New Muscovy Ducks

jak2002003

Crowing
13 Years
Oct 24, 2009
3,155
1,324
446
Thailand
Any advise from you guys about some potential new muscovy ducks?

A friend of mine has offered several of these ducks to me for free, as he has too many and he knows I used to keep pekin ducks as pets on the small lake outside my house.

Can I simply clip the muscovy ducks wings and release them onto the lake? They will be young adult birds.

When I had my pekin ducks, I raised them from chicks and gradually introduced them to the lake. They would walk up my driveway at 4.30pm every day for food and I would lock them up in a crate for the night.

I am worried the muscovy ducks will simply wander off into the fields. Also are they aware of predators? My pekin ducks were very clever and always kept a look out for any dogs or strange people. If they saw something they would quickly go onto the water.

Thanks for any advise.
 
I have no pond or lake experience as we have none here, however all my Muscovy free range and then get shut in a barn at night... none of my birds are clipped actually.

They are no different than any other duck once fallen into routine. Of coarse there is always the risk of a duck not returning.. but that is more about the individual duck.
 
I would consider feeding them for several days in a coop or other enclosed area so they know where "home" is and have a good motivation for coming back to it (food).

Also, Muscovies are not as cold-tolerant as many standard duck breeds, so depending on where you live, you might need to give them extra care during the winter.
 
Thank you everyone. I think I will coop them with my chickens for a few days so they forget about their old home. Then I will herd them down to the lake. I am very excited about having some ducks again!
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I am in Northern Thailand, so the cold weather will not be a problem. I just worry about dogs. I hope they will have the sense to swim out onto the lake when a dog approaches and not just sit on the bank. I only ever lost one duckling to a dog attack in all the years keeping the last lot of ducks.

I had me Pekin ducks for years and they actually nested under the shrubs on a small island, and used to raise their own chicks But then I started to loose one duck a week and I could not figure out what was happening. From my 7 ducks I was left with 4. Then one night I spotted a python in the process of swallowing a duck! After that I was too afraid to keep my remaining ones so I re homed them. That was a few years ago......so I am pretty sure the snakes has gone away to look for other food by now (hope so).
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Also big snakes don't usually last long around my village. If they are spotted they are killed and made into a curry!
 

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