My 1.2 group of muscovies started finally mating this year(in front of my seven year old " Mom why does Pumpkin have a worm hanging out of is butt?) so how long until i have eggs. Should i buy some hay or straw for nesting material and give them the dog house for nesting? I want some eggs and babies i am tired of those freeloaders. I mean they do a good job keeping unwanted people out opf the yard but as i said EGGS!!!!! BABIES!!!! i want ducky fluffybutts just in case you need to know Pumpkin the male is just under one year and the girls are either a 07 or 08 hatch.
I suspect it is still a little cool in Ohio for these Southern native ducks. They don't need the drake to start laying and until they do lay he is just having fun to no purpose. Unlike the rest of the ducks that are derived from migrating mallards the non migrating Muscovy is more influenced by temperature while the mallard type are controlled by day length. Others produce mostly in the spring and taper off during the heat of summer, the Muscovy just keeps on going until it becomes too cool... I hope this was some help. BTW I am not sure how many hens you have but probablly only one will be allowed to nest In the dog house or maybe yours are pigheaded and will nest where ever they please. You can steal eggs before they go broody but once they set they are usually very protective of their nests. ~gd
gd gave you some good advice; the ony thing I would add is that Muscovy males are at times not fertile until they are older (closer to 2). It depends on the individual bird. Just because he's mating doesn't mean he's fertile yet.
