Muscovy keepers share your pics!

[FoodFreedomNow]

I keep finding glass too. Its like they back filled the yard with garbage. No mater how much I pick up theres always more.

Ah, yes, this is a topic that I can relate to (and gets my blood boiling!) - I found something similar when I moved onto my property. First, it was a headache making the former owners clean their junk out of the old barn and outbuilding (not to mention the numerous cans of paint they wanted to leave as a "courtesy" - too bad they had such bad decorating taste!)...then, after I took possession, I kept finding shards of broken glass everywhere. Even more aggravating is that the former occupants appear to have thought that breaking glass bottles in the barn was fun

. While I did a couple of sweeps to painstakingly pick up glass and other objects (rusty nails, etc.), the chickens would still uncover glass while scratching around the barn, and I'd find ducks nibbling on inappropriate garbage, like random old pieces of broken plastic and half-buried shotgun shells.

I'm still picking up debris nearly every single day, but I'll keep doing it until it's all gone. Here's what I'd like give to the cretins that did this:

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I think both of my girls have been considering going broody. Ebony has been laying in and sleeping in a nest box. There's a fine layer of fluffy white feathers in there but she hasn't committed yet and is off the nest all day long. She only recently started using a nest box and was laying eggs in random hiding places before. Both girls were making high pitched chirping noises the other day when I opened the coop. Is that a dead giveaway? And is there any way to break a broody muscovy (besides letting them hatch)?

I'd say the signs are definitely there. Are they walking around with their feathers ruffled and making those "peeping" warning sounds to other ducks?

I've found it to be very difficult to break a muscovy duck of broodiness, but once I did move a nest and that apparently ticked the broody off enough that she actually stopped sitting. I have one dedicated girl now who insists on sitting on an empty nest (I've removed the eggs), and she works my hand over pretty good when I try to check under her in the morning. They take brooding seriously.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

The chirping sound is adorable. But I think Saturn is making my chickens stop laying in boxes. Does anyone know of a good thread for moving a broody girl? I'm going to wait a little bit yet because I don't want to mess her up but having her in that part of coop isn't going to go well I don't think.

 

[Miss Lydia]

The chirping sound is adorable. But I think Saturn is making my chickens stop laying in boxes. Does anyone know of a good thread for moving a broody girl? I'm going to wait a little bit yet because I don't want to mess her up but having her in that part of coop isn't going to go well I don't think.

I have moved mine right before hatch that way they stick tight to where ever I put them.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I'd say the signs are definitely there. Are they walking around with their feathers ruffled and making those "peeping" warning sounds to other ducks?

I've found it to be very difficult to break a muscovy duck of broodiness, but once I did move a nest and that apparently ticked the broody off enough that she actually stopped sitting. I have one dedicated girl now who insists on sitting on an empty nest (I've removed the eggs), and she works my hand over pretty good when I try to check under her in the morning. They take brooding seriously.

nope, they're not fluffed up and aside from that one morning, I haven't heard the high pitched chirping again. It looks like my resident broody hen has decided she's ready to be broody again (second time this year already). She stole the duck's nest so we'll see how this goes over tonight lol.

 

[yoopergirl1211]

Venus came out of culvert tonight to eat so I feel better. Hadnt seen herin 5 days. Seriously the high peeping is adorable. Although she did try to take my sons head off lol.

 

[JanetMarie]

I also now have one broody girl. She had been collecting eggs for about a week before setting for good, and I had a feeling so kept taking eggs away, then putting them back. She's on seven eggs.

She makes the hight pitched peep, and hisses. I had to let her set and brood, since it's their nature. I'll just have to deal with the extra drakes at that time. I would like one or two more females, the eggs are wonderful and think Snowflake (the drake) would like more girls around.

I hope my other one doesn't go broody. I found three eggs in an unused culvert pipe yesterday, and removed them. I'm pretty sure she's just laying and not going broody.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I also now have one broody girl.  She had been collecting eggs for about a week before setting for good, and I had a feeling so kept taking eggs away, then putting them back.  She's on seven eggs.

She makes the hight pitched peep, and hisses.  I had to let her set and brood, since it's their nature.  I'll just have to deal with the extra drakes at that time.  I would like one or two more females, the eggs are wonderful and think Snowflake (the drake) would like more girls around.

I hope my other one doesn't go broody.  I found three eggs in an unused culvert pipe yesterday, and removed them.  I'm pretty sure she's just laying and not going broody.

They will all go broody, many times over the season, and can be sneaky about hiding them, as well as vicious when defending their eggs. I don't need to be overrun by muscovy ducks, did that once, 5 hens turned into 50 ducks, so I collect eggs daily. I usually carry a stick when doing it to push them off the nest, they are never happy about it.

 

[JudysMuscovy]

New babies hatched today

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

New babies hatched today

So sweet.