Thinking about getting Muscovies

[bhaugh]

They will get their own pen, but just curious if I can just buy a chicken coop and use it for them or if they need specialize housing. Hawks are the biggest predator we have inside city limits, so they will need to have the top of the pen covered anyway so that will work out. Would you suggest a chicken coop to secure them, or is there a type of housing that they would prefer?

How many could comfortably fit in a 15x15 pen?

I’ve never had a chicken coup for any of my birds so I can’t answer that

 

[Miss Lydia]

You don't lock your poultry up at night for their safety?

 

[bhaugh]

You don't lock your poultry up at night for their safety?

I live urban so there isn’t the need and I have a block wall surrounding my property. I do put birds to bed and confine them but I’ve never used a traditional coop. I have dogs to chase off cats and haven’t seen coyotes in my neighborhood ever. I do have hawks but the birds run for cover when they’re flying around.

 

[Luv Ducks]

My two Muscovy ducks like my Chicken coop with a steep ramp and go into it to lay an egg at times. They also like a big dog pen that has a covered roof and tarped sides with wood shavings on the floor. I don't pen any of mine up at night as they have a covered pen and lots of places to sleep. My Nite-Guard fixtures on all sides of the pen seem to keep them safe along with my dogs as I have never lost any to predators. They have never wanted to roost on anything as they are with all types of Mallard breeds and have just decided to be like them.

 

[bhaugh]

I will add I’ve always wanted a big traditional coop but they are expensive and my carpentry skills are not the best. No husband to do it for me. I’d love to be able to have a swamp cooler attached so the birds could go in and escape the heat. This year the quail will have frozen water bottles to lay next to and their pen is on the porch (they are in the ground) with all my plants to help them stave on what’s coming for heat.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I’ve never had a chicken coup for any of my birds so I can’t answer that

I have a Chicken coop that my neighbor gave me for my birds plus all of the other coops in the enclosure and the Muscovy ducks I have will climb the ramp and use it even though the ramp is narrow and steep. They go up to the top to lay their eggs in fact.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I will add I’ve always wanted a big traditional coop but they are expensive and my carpentry skills are not the best. No husband to do it for me. I’d love to be able to have a swamp cooler attached so the birds could go in and escape the heat. This year the quail will have frozen water bottles to lay next to and their pen is on the porch (they are in the ground) with all my plants to help them stave on what’s coming fo

I have been fortunate to be able to build my own pen with 6' high dog panels. I do have a husband but he is not interested in the ducks. They are my hobby and responsibility. I put it up next to my house and I think that also keeps predators away. He wanted it in the back of our property but as long as I am not 6' under that is not happening. We have a lot of Hawks and racoons in our area. There are two trees that are in the large pen and when it gets hot the ducks stay under them or in the shade from all of the houses in the pen. Most of my houses in the pen with the exception of the pet gazebo and the large dog kennel were given to me by people no longer wanting the birds. My birds seem to adapt to any type of housing that I furnish for them. They are not enclosed in a house at night and make up their own minds where they want to sleep. Good luck with yours.

 

[holiday hawk]

Would something this work well as a coop for 4-5 hens? I could seal up all the openings with hardware cloth.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Would something this work well as a coop for 4-5 hens? I could seal up all the openings with hardware cloth.

Where are you at? I put tarps around my pet gazebo and dog kennel that is inside my big enclosure. Also would they have a run to go with that? If so you could probably make that work. I like things that are not wood so that they will last longer. My dog encloser pens are 6' tall and 3'wide and about 8'long. It is made of welded wire and has a gate and such. I have enclosed it in tarps to keep the wind out and they go in there at times to lay their eggs. My yard is not the prettiest with all of my concoctions for my ducks but the ducks and I don't mind and people think its really neat that come to see them.

 

[CassidyCash]

We have muscovies and they are my favorite breed of duck. They are quiet (quackless ducks) and they are nice/friendly. They can fly, as others have mentioned, but you can clip one of their wings once a year to prevent them from flying off and that's often a more practical approach than building a coop/run that's enclosed with a roof. If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, your vet can do it for you. Our local very does farm calls and can the wings when they are coming out to do shots on the dogs and other animals once a year.

Muscovies don't need specialty vet care monthly (like flea treatment, for example), but I do think there are requirements in England for how to store their food and water containers to prevent wild bird contamination/spread of avian flu. I'm not aware of those restrictions here, so I'm not sure what to tell you about how to setup your duck enclosure but I'm sure, being located in England, you will have more ready access to that information than I do.

OH--- and if you have 250 sq ft per duck in open yard space, you don't have to feed them, they can eat enough grass and bugs in that amount of space to feed themselves. Of course, if it gets cold, you may want to supplement over the winter. Where I live the climate is mild 9 months/year, but we do have to offer them feed in the winter months when the grass isn't growing. (Alternatively, you could save up grass clippings and grow your own worms, but all that is, as they say, another can of worms for another day)

Muscovies are not like other ducks, though, and they do roost. In fact, mine prefer to roost and get upset if that option isn't available. I don't know if this is true for all muscovies, but ours seem to like being close to humans and were happiest when their house was placed close to our house. We have a mated pair, and the drake runs predatory birds off (I've seen him do it), so having an aggressive drake is helpful. Ours has never been aggressive towards humans, in fact, he eats right out of our hand and is a joy to have around. Our female muscovy makes a great mom. I think you'll really enjoy having them.
They are GREAT at pest management, too. They love to eat bugs and we haven't had to spray our house for bugs since having the ducks outside.

The only negatives I can think to warn you about would be that our drake doesn't distinguish between female ducks and female chickens, and he thought it was his duty to mate with our chickens as well (which is dangerous--ducks and chickens don't have matching sex organs/orifices, so it can damage the chicken for him to do that) so we had to separate our ducks and chickens. I've read that's not an issue with all ducks, or even all Muscovies, so this may just be our drake's particular attitude.

I hope all that helps!

My kids love the chickens, otherwise I would get rid of the chickens and have only muscovies. I think they're wonderful. I wish you the best with them!