Muscovys--Worth It Or Not?

[gatrapper]

Hey Y'all,

I have raised ducks (pekin, silver appleyard, and khaki campbells) for the past several years. I enjoy raising ducks for their eggs and meat.

I have looked at purchasing muscovy ducks for the past few years, but have never pulled the trigger.

I have heard that they eat significantly more than other ducks, is this true? Would they be better off free ranging versus in a pen?

Additionally, I felt like they would just cost more to have around because they aren't great layers and only seem to hatch out young during a certain time of the year. This would result in them not producing eggs or meat for a quarter to half of the year.

Your input and thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[neo71665]

When we had em they free ranged and yes they ate way more than the mallards. Ours were given to us and we didn't know anything about them at the time. They roamed all over the place and roosted on top of our sheds. The mallards roosted in the trees at the pond. Personally I didn't think they were near as good eating as the mallards and will never own them again.

Best of luck if you decided to go with 'em.

 

[lost-duckling]

I love them and free range is the way to go.

 

[DukesDucks]

Absolutely you should get Muscovy ducks. Might be a little biased as I have 10 of them - 2 drakes and 8 females. Mine free range during the day but are safely locked into coop at night.
You don't say where you are. I'm in Eastern Ontario with cold snowy winters and my ducks don't lay for about 4 months. When they are laying the eggs are huge. The first year, when I had only my first bonded pair, they raised 9 out of 11 eggs in the clutch. Now I sell the eggs because I use the broody ducks to sit on my peacock eggs but that's another story.
I have found them delicious. All dark meat and non-fatty.
Can't speak about whether they are more expensive food wise because I have never had another kind.
The girls are good flyers and have roosted in my trees and on the garage. Never had a problem getting them to come down when needed. Males are too heavy to get off the ground much.
How could you not love this face?

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Oh, I think they are definitely worth it! I’ve had my two Muscovy hens for about 3 years now. I honestly think my Rouens eat far more than my ‘Scovies, and the ‘Scovy girls hunt and eat “big game” like barn mice.

It’s true that they don’t lay as many eggs as other ducks as they lay a clutch, brood, repeat until fall, at which point they take a nice long break. However, they are less likely to have laying issues. I’ve never seen anything other than a 100% perfect egg from my Muscovy girls.

Also, they have so much more personality than other breeds.

I can not say anything about their meat as mine are not for eating!

The only problems I have with my two girls arise when they are broody or molting, at which point they become very grumpy for a bit. That’s it. They are perfect otherwise!

Note: Mine free-range under loose supervision (whenever anyone is home) and sleep in a barn at night. They do not have their wings clipped simply as one can not fly, and her sister has no intentions of leaving home to be a solo duck.

Oh, one more note: I have noticed that my Muscovy girls tolerate the cold far less than my Rouens. They haven’t had any physical problems like frost bite, but they definitely huddle together and count down the days until spring. Where I live gets down to -20 degrees Fahrenheit often at nighttime in January and February. I’m not sure where you live, but I thought I’d mention that!

 

[Going Quackers]

I have only ever free ranged mine, i personally don't find them suitable for penning up overall. They were my first step into birds period basically a decade ago now. I have owned dozens, upon dozens of them(scovies) sold, bought, bred, eggs the whole thing.. Can't comment on the meat end as i don't eat duck but hear they are of good quality for duck meat.

The are well known to be VERY broody, they breed like rabbits imo.. and are also documented for their fly eating abilities... that was mainly why i kept them fly/pest control.

Eating wise.. hmm.. i don't know i free range mine so i haven't found them to be excessive but then i also had Pekin lol. They range well mine are gone right now first thing and don't even wait to be fed.

Personally,overall i will say they are aggressive and territorial i don't mean go after you type i mean with each other and other birds, i only have 4 Scovies left of my original flock... but i still have fights between them.. then they'll be seen all grouped together.

Not as winter hardy IME , mind the facial fleshing for frostbite and their feet. They also tend not to be the most co operative in being locked up(territorial, aggression plays a role in this)

Laying wise, i think they are pretty good, but other breeds are most definitely more prolific. Mine used to come out of lay by later fall and resume early spring, some came in as early as Feb i had a lady set a clutch in Feb.

Mine were of out absolutely prolific lines, one lady had a clutch of 20 in the spring and then did another almost a dozen come fall.

They fly ..the females and well, so will young males.. generally the boys slow off as they fatten up over the years... I do enjoy the way they wag their tails and are not nearly as loud (females) as many other breeds I have stepped out of the breed overall though and only recently acquired a female again after not having any for the last 4yrs.. she is with my Pekin drake though as a companion and true to scovie form is now on a nest...

 

[Going Quackers]

Absolutely you should get Muscovy ducks. Might be a little biased as I have 10 of them - 2 drakes and 8 females. Mine free range during the day but are safely locked into coop at night.
You don't say where you are. I'm in Eastern Ontario with cold snowy winters and my ducks don't lay for about 4 months. When they are laying the eggs are huge. The first year, when I had only my first bonded pair, they raised 9 out of 11 eggs in the clutch. Now I sell the eggs because I use the broody ducks to sit on my peacock eggs but that's another story.
I have found them delicious. All dark meat and non-fatty.
Can't speak about whether they are more expensive food wise because I have never had another kind.
The girls are good flyers and have roosted in my trees and on the garage. Never had a problem getting them to come down when needed. Males are too heavy to get off the ground much.
How could you not love this face?View attachment 2626470

Very nice. So many are afraid of them, i guess they think they look "mean" or so i have been told lol.

 

[quackingdom]

I only have Muscovies and no Mallard-derived ducks, but I suspect my chickens eat more than my ducks. Muscovies may eat more than some ducks simply because they're a large breed. I doubt they eat more than Pekins.

My flock eats 1/4 to 1/5 of a pound per day per bird. This flock consists of geese, Muscovies, and chickens, but more than half of the birds are Muscovies.

Yes, they're better off free-ranging. They are good foragers and are very active. They're also smarter than chickens and regular ducks, so I think they need more mental stimulation as well.

From what I've read, it's practical to keep Muscovies for their meat. This article may interest you:

https://smallfarmersjournal.com/one-farmers-guide-to-raising-ducks-for-meat/

Pekins are undoubtedly the best meat duck, but this article says Muscovies are their closest rival. It says a Muscovy drake dresses out at 6.5 to 7.5 pounds at 16 weeks. This corresponds with my experience, although we don't use them for meat much. We only butcher the extra drakes from our yearly hatch. Honestly, I don't love Muscovy meat, but a lot of people seem to like it.

They're not so practical to raise for their eggs, but we do it anyway because their eggs are amazing. Some strains of Muscovies are better layers than others (some only lay 60-80 eggs a year, others lay 120-180). Mine are definitely on the low end, but they typically have one clutch every month or so, and each clutch typically consists of 7-20 eggs.

Mine do not go broody on every clutch. In fact, some of mine almost never go broody. But I usually break them up when they do. They're far easier to break up than chickens, in my experience.

Mine have gone broody at pretty much every time of year except when molting, but we do live in a tropical climate.

They are friendly, quiet, have a lot of personality, and are extremely hardy. They also don't need as much swimming water as Mallard-derived ducks. It's true that they're not as winter-hardy as other ducks, but they're comparable to chickens.

I absolutely love them.

Hope this gives you some insight.

 

[Val97016]

Hey Y'all,

I have raised ducks (pekin, silver appleyard, and khaki campbells) for the past several years. I enjoy raising ducks for their eggs and meat.

I have looked at purchasing muscovy ducks for the past few years, but have never pulled the trigger.

I have heard that they eat significantly more than other ducks, is this true? Would they be better off free ranging versus in a pen?

Additionally, I felt like they would just cost more to have around because they aren't great layers and only seem to hatch out young during a certain time of the year. This would result in them not producing eggs or meat for a quarter to half of the year.

Your input and thoughts would be much appreciated!

I also raise khaki, Saxony, Appleyard's and many other ducks. I love my Saxony and Muscovy ducks. They are my New stock duck the past 2 years. Depending on how many eggs a day/year you need. I find there a bigger nicer egg. If you need meat they hatch 20+ a clutch on there own take away the babies and Mom will produce another clutch to hatch. Mine hatch from spring to fall. last one last year was October.

Mine live on 5 acres and Turkeys/Saxony's Eat more then the Muscovy's. To me they are worth it but we all have our own systems that work for us. I do not clip anyone's wings and I have had more add to my flock. lol

 

[Krystal1983]

I got muscovies this year. I have 3. They are only 3 weeks old but I ADORE them. They have the calmest sweetest personalities. One of them really likes me more than the others and will just sit on my chest and rest her head on my shoulder. If for meat IDK. Personally for me I am so attached I dont think I can slaughter any of them. Although if I got males that was my intention. I have to admit. They do seem to eat a lot and grow very quickly. But I only have mallards to compare to and they are babies still as well. But the same age. I also just got 2 pekin and 1 rouin. As you can see the muscovies are noticeably bigger than the rest. I got mine mainly for pets and eggs not really for meat and I was more focused on friendly than anything. The mallards I wound up getting because when I went to Wilco for appleyards they had sold out and all they had were mallards. But I am determined to make the mallards friendly. Lol Anyway...muscovies are great and easy. I hope you get some. I dont think you would regret it.