Muscovy questions

[Sami's Mommy]

Sorry I keep cluttering up this space!
Okay so I have decided to get muscovys after some thought and I had a few questions. okay a lot of questions! I am hoping to get girls and I will only be getting two.
1. At how many weeks are they fully grown with their adult feathers?
2. At how many weeks do they start laying eggs?
3. Is there anyway to tell boys from girls as ducklings?
4. Would they do okay in a 10 gallon aquarium for the first week or two? ( with an under tank heating pad and a heat alight above them)
5. Do they really need a pool?
6. How much space would they need in a house to be locked in at night? (Height too please)
7. How much run space do they need? (Minimum)
8. What's the best method to keep them from flying?
9. What's the best feed to give them?
10. Could they possibly hold their own to a lab mix and share the fence or would they need to have their own fence?
11. Would they be okay sharing a fenced in yard with small children?
12. Can they be shown at county fairs?
13. If yes to 12, in which class?
14. Would the little bit on noise they make be enough to bother neighbors in an average small town neighborhood?
15. Will they be friendly if raised from babies?

 

[Sami's Mommy]

Also will they claw at me if we have tamed them from babies?

 

[Going Quackers]

Sorry I keep cluttering up this space!
Okay so I have decided to get muscovys after some thought and I had a few questions. okay a lot of questions! I am hoping to get girls and I will only be getting two.
1. At how many weeks are they fully grown with their adult feathers?

2. At how many weeks do they start laying eggs?

3. Is there anyway to tell boys from girls as ducklings?

4. Would they do okay in a 10 gallon aquarium for the first week or two? ( with an under tank heating pad and a heat alight above them)

5. Do they really need a pool?

6. How much space would they need in a house to be locked in at night? (Height too please)

7. How much run space do they need? (Minimum)

8. What's the best method to keep them from flying?

9. What's the best feed to give them?

10. Could they possibly hold their own to a lab mix and share the fence or would they need to have their own fence?

11. Would they be okay sharing a fenced in yard with small children?

12. Can they be shown at county fairs?

13. If yes to 12, in which class?

14. Would the little bit on noise they make be enough to bother neighbors in an average small town neighborhood?

15. Will they be friendly if raised from babies?

Yes, mine are personable, spend time with them, treats.. they love food, my current babies come running to me for the romaine.. and if you've ever seen a duck run, it's pretty funny.

 

[Going Quackers]

Also will they claw at me if we have tamed them from babies?

They don't claw at anyone? that said those suckers are sharp, gloves and long sleeves recommended, they are sharp by day 2-3.. seriously enough so they stick to you like a kitten does lol I can handle all my birds and that includes two drakes but again gloves for sure.

 

[Sami's Mommy]

By about 2.5-3mths there feathered and pretty sizable, mind you i find a feather change after the first molt.. the drakes sorta fill out after a few months after that too.
So they would be fully feathered with adult feathers by fair if I got them this weekend as babies (16 weeks)

That is pretty small, ducks grow fast..and i mean fast, i have a 10Gal right in my view for my fish, i think it's too small, there are threads on brooder ideas, i'd try a search for ideas.
It would be too small for them in their first week? It's just two and I don't want them to have too much space and get cold. We will be moving next weekend so this way they will be in a small enclosed space that's easy to move that the cats can't get to. I can move them into something bigger once we get to the new house next Friday night.

2-6sqft per bird is storey's guide to ducks recommendation. Height is up to you, mine is full height but it house 14 Muscovy and i like for my own comfort to be able to walk in. I also have a shelf, the girls like to roost.
As roomy as you can do, they love to play in the mud and love water, i free range but i have a 1/3 of acre fenced around their mini barn.
So will a dog house with one of those baby/ puppy pens that are 8 panels of 3 sq feet work? It's about 36' square feet.


Many do a wing clip, like they do with say a budgie there are instructions on this site. I however leave mine full flight as i free range.
We live in town and I can't have them flying away so I guess I will clip their wings. When we had our calls, we clipped their wings once and then never had to again, would that work with the muscovys? Or would I need to repeatedly clip them? I do know how to clip as I have 4 budgies that I clip regularly


What is available to you? For now i use a flock raiser and whole grains, plus they free range. There are many differing methods and types, at first you'll need either duck starter or chick starter(that will need added niacin) or an all flock/flock raiser, read labels and compare.
I will look what is at our local feed store tonight, we just used chicken feed for the calls, it we got them at 13 weeks


Hold their own? what do you mean, dogs can kill ducks.period. You must know your dog before allowing it access to your birds and even then you can never 100% trust them. Mine have been raised around dogs, a full lab being one and are ok but you just never know.
I have heard some things in places about how they fight with other animals. Basically I meant will they probably run or hold their ground when she originally meets them?


Sharing how? there not attack ducks lol I don't have small kids, mine are all older but they mingle about the place, they go in with my horses and never bother the farm cat, they just go about their business.
Like as in be in the backyard free to run around, but they daycare plays out there at outside time.

 

[Going Quackers]

By about 2.5-3mths there feathered and pretty sizable, mind you i find a feather change after the first molt.. the drakes sorta fill out after a few months after that too.
So they would be fully feathered with adult feathers by fair if I got them this weekend as babies (16 weeks)

That is pretty small, ducks grow fast..and i mean fast, i have a 10Gal right in my view for my fish, i think it's too small, there are threads on brooder ideas, i'd try a search for ideas.
It would be too small for them in their first week? It's just two and I don't want them to have too much space and get cold. We will be moving next weekend so this way they will be in a small enclosed space that's easy to move that the cats can't get to. I can move them into something bigger once we get to the new house next Friday night.

2-6sqft per bird is storey's guide to ducks recommendation. Height is up to you, mine is full height but it house 14 Muscovy and i like for my own comfort to be able to walk in. I also have a shelf, the girls like to roost.
As roomy as you can do, they love to play in the mud and love water, i free range but i have a 1/3 of acre fenced around their mini barn.
So will a dog house with one of those baby/ puppy pens that are 8 panels of 3 sq feet work? It's about 36' square feet.


Many do a wing clip, like they do with say a budgie there are instructions on this site. I however leave mine full flight as i free range.
We live in town and I can't have them flying away so I guess I will clip their wings. When we had our calls, we clipped their wings once and then never had to again, would that work with the muscovys? Or would I need to repeatedly clip them? I do know how to clip as I have 4 budgies that I clip regularly


What is available to you? For now i use a flock raiser and whole grains, plus they free range. There are many differing methods and types, at first you'll need either duck starter or chick starter(that will need added niacin) or an all flock/flock raiser, read labels and compare.
I will look what is at our local feed store tonight, we just used chicken feed for the calls, it we got them at 13 weeks


Hold their own? what do you mean, dogs can kill ducks.period. You must know your dog before allowing it access to your birds and even then you can never 100% trust them. Mine have been raised around dogs, a full lab being one and are ok but you just never know.
I have heard some things in places about how they fight with other animals. Basically I meant will they probably run or hold their ground when she originally meets them?


Sharing how? there not attack ducks lol I don't have small kids, mine are all older but they mingle about the place, they go in with my horses and never bother the farm cat, they just go about their business.
Like as in be in the backyard free to run around, but they daycare plays out there at outside time.

Here is one ..my 4mth old drake from a hatch last year...



I don't really feel comfortable with even saying a week... ducklings grow like crazy... do you have a small animal cage? even a pet carrier?

to give an idea.. here these are my newest babies at hatching..


Then a week later




People do use doghouses BUT you must ensure it's predator proof, good venting and keep in mind cleaning ease for you. Puppy pens will be too short, any predator could just get in, plus scovies climb, those claws can be rather useful for that, i would think it would be ok if your right there, i do use small animals penning for young ducklings outside while i am there but otherwise, no. Dog runs are great! i have used one in the past for my mama and ducklings.. it's covered on the top and i have used smaller wire to down the chain link sizing for the first 2-3ft.

You mean pinioning? i only have read about cannot comment, i think a wing clip like budgies would be sufficient.

They don't fight with other animals? see mine have all been raised around the dogs, so they pretty much ignore them, mind you if you mean are they flighty? no. especially drakes.

I see, sure.. as i said accustomed to people, they will go about there business but i would be watchful, kids will be kids and they must not be unkind or threatening to the birds.

 

[Sami's Mommy]

They don't claw at anyone? that said those suckers are sharp, gloves and long sleeves recommended, they are sharp by day 2-3.. seriously enough so they stick to you like a kitten does lol I can handle all my birds and that includes two drakes but again gloves for sure.
So if they are tame will they be able to be picked up without glove? My cat bites when she feels like to so I don't have scratches I have bite marks from her

The only time I saw a duck run was when my calls would run away from me

 

[Going Quackers]

They don't claw at anyone? that said those suckers are sharp, gloves and long sleeves recommended, they are sharp by day 2-3.. seriously enough so they stick to you like a kitten does lol I can handle all my birds and that includes two drakes but again gloves for sure.
So if they are tame will they be able to be picked up without glove? My cat bites when she feels like to so I don't have scratches I have bite marks from her

The only time I saw a duck run was when my calls would run away from me

I wouldn't, they don't use there claws at people, like attack mode BUT the moving of the legs/feet can be enough to go through your skin. Your mostly considering ducks so less an issue as there smaller but my drake one day actually went clear through my glove and sliced my finger open, not intended i was moving him and his leg slipped and right through it went...

I really consider gloves/long sleeves proper practice to avoid injury.

 

[Sami's Mommy]

I will be using the dog house only through the first week in August. I plan to build them a house and show it at fair and they will use it after. I do have a cage, and I wouldn't make them stay in the 10 gal any longer then needed. On Friday they would get a bigger home. I just want them protected from Mattie. She never bugged the chicks last year, but she didn't bite people then either and I don't want to lose them because of that. I will probably let them run around when I'm home in a playpen with a space heater, but they need to be out of her reach which means a closing top. She jumps in the hedgehog's cage and steals his food whenever I'm not home so she will find them if she can.

 

[Going Quackers]

Yes, you must watch dogs with the chirps of young, even mine who are good with the ducks act like idiots with the clutch I have now.. But they peep and are rather interesting in comparison to the older birds, they have zero access to them..