What age do you retire your muscovies?

[FutureMillionaire]

Since I am new, I haven't culled any of my ducks and drakes. I heard Muscovies can lay eggs up to 12 years. Since I don't use incubators, I have the strategy to use older females who don't lay that much eggs anymore. I will use them as surogate mothers for eggs of young inexperienced ducks and also eggs of other species.

I heard that many Mallard farms retire their layer females after 1 year and sell them as meat. Which is weird since they can lay eggs up to 7 to 9 years based on the internet.

Also How long can a drake seed ducks before he cant make babies anymore?

Do you cull your retired ducks or keep them as pets?

 

[Duck_life]

It all depends. I'll grab an expert @Miss Lydia . My mallards aren't good layers, neither are the muscovies. Muscovies are seasonal layers.

 

[FutureMillionaire]

I raise my muscovies to sell them as breeders. So I am not really a part of the meat market because I cant produce large scale.

In my country they use Mallards, Khaki Campbell, Indian runners, Mongrels ,Pekins and Pateros as layers.

 

[Duck_life]

I raise my muscovies to sell them as breeders. So I am not really a part of the meat market because I cant produce large scale.

In my country they use Mallards, Khaki Campbell, Indian runners, Mongrels ,Pekins and Pateros as layers.

Huh, I have purebred bantam mallards so it might be different than hatchery stock. Khaki's are great layers. If you're looking for a good breed your country doesn't have I'd try apple yards

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy usually stop laying at 8 yrs. It will be interesting to see if my 9 yr olds lay next spring. My 12 yr old was 8 when she stopped laying. As you can probably tell They live out their retirement years here we don't eat them they are pets.

what country are your in?

 

[FutureMillionaire]

I don't think I can eat my girls but I will definitely harvest male ducklings who wont turn out to be big because I want male breeders to be big.

 

[Duck_life]

I don't think I can eat my girls but I will definitely harvest male ducklings who wont turn out to be big because I want male breeders to be big.

I'd try french whites, then. I have french whites and they're HUGE. They were bred for meat, I believe @Miss Lydia told me. French white muscovies are my least favorite color but they are huge and I love them anyways. They also have a lot of red on there face.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think French Whites are beautiful but I am partial to whites anyway. But yes they are supposedly the best meat duck in the Muscovy because of size and clean carcass once butchered.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Since muscovies are generally a seasonal layer they can lay for an extended period of time. In my experience as long as drakes can mate they remain fertile; however, many develop arthritis and the hens outrun them. Sort of like old guys.

 

[FutureMillionaire]

My Muscovy usually stop laying at 8 yrs. It will be interesting to see if my 9 yr olds lay next spring. My 12 yr old was 8 when she stopped laying. As you can probably tell They live out their retirement years here we don't eat them they are pets.

what country are your in?

I am from the Philippines. I use to be an IT guy who works from Brooklyn but I got sick of it so I decided to go back to the Philippines and own a homestead. I teach Japanese Children English online to compensate since I can't sell yet. My fowl population is still low. I also own a Mango farm.