When did your muscovies fly?

[RebinNH]

Hi! Wondering at what age your muscovies began to fly. Mine are now 7 (almost 8) weeks and they are constantly flapping their wings and one jumped with a slight glide the other day. They seem SO motivated!

 

[Canadian Wind]

Hi! I'm not sure the exact age, but I had one female that would fly up to the top of the coop when she was about 3-4 months old. None of mine have tried as adults, though.

Yours shouldn't have their flight feathers in yet (but soon!).

 

[Miss Lydia]

Once flight feathers are fully grown in. I have to clip one wing on my females to keep them inside their fenced property. we're surrounded by woods with a mountain river down below us. They'd never make it outside of their protected area.
My drake has never tried to fly he's got his females and food what else does he need? lol

 

[RebinNH]

I had visions of letting them roam the yard when I'm inside once they can fly. I assume if they do fly and continue to do so, that if a predator came in during the day, they would be able to escape. Of course at night they're inside their coop which is inside the small well battened down run. I really want them to forage for much of their food and eat my bugs (ticks, primarily)!
I also do not want to have to feed them all of their food, as they seem to know better than me, what they want. That said I AM their mamma and they follow me around. So far when I need to run in the house for quick run (after having them out with me) they run under a certain overhand on the house until I appear again. So they are aware they are vulnerable. So smart! I do not intend to clip wing feathers, as they have it really good here and I highly doubt they will want to leave. Of course I am new to all of this, so looking to them for guidance on whether I have it right.

 

[Canadian Wind]

You're probably right about them not flying away, although when/if they fly, they may be so surprised they won't know how to direct themselves or perhaps even land. But as you said, they are imprinted on you, and know where home is. I would not allow new ducks free access until they know that this is their home, but you're safe there.

My 3 month old ducklings have the run of the property here, with my adults and my roosters. They were adopted by my injured female who had to be taken from her nest. I still expect I'm going to see some of the females perched up somewhere horrific (to me!) once the flight feathers are in!

I personally agree with the foraging. All my ducks are fed one scoop, divided between all of them (close to 20 ducks) in the morning, wet down with plenty of water so they can dabble, then they go on their merry way and mow the lawn. They are big and strong and growing nice and healthy. And it saves a fortune on feed!

 

[RebinNH]

I had visions of letting them roam the yard when I'm inside once they can fly. I assume if they do fly and continue to do so, that if a predator came in during the day, they would be able to escape. Of course at night they're inside their coop which is inside the small well battened down run. I really want them to forage for much of their food and eat my bugs (ticks, primarily)!
I also do not want to have to feed them all of their food, as they seem to know better than me, what they want. That said I AM their mamma and they follow me around. So far when I need to run in the house for quick run (after having them out with me) they run under a certain overhand on the house until I appear again. So they are aware they are vulnerable. So smart! I do not intend to clip wing feathers, as they have it really good here and I highly doubt they will want to leave. Of course I am new to all of this, so looking to them for guidance on whether I have it right.

 

[RebinNH]

Ooops. Posted this twice. So Canadian Wind the muscovys' flight feathers are not in at 3 months? Do you have an estimate when you think they will be?
Btw, today the smaller of my 2 ducklings started some bad behavior. He/she was attempting to bite out some tail feathers on the larger duckling. I stepped in, let out a slight yell ("ut"), picked that duck up and put him/her back in the pen. (a time out) Don't know if this will sink in but whenever I kind of yell "ut" they do get that I am unhappy. I've only used this (so far) to escort them back from the driveway edge. I intend to put a fence across that soon and certainly before I allow them to roam the yard without me there but meanwhile they push limits (only occasionally) like a kid.

 

[Quatie]

So not clipping their wings can potentially be problematic. I clip the wings of mine because I live near a highway and I don't want them to go into a neighbors yard. Muscovy also like to perch in trees, since they are tree ducks. I think it was last year or so ago a person on the forum couldn't get her duck out of a tree. She ended up staying there all night. Also if they find a place to brood outside your area, you may not find them easily. Some people have had good luck keeping their Muscovy in there area and others have flown away.

Last winter I was lagging on clipping one of my girls. It was windy and she really tried to stay in the fenced area, but she was not use to how the wind carried her. She took a nose dive to stay in the fenced area. I clipped her wing the next day.

 

[ruthhope]

I adopted 2 muscovy last year: both rescues from my local wildlife rehabber as ducky friends for my own rescue. One joined mine at 7-9 weeks; it was a drake. The other joined at 12 weeks but had been cared for with the drake that joined mine at 7-9 weeks, from when they were both tiny fluffies. It was thought to be a drake but turned out to be female, Max. Max could fly at 12 weeks old and was out of my garden crossing the road on front of my house by the time I found her. I suppose she was going looking for the rehabber. She had to have her flight feathers clipped. The next day she flew up into a plum tree, and so the flight feathers had to be trimmed again. The adoped drake started flying up onto my side gate at 5 months old. He just wanted attention and hasn't flown onto the gate for 4 months now. He knows which side of his bread is buttered. My own original muscovy has grown into such a huge lump he could never fly except down off my steps onto the patio. He rarely does that, he mainly lumbers down the steps one at a time. All three were rescued from the wild (feral). I think that feeding them purina duck food ensures they are better nourished than wild ducks.

The wild life rehabber and I released 8 juveniles onto a private lake and 3 females and a drake onto a private pond this spring. They were all 12 to 16 weeks and they all fly. One flew straight up into the air when let out of the pet carrier, but came back down and stayed with the othere three. They there flying the length of the pond every day within a couple of days of release.

So my take home is that muscovy in the wild fly but are often not as well nourished as muscovy in backyard coops.

 

[Canadian Wind]

@RebinNH The females are more feathered than the males (they tend to feather out earlier, for the most part) and are certainly starting to get them. I haven't looked that closely, tbh. After reading these stories, I may clip them after all, at least this year when they are still young and slim.