Will my muscovy return? Thoughts? *UPDATE* they did

[jdywntr]

So about 2 weeks ago, 2 of my full flight 5 month old female muscovy went missing. My husband had seen an owl the night before and some of the ducks were flying up to a tall tree to roost overnight. I assumed that they had been taken by a predator leaving me with their siblings, 3 females and 2 males. Then, a few days ago I was outside and did a head count and counted 4 females. So, one of the missing had returned after 1.5 weeks or so. That night when I went to lock everyone up 2 of the females and 1 of the males were gone. It wasn't dark out so I looked around and could not find them. So it seemed like the female returned, told her siblings about her new digs and they left with her. I think I saw one of them this morning fly over to the neighbor's pond.

So, what are the chances of them returning? Any thoughts?

I don't want to be responsible for starting a feral muscovy population here. I'm clipping the wings of the 2 girls that are here. I don't think their brother would fly off without them and he is larger than the other male and even his dad.

 

[Going Quackers]

Wonder if their looking for a nesting area or perhaps the owl frightened them off? sorry, i have zero experience with this. Mine rarely fly far usually up & over the 5ft fence and up to the kids old playground.

 

[Snownoir]

Bummer to hear this jdywntr. I have no advice/experience other than clipping what you currently have and all in the future and hope they return and clip them then.

I had a girl that was determined to explore and clipped wings didn't stop her from getting out of my fenced yard and across a busy street. I still don't know how she did it...

And, in kindness, if this was me, I'd look at the resources I have available to my girls and try to ensure that they'd feel like they had excess so they weren't tempted to leave.

 

[jdywntr]

Thanks GQ. They are a little young for searching out a nesting site, I think at least from my others in the past. Two of the adults are currently setting in the chicken coop. My thought was that they were frightened off and then found a nice place that they return to.

Snownoir thanks for the comments. We live in the country and have a lot of predators around. I wanted to keep them full flight to assist them in predator evasion. They have a few acres of pasture, woods and water sources avaiable here as well as feed, so I don't know what I could provide them with that they don't get.

The 2 girls did return yesterday but I wasn't able to get to them. They left before nightfall though. The drake wasn't with them but he didn't fly that well.

 

[Going Quackers]

No, your right JW, probably young to be nesting but then again i am finding it's contagious i have a 9mth old on a nest with another i have had to deter 3 times this week!

Glad the ladies returned some are just rather adventurous, drakey boy still gone? hmmm that's not good but being not so great flyers that is a concern.

I have no idea all of what you have anymore, if their has been some owls hanging about that may cause unrest.

 

[Snownoir]

JD, I'm glad the girls came back! I understand wanting to give them a leg up against potential predators. The girls are strong fliers and all. How old are they? Mine started nesting when they were 8-9 mo old. I agree with GQ, some really are more adventurous. Hence my story of the girl that got out of the yard (with no holes in the fence) and across the street. She was ALWAYS getting into things that no one else was interested in getting into. She's at a friend's ranch now... Miss her. But it's all good.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think just love the love flying gets to them too, they take off for the shear joy of doing it.

 

[jdywntr]

They hatched on Dec 5. So, 5.5 months. The girls didn't stay yesterday and I didn't see them today. I did think I saw one fly from here to one of my neighbor's ponds but I can't see it from here so I'm not sure.

These young ones LOVE flying but it is usually from the coop, around the house and back again. They had started exploring more of the pasture but were still coming back for feed and at night to roost. The hardest part is there is no way that I have found to try to catch a full flight muscovy unless you can corner them in a covered area, which for me is the coop, and they are too wary for that.

We do also have Canadian geese that are wild here all year. They tend to scare the ducks when they fly over in the morning and then agian in the evening but that could be a potential draw for these girls.

I am concerned that I haven't seen the drake again. I haven't heard the coyotes around here in a while but that doesn't mean they aren't here. But between them, birds of prey and roaming dogs, I am not confident about the survival of the drake.

I don't see any wild ducks ever flying over so if the drake doesn't survive and I can't capture the girls, I feel a bit better about their ultimate procreation. I don't want Alabama to turn into the way Florida treats feral muscovy.

I still am SO unsure about whether I want to keep any ducks full flight. I really like the predator evasion part but even my hubby ( who NEVER comments on the birds) thinks its crazy to raise and feed something to have it leave.

 

[jdywntr]

I went out this morning to be greeted by 4 younger hens and 1 drake head bobbing and chirping, outside of the run. I ushered them in and was able to eventually get all of them into the coop where they were caught and a wing clipped. I figured it would be best to get it taken care of right away so the 2 girls wouldn't decide to take off again. They were NOT happy to be caught but too bad. I was able to also get the wing clipped on 1 adult hen that isn't setting or with babies. The young drake got out of the coop before I could get him but I don't think he'll go anywhere without the girls. Unfortuantely, the other young drake and 1 female have not been seen again but I'll keep an eye out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I went out this morning to be greeted by 4 younger hens and 1 drake head bobbing and chirping, outside of the run. I ushered them in and was able to eventually get all of them into the coop where they were caught and a wing clipped. I figured it would be best to get it taken care of right away so the 2 girls wouldn't decide to take off again. They were NOT happy to be caught but too bad. I was able to also get the wing clipped on 1 adult hen that isn't setting or with babies. The young drake got out of the coop before I could get him but I don't think he'll go anywhere without the girls. Unfortuantely, the other young drake and 1 female have not been seen again but I'll keep an eye out.

That's great news jw, hopefully the other 2 will come home too.