Muscovy nesting questions

[muscovymommy11]

my male Muscovy has been acting aggressive towards me and everything except his 2 ladies. I ope it is just because of breeding season. I have two female Muscovy's that are 10 months old and are with a drake 24/7. I just today found two nests with their feathers in it. I have not seen my ducks mate, but I only see them on the weekends because I work from dark to dark. How soon should I expect to find some eggs? I am letting my girls set on their eggs when they have them so I can have some babies. This is my first time breeding ducks and I am very nervous and anxious. Please help

 

[Snownoir]

My scovies started mating many months ago and they will be a year beginning of May. So they're the same age as yours. The girls on top (I had 5 girls and 2 drakes) were the only ones laying and had been for months (to my surprise). 3 of the 5 hens went broody before Spring arrived. They all gave up their first time around. 1 of the hens went broody again in February and hatched out 17 ducklings. 1 died shortly after hatching and another the next day.

Where are you located? I'm in Texas, DFW area.

I'm wondering if you're seeing down because of molting. But I think they're all different, as my girls never pulled down until there were quite a bit of eggs in the nest.

 

[muscovymommy11]

I saw very little down. I Am located in eastern Washington so it just started getting warm. How long after you first see a nest do they start laying? And what is broody??

 

[crittermomma78]

I noticed my muscovies mating just this week! Last year my girls were sitting on a nest of eggs in April but they never hatched. I think the weather was still too cold. They tried again right away and the second try hatched over a dozen ducklings. Since they're pulling feathers for a nest I think you could start seeing eggs any time now! They'll collect about a dozen before they sit on them.

Consider keeping them closed in once the babies hatch, or even taking the babies to raise yourself. One year my duck lead her babies outside and left 3/4 of them out in the rain. I lost a lot of them that time.

Oh, broody means the instinct to sit and hatch eggs.

 

[Going Quackers]

I would get the aggressive tendency towards you in check, NOT acceptable. I have had a lot of 'scovie drakes i don't care what season it is there better be no issues with me.

As for the rest, depends a lot on the birds, the temps and so forth... usually you'll see down plucked out when there serious but of coarse molting is a possibility due to spring arriving. How many eggs they sit on will vary, my last lady sat on 5 eggs through the end of a winter, it resulted in 4 eggs hatching, so i have 4 almost 3wk old babies right now.

If your not around you may not see the breeding taking place, it would be unlikely that it wouldn't be at some time or another... i cannot honestly say if i recall my duck who just had the brood breeding and i am here a lot but it's not this long courtship so can be missed.

Up till the babies hatching which is about 32-35 days, i leave the mama duck alone, i don't do anything different, she'll come off the nest to forage, eat.. join the flock for a bit etc.. as hatching draws closer she won't as often and almost not at when hatching is about to begin.

When babies are due to hatch, i am prepared to block her off giving her access to feed/water that is compatible with young and usually in non winter times leave it at that. Since i own drakes, i feel it's important she feels and is secure with new hatchlings so the fencing off is important, sadly some drakes can kill ducklings, now i don't think mine would but why take a chance?

Unfortunately, this time 'round because of winter i had to move my duck & her brood to be able to use a heatlamp our temps were not of the state for her to maintain their warmth or even her own, but generally i don't move them.

Now some will down size nests, especially for 1st timers to increase the odds, i have not done this... and my birds are not first timers anymore either.

Good luck! May i also recommend Storey's guide to ducks, there is info on breeding!