lydia]

My remaining muscovies:

Now they have to be locked up because of the bird flu in the UK

They are beautiful.. So sad about the bird flu being there now. Hope they get it taken care of quickly. Be safe.