Should I switch to muscovy? *UPDATE I found a breeder

[aineheartsyou]

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Like mine, she may even dart into the house from your back door she so wants to be into everything you're doing! LOL

OT but your Etsy items look DELISH!!!

 

[jdywntr]

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Like mine, she may even dart into the house from your back door she so wants to be into everything you're doing! LOL

I do have one drake who will do that. He is friendly but when everyone else panics, so does he.

I am really considering muscovy. I have chickens for eggs but I like the idea of having a meat bird but since I'm in the suburbs, no roosters allowed. I need to find someone local who can show me how to butcher. I don't think I'd have a problem doing it. I would just feel more comfortable with someone with experience showing me.

Now my only problem would be finding homes for all of my runners. I would need to get some ducklings as fall is approaching and I don't want to have to wait til spring.

Anyone who butchers their own? Do you have a preference for white or colored birds? I have read that most store bought are white because they have a "cleaner" look after butchering.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You won't get the eggs from the Muscovy ducks like you get from the runners.

But runners are hardly worth the effort to butcher them. There just isn't much there.

Can you have both?

Or, if noise isn't an issue, the very best for meat production is Pekin, and there are some lines of Pekin that have also been developed for egg production. 120-225 eggs per year.

My Appleyards give a large meaty carcass and they have a very good rate of laying for a large duck. 200-270 eggs per year.

Right now, my 7 week old Pekins are as big as my 3 month old Appleyards. The Pekin are supposed to be 7 pounds at 7 weeks, but I think a couple of them are bigger than that.

Both the Pekins and the Appleyards are very calm natured. The Appleyard is more lean. Pekins will be fatty if they don't get exercise, but they will put on meat instead of fat if they can move around a bit. My Pekins went from goosh to fit as soon as they were moved out of the brooder and let loose.

 

[jdywntr]

No room for both. I think I would prefer to stick to one breed. Noise is an issue, somewhat. Neighbors are close but very understanding. I never had a complaint even when some chickens turned out to be roos and started crowing at all hours of the day.
I like muscovy since they are leaner than some others but also because they are comfortable in the ridiculous Florida heat.

 

[Oregon Blues]

About color: I could care less what color the skin is. I also don't care if there is a bit of pigment left by the pin feathers.

I just butchered Black Swedish and the skin is slightly darker than store birds. So what? I know they are properly cleaned and properly raised and they are completely delicious and very lean, as opposed to store bought duck which is all fat.

Incidentally, I love my Swedish ducks, but they aren't the best to grow to eat. The are small when they are young and they don't have the kind of feed conversion that the Pekin or Appleyard have.

My show line of Swedish are getting decent feed conversion, but at 7 weeks they would be the individual serving size. They are less than half the size of the Pekin the same age.

 

[vfem]

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My pekins are LOUD and they really annoy my neighbor's because they seem me outside and scream until I feed them. However, they are friendly and my female will let me sit and pet her long as I bring her a snack. My muscovy is very quiet!

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Like mine, she may even dart into the house from your back door she so wants to be into everything you're doing! LOL

OT but your Etsy items look DELISH!!!

Thank you!

You can see my BYC peep's get special deals over there...

Ok... back on topic... CUTE DUCKIES!!!

 

[pbjmaker]

Muscovies are very quiet - good choice for the burbs. That is why I have this breed and I really enjoy them.

 

[jdywntr]

Well no local muscovy on BYC. But there are a few listings on craigslist. One looks to be multiple colors. Photos look to have blk & white and chocolate. Hmmmm.

Now, do I wait to sell my runners or just add more ducks? My DH is going to kill me. I could probably sneak them in and he wouldn't notice at first anyway.

 

[featherfinder]

There is a guy close to me with white muscovies.