WIll they still breed?

[KWAK]

I have a small flock of muscovies, I do not feed them during the spring-fall. They do fine with out the extra food here and are always fat.

Will they still breed with out the extra feed?

 

[sourland]

I don't know - starvation diet always slowed me down.

 

[KWAK]

They are no where near starving. I know quite a few people around here who don't give them much during the summer.
I'm not saying I dont feed them at all, I just dont give them much.

 

[sourland]

I have a small flock of muscovies, I do not feed them during the spring-fall.

?

 

[wildpeas]

I have a small flock of muscovies, I do not feed them during the spring-fall. They do fine with out the extra food here and are always fat. Will they still breed with out the extra feed?

I would imagine that breeding itself is such an instinct that the diet wouldn't matter BUT I would also think to have a successful hatch you would need to supplement with a fortified feed and calcium.

 

[jdywntr]

Muscovy are very self reliant. I grew up in Florida and I can tell you that they did just fine as feral animals so much so that they are now killed by the state.

As long as they have access to a large area to forage that offers a wide variety of bugs, plants, and a water source, I think you should be fine. The only thing that you may run into is lower egg production if they are not able to find enough of a protein source.

They will breed but you may want to keep track of how many eggs they lay and how many ducklings hatch out and compare that to the average (which varies for scovies) and see if supplementing feed would help.

I am encouraging mine to free range. Right now, I feed 5 geese, 5 ducks and 9 chickens (all between 4-7 months old) one 2-qt scoop of feed twice a day. Not all have started laying yet since the days are short but I am getting 5-6 eggs per day from the chickens.

 

[polskituft]

the will still breed