some questions about new muscovy drake...

[BirdBrain]

Get two hens and take pictures when you get home with them. Your drake will be thrilled.

 

[gumbii]

i'll see... this saturday is going to be my birthday... YAY... i think my friend is going to buy me a hen... i don't know if i have room for three huge ducks... they're in a 10'x5'x5' run/coop and are going to have other chickens with them... what do you think...? should i build them a seperate pen..? but space is very VERY limited... i live in the city, not the country side or middle earth...

 

[TurtleFeathers]

When I got muscovies, I was told the drakes don't fly because they're too heavy. Well, Slick evidently didn't get that memo:

Mine run loose (obviously) on a couple acres - I have Slick and three girls. They're so active, I don't know that I could pen them up even if I wanted to. Every now and again, I see them grab a chicken's tail while they're scarfing up scratch, but its nothing serious - mine are housed with a couple dozen LF chickens tho, so I don't know how they would act with bantams. If you can't let yours run loose, I'd build them another bigger pen, just to be on the safe side.

I would get your new guy a couple of girls, at least - the more the merrier. That way all his "affections" won't be concentrated on just one.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
might I suggest that you call or visit the place where you got him? They might tell you where THEY got him (it was probably somewhere locally). Muscovy are technically illegal as pets so that might give you some leverage with the store. They are legal for meat or egg production but the Feds are trying to cut down on the number of muscovy that are dumped or excape to ponds etc in parks and such, that is why the pet rule is there. You already know about the bites but much worse damage can be done by his claws and blows from his wings. They are a roosting duck and the claws are much sharper and longer than the usual land bound ducks. When they really put up a fight they do it much like fighting cocks those claws can really do damage. Also most Muscovy can fly, the hens like other birds and even the heavy drakes can usually manage 100-200 yards at five feet up. of course if he is around land bound birds he may never learn that he can fly though some learn by accident. Some do make good pets, more like a cat than a dog, as they are usually very independent. I would not pick them up but they like treats and mine liked to be strached on the back of his head and neck (away from the bill!)

 

[RavenStorm]

If he was by himself in a cage, it's possible that he was raised all alone is whole life. If all he had was people than he was raised to think he was human. Once this breed hits puberty they need to establish who is the boss in the group, something they usually do with violence and mounting each other. He thinks he's the same as you, and you are bigger than him, so he is going to be constantly jostling for dominance over you. It is also possible that whomever had him before did not treat him well, so now he is wary of humans.

I have this same problem. Last year I picked up a male Muscovy from a couple who bought him alone. They talked about how sweet he was, but that they didn't have time for him anymore. It was such a load. He was hitting puberty and becoming aggressive so they just didn't want to deal with him anymore. They had kept him in a small dog crate whenever they weren't playing with him his entire life. If they didn't, their two giant dogs (who paced around his crate and tried to bite him through the bars constantly) would have killed him. This poor guy was raised to think he was a neglected human in a tiny cage under constant threat of attack; of course he turned out mean now that I have him. I've worked with trying to rehab his attitude for almost a year now. I tried to kill him with kindness and that failed. I tried to show him I was dominant (like you would to a rooster), but he still challenges daily. Yours might turn out to be the same. It would probably really help if you could get him a female or two.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have found that food is the way to a muscovy drakes heart. Mine love w/w bread [not much just a little] and recently one of my drakes has decided he likes meal worms too. just be patient he'll come around, but I agree with the rest he'll be really happy if you get him at least 2 girls. I would not close mine up with the chickens even though they are around them all day It just wouldn't work with mine to be closed up with them.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

the fed law has been changed, though its not final

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! That is the most darling picture!
I'm liking my Muscovy ducks better and better every day. They are friendly and all of my other ducks (Pekins, Swedish, Anconas) are distinctly UNfriendly.
Silly duck tricks, but I can call for "DuckDucks!" and both drakes will fly up for treats ( fence is good place to land, shoulder is not good.).

Quote:

 

[Caprice_Acres]

The hens are much smaller than the drakes, so you won't have three huge ducks wandering around - just one huge drake and 2 small hens.

They're smaller than adult cochin hens. Quieter, too. Females will only whistle and maybe hiss a little, but can make a dry sounding quack very rarely when startled. This is very unusual. They are the quietest animals on my farm, except for my rabbits.

He is likely not aggressive, but is instead likely terrified and stressed out. If he is tame and was raised by people, he may see YOU as his flock and is trying to dominate you. I have a brooder raised drake that bonded to me, that is guilty of this behavior. He bites (not as hard as you describe) and can be a snot sometimes, but is generally a very sweet boy. But, he doesn't understand why I 'challenge' him all the time.

As for flying, they can do so quite well if they develop their wing muscles. If I were you, I'd temporarily pinion him by trimming the flight feathers on ONE of his wings, to make sure he stays grounded. He could then free range if you desired, as long as he has an area to get out of wind/rain and knows where food/water is.

Free ranging is the only way I'll ever raise any poultry, especially muscovies.

Congrats on the 'scovies. I'm sure soon enough you'll have a bunch of them. I wanted a trio to begin with. I now have enough that I haven't counted in a while. I would bet it's over 20, though.

 

[gumbii]

i don't know if i'm going to keep him now... my dog (pit bull) hates him for some reason... i think it's the "hissing" noise... it has to be the hissing noise... he doesn't go after any of my other birds... look...

so, i dunno if i'm going to keep him... :sadface: and i don't want to return him to the feed store... it totally sucks... but i like my birds to free range a wile around my house...

i also don't want to deal with buddha messing up my pen... i guess i'll call up the feedstore tomorrow... i really want to keep him...