Ready to get some more ducks, scovies???

[fowlsessed]

So after the attack last year I'm ready to get some more ducks. What do you guys think of some muscovies. I'm not looking for eggs or meat, just something tame, broody and that loves to forage about.
Thanks for ANY input.

Oh yea, how much longer does it take Scovie duck eggs to hatch VS. ducks of mallard decent?

 

[sourland]

I am prejudiced in favor of muscovies. I find them to be entertaining, inquisitive - excellent broodies and mothers and constant foragers. Muscovy eggs generally take 35 days to hatch.


Also, if you eat duck, they are excellent for that.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yep, my scovies take 35 days.

 

[Going Quackers]

Well (for now) they are the only duck breed i own. I would definitely, say they are good for your tame, foraging, broody desires. Mine are here for eggs and pest control.

Now, it's important to realize a few things.. one being the ducks fly and well, my girls clear the 5ft fence that surrounds their barn. Obviously, i don't clip this is a personal preference thing, i do free range my birds so i want their defenses at the highest but others who have differing arrangements may choose otherwise. Next the drakes are BIG boys, so if you choose to mix gender your flock be prepared for that, and i mean from a housing standpoint, Muscovy are a heavyweight bird and do take up room. Lastly, claws lol they have really, really big claws, they use these to climb and that starts at a young aging btw and to roost, now i'll put it simply i NEVER handle a 'scovie without long sleeves and heavy gloves, just not worth it.. mine are all tame but a quick swoosh with that foot will slice through and trust me it's worse than a cardboard cut.

After that, general ducky care is pretty much standard .. if your a cold climate you may want to apply Vaseline to the facial flesh to reduce cracking/frostbite but that is the only other perhaps not 'standard' duck care. Mine love water and we keep kiddy pools BUT they are not massive floating, swimming ducks, preferring to splash, dive and quickie bathe but water is still vital to keep feathers clean and IMO the overall health of the bird in top form.

As a general the breed is well known for it's broodiness, i have experienced this first hand as we let some nests sit last summer, that said there is always the chance to have a duck who thinks the concept is not for her lol I have one who is definitely NOT a broody, has never sat a nest nor even once tried.

As for foraging, excellent imo/ime... we hit +temps a week and a half ago mine were troopers walking all over the place to forage, yet truly it is/was winter so who knows what they were finding, i gather hibernating bugs point is they were full on. They are well documented for the fly eating, and this starts at only a few days old.

They are also considered one of the most quiet breeds of ducks, the males only hiss/huff and females generally lean towards trilling, cooing and chirping but are capable of quacking and hissing too but this is less frequent.

Incubation period i'll have to double check but my brain is saying in the mid 30's and higher, it is longer than Mallard derived ducks and just an FYI if a 'scovie breeds with a Mallard derived bird the offspring are sterile(mules)

I think there a good choice of duck, i have no complaints.. and had no difficulties with mine. I'll add a couple of pics but won't bomb the thread with an album lol Hope this novel helped...



This is Lilly my most dedicated mama duck of the flock.. and some of the ducklings from last year.



This is spot my oldest & biggest drake, a total sweetheart.



These are Lilly(again) Dusty(middle) and Frey at the lead(she's the non broody one)



This is my other drake(BD- stands for black drake, yep so creative around here)

Lilac is in my avatar...



These are my youngest, a chocolate trio... they have silly names, that i cannot recall so i call them the 'chocolate box' these i purchased @ 2wks old they were not hatched here.



The one in the background is the other chocolate i have, she is known as "CR"(stands for chocolate ripple) she was hatched here and that is one of her brothers in front(he was sold last fall)

HA, think i did end up over picturing but hey, at least you got variety and can see all the colours lol I 'only' have 10 now but have had into the high teens at one point.

 

[fowlsessed]

Thanks for the replies and all the info GQ! Great pics, too. I think I like them, now to see if I can find some locally.
Do they ever let you pet them and stuff?

 

[Going Quackers]

Thanks for the replies and all the info GQ! Great pics, too. I think I like them, now to see if I can find some locally.
Do they ever let you pet them and stuff?

Your welcome and thank you.

Here to give an idea lol now of coarse it depends on how 'in your pocket' you want your ducks to be but since i have kids.. they are forced to be more social sometimes

That is my drake spot with my son...



That is chocolate ripple(the only duck we got last year lol) and my oldest...

 

[kuntrygirl]

Be careful when the girls start laying and hatching. If you're as lucky (NOT) as I was, you could possibly get 80 males in 1 year. That was NOT a good year.

 

[fowlsessed]

Oh, that's cute. And that's the tame I'm talking about!!
Thanks again.

 

[jdywntr]

I love my muscovy too. I do have to say that you need to work at the level of tameness that Going Quackers has. They aren't just tame. I don't handle mine at all unless I need to. That being said, my drake will let me pet him, sometimes. The hens are not fond of touching. If you handle them more often when they are young, they will be pretty tame though. A broody or mother muscovy is another story altogether. My first hen was actually pretty good, my current mother. Watch out. You touch her babies and she will come flying at you. But thats okay with me. She's a good mom.



I'm in N Alabama, 30 minutes south of Huntsville. I got my current birds about 2 hours south of here. I do see them alot on craigslist, even in south TN. So I think you should be able to find some, maybe not at this time of year unless others have girls like mine. One hatched 13 on 12/5 and another just went broody a few days ago.

The other 2 started laying a week or so ago. Crazy girls. I'm about 90% sure that of the 13 ducklings, 5 are girls and the rest boys. I raise them for meat though and have been out for a few months now so I can't wait!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I don't handle mine either. Too many to try to handle.