Semi-wild muscovy duck questions

[Miss Lydia]

She's adorable. Your doing better than I and I have had my Muscovy for many years. They will eat out of my hand but are not fond of being petted. I am glad to see she has settled in so well.

 

[SolarDuck]

I'm sure her seeing how my other girls behave around me has helped a lot. Whenever I walk outside those 2 always run right up for pets and they can't get enough.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's so precious!

 

[SolarDuck]

I figured I'd update this today because I believe it is her birthday! I found them on Christmas and they were no more than a few days old so her birthday is for sure at least within a couple days of today. She seems to be doing well they are all out there hanging out all day, but she still kinda seems like a third wheel to the other 2. Especially when I go outside because the other 2 come right up to me but she still mostly tries to keep her distance from me, but she wants to stay close to the others. Here is a little video of what I mean lol

I am hoping that maybe at some point I will take in another muscovy girl that could hopefully bond very well with her. When I go out to check on them a couple times every night my other 2 are always right next to each other snuggling it up and she is nearby. Still though she seems to be getting along with them pretty well hopefully I can get some eggs from her soon!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They will accept her more as time goes by my 13 yr old lived in a separate area with her drake and rarely had contact with my other Muscovy because the other drakes picked on my old one When he died in 2016 I put her in with my others and it took about 6 months before she was totally accept. Especially by my drake. But even now with her the oldest and getting where her legs aren’t so strong any longer she’s still part of that family and even has one Scovy female who is her best friend. So give it time. She’s made great progress with them and you❤

 

[SolarDuck]

it took about 6 months before she was totally accept. Especially by my drake. But even now with her the oldest and getting where her legs aren’t so strong any longer she’s still part of that family and even has one Scovy female who is her best friend. So give it time. She’s made great progress with them and you❤

Alright thank you! I suppose I will just keep the 3 for now. I have room for 4, but I think I will just wait until either I find another one abandoned at the park as either a duck or duckling, or until I find someone local with a single muscovy hen to rehome, or maybe even just let one of the girls hatch out a fertile egg bought from elsewhere if they ever go broody. Do you have any idea of when I can expect to get eggs from her? And from my other 2 for that matter they are both around 7 months old now.

 

[KaleIAm]

I figured I'd update this today because I believe it is her birthday! I found them on Christmas and they were no more than a few days old so her birthday is for sure at least within a couple days of today. She seems to be doing well they are all out there hanging out all day, but she still kinda seems like a third wheel to the other 2. Especially when I go outside because the other 2 come right up to me but she still mostly tries to keep her distance from me, but she wants to stay close to the others. Here is a little video of what I mean lol

I am hoping that maybe at some point I will take in another muscovy girl that could hopefully bond very well with her. When I go out to check on them a couple times every night my other 2 are always right next to each other snuggling it up and she is nearby. Still though she seems to be getting along with them pretty well hopefully I can get some eggs from her soon!

Happy hatchday!!

Your ducks are so sweet!!

 

[SolarDuck]

Her feathers are growing back almost completely white they were all black before

I'm still a bit worried about her trying to fly away again once they grow back completely. Is there any way to prevent flight other than clipping? Maybe like strapping something to her wing? I think if she did manage to fly away this time she probably wouldn't give me a chance to grab her again and bring her back.

Also my backyard backs up to a path and its only a couple houses away from a very busy road so I am kind of worried that while the feathers are coming in she would maybe be able to jump my back fence to the path, and if she did get on the path it would be extremely hard for me to catch her without driving her into the busy road.

 

[KaleIAm]

Her feathers are growing back almost completely white they were all black before

I'm still a bit worried about her trying to fly away again once they grow back completely. Is there any way to prevent flight other than clipping? Maybe like strapping something to her wing? I think if she did manage to fly away this time she probably wouldn't give me a chance to grab her again and bring her back.

My understanding is that aside from wing feather trimming you can pinion, which is permanent and should be done by a vet. I've assisted in this procedure and it was pretty awful - like declawing a cat but with no anesthetic for the chicks. I don't actually know much about it in adults. Anyway, look it up.

 

[SolarDuck]

My understanding is that aside from wing feather trimming you can pinion, which is permanent and should be done by a vet. I've assisted in this procedure and it was pretty awful - like declawing a cat but with no anesthetic for the chicks. I don't actually know much about it in adults. Anyway, look it up.

Eek sounds a bit intense I don't think I would want to do that unless it was the only option.