Super dumb question about muscovies

[Sonia]

Are they bred for egg or meat production?

 

[DuckLady]

Scovies are good for both, I hear. I have never eaten one. They also make darn good pets.

 

[Sonia]

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[MissPrissy]

You should be aware that if a muscovy is cross bred with another kind of duck the offspring will be sterile and you will have no fertile eggs. If you plan to raise these they must be pure muscovy to keep a pair for breeding eggs to hatch.

 

[Sonia]

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[Omniskies]

Their razor sharp claws are no worse than a cat's. If you'll let your kids hold a kitten then I don't see why the can't hold a Muscovy.

I really, really didn't like Muscovies until I broke down and bought some to try out. Now I'm smitten with them. They're quiet and extremely tame (we bought ours untouched at a month or two old and they still mellowed out). They will walk straight up to you and stand on their toes, neck stretched out while wagging their long tail. Unlike the other breeds I've had, the Muscovies aren't high strung or skittish when they aren't handled. I have a couple dozen that are quite content to laze around in a sunny patch of grass and look up at you with a "what?" expression when you try to get them to move. I'm prefering that over our others who only ran toward you when they saw you put down feed.

Muscovies are only kinda good for egg production. They are seasonal layers and will lay 30-60+ eggs a year. They are extremely broody with an incredible hatch rate (I've heard of a ton of stories of Muscovy hens sitting on 20-22 eggs and hatching all but one or two). If you take the ducklings away when they hatch then you can get up to three clutches a year.

If you want them for meat, they're supposed to taste a lot like veal. They don't grow as quickly as a Pekins do but the meat overall isn't as greasy.

Don't worry about the good and bad points about Muscovies until you've raised them yourself. I've heard a lot of horror stories about evil drakes and killer claws. My drake, who I bought untouched by people at a year old, is an absolute sweetheart and happily struts silently around his ladies. The killer claws have gotten me a couple of times, but I've also been clawed by our wire cages, a spastic old hen that used my head as a lift off point and a full grown goose that wanted to sleep on my shoulder.

Good luck with yours.

 

[MissPrissy]

Excellent points!

My muscovy's were gentle and tame. They loved their pool and the drake would come to me and look up as if to say, "Hi!". Ever seen a beaky smile? LOL

 

[gervais22]

there probably the bets type of duck (personality, there excellent brooders, good for eggs and meat. but a bit ugly lol!

 

[conny63malies]

Quote:
couldnt agree more. I have three that a roaming my backyard. they are just as relaxed as they could be. sometimes my DD(almost 3) catches one to pet it and she never got hurt. Yes their claws are alot like a cats claw in size and shape , but their temperament is more that of a old lame bullmastiff "huh what , you want me to move , now??"

 

[Sonia]

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