Can anyone answer a Muscovy Duck question ?

[Blessings Farms]

Been waiting patly on our hens and did not even think what needs

done when they hatch . So tonight I here cherpping and we enjoy

watching the ducklings running around and the hen protecting them .

Then Nancy and I look at each other with a confounded look and

ask what now ? We assumed that there was nothing to do but feed

mom and let her ride the Dexters . So does nature do it all or is there

something we should be doing ? How do ducklings feed ? 

[genebo]

I have two choices here: One is to let Mama duck raise them, in which case I need do nothing but make sure water is available. The other is to take the ducklings from Mama and put them in a brooder, with a warming lamp.

The first choice gets me very few adult ducks from the ducklings. We have a lot of predators, foxes, raccoons, possums, coyotes, snakes, turtles, owls, eagles, hawks and the list goes on. In addition, some of the ducklings won't be able to keep up and will be lost, some will drown in just an inch of water. It's heartbreaking to take them away from Mama, but it's heartbreaking to watch them slowly disappear.

Putting them in the brooder means keeping them warm, with plenty of light, and feeding them a non-medicated chick starter as their full ration. They waste a lot and they splash water all around, wetting everything. They are messy to raise.

Once they are beginning to feather, I put them in the enclosed pen with the chickens to increase in size. I keep them there until the have tail feathers and the beginnings of wings. Then I move them at night into the chicken house, which is closed at night but will be opened in the morning. I try to time it so I raise a few chicks with the ducklings. They bond together and the chicks will help prevent the new little ducks from straying too far from home.

By the time they get to the hen house, Mama duck will have forgotten them. They are on thir own.

Some of these little ducks will vanish to predators, too. I probably average raising about 40% to adulthood by taking them from Mama. I get far fewer, maybe 10% if I leave them with Mama.

My last Mama and ducklings began with 12 hatchlings that mama kept. After about 2 weeks, they are down to 2. We watch with trepidation every morning, to see how many still survive.

[wvdexters]

I'm not sure how much help I can be but here goes. We ordered some ducklings a few yrs back along with a dozen or so chicks. Indian Runners. I remember they can't have medicated feed and they liked splashing around in their waterers. What a mess, but they were so cute. The next yr when the moms were raising them, they took care of everything. We just threw out some grain or chicken laying mash and made sure they had a waterer or puddle to play in. No pond here.

[Blessings Farms]

Thanks Guys

[otf]

Wow, Gene, I guess I thought the Muscovies were somehow more resilient than other birds. But I haven't had any little chicks around in quite a while and, as I recall, when I raised them in a safe pen or cage, it meant changing water at least twice a day, refilling food, cleaning up, etc. The mothers always do a "better" job, but it is just plain awful to watch a hawk swoop down for breakfast every morning. I miss my banty hens and chicklets. A lot of work but a joy to watch.

[lakeportfarms]

Good Luck!!! The only thing I seem to know about Muscovy Ducks is that foxes think they are delicious! We have a large pond on the property and I took some time to build a nice little raft, swam with it and an anchor out a ways (it's hard to swim with an anchor!), and hoped the ducks would make it their home during their most vulnerable moments. Didn't work. We thought about trying again, but then we asked ourselves "What in the heck are we going to do with them with 3 feet of snow on the ground?" We will just have to enjoy the occasional Blue Heron, Mallards, and deal with the obnoxious Canada geese around here.

[genebo]

Yesterday we went to Hampton, where there are few predators. We watched a Muscovy mama and 8 large ducklings play in a reflecting pool in a business complex. It seemed so peaceful.

Today a Muscovy began hatching her nest of eggs. I tried to lift her up to count how many had hatched and she staunchly defended her ducklings. She's big and powerful, but no match for a fox or coyote. She's not quick enough to protect her babies from a hawk or eagle. Life is what it is. If you want Muscovies to scatter your cattle's manure piles, you have to let them run free. I am constantly raising replacements.

I seldom lose an adult Muscovy and almost never lose an adult male Muscovy. They are big enough to defend themselves and there are plenty of smaller, more opportune victims.

My guineas fare no better at raising their own keets, but one they reach adulthood, they live long lives. I have one guinea with a white belly that has been here since 2007. She's old and scruffy and moves slowly. Probably near the end of her long life. I make sure she gets a little whole kernel corn every day. She has earned her keep.

[otf]

Side note: Guineas are noisy but great to have around. I had a guinea hen sitting on a nest in the barn. I set the raccoon trap at night just in case. The hen had about one more week to go on the nest. Then I went out one morning and saw piles of gray feathers scattered around the yard and the hen's body torn apart, but not eaten. The trap and the nest had been ignored by whatever it was that got the hen. I don't know what got her; seems to me a fox would have taken the carcass away to eat. Very, very sad. I think guineas are difficult to raise unless you get really lucky. Gene, you are fortunate to have had that old girl for so long!

[Blessings Farms]

So far so good she has 4 for two days now . Her nest is in a coop in
barn and any predator has to get by dexters , male muscovies so we are going
to try the nature way for this one . That duck bit me tonight trying to
check !!

[genebo]

Welcome to the club of people who have been bitten by a Muscovy Mama. They are truly protective!

[Blessings Farms]

Let mother nature do its thing and all dulklings have survived and running
with the cows and goats. Two more on nests now.

[genebo]

Congratulations !

[genebo]

Yesterday afternoon I heard peeping coming from the nest boxes in the hen house. Three Muscovy hens have been sitting on eggs for quite a while. Finally one of them hatched some ducklings.

I counted 10 ducklings. There were more empty shells than that, so I suspect that something had already gotten some of them.

I took four of them to raise in the brooder, where they will be safe from predators. Mama duck gets to keep six to raise.

At night, when we were locking up all the poultry, Mama duck was in the nest box and calling to the ducklings to come in with her. The nest box is nearly a foot off of the floor and I didn't think they could make it in, so I decided to help them. I picked them up and placed them in the nest box.

That wasn't without danger. Mama duck can really bite hard! She bit me twice. The second time she held on so tight that I drug her out of the nest box as I tried to get away. Man, that hurt! I got them all in, though.

This morning she was waiting at the door and took them out to get water. There were only five of them. It's a mystery to me where the other one might be or what might have gotten it. I tossed them bread crumbs. Not only Mama, but all the ducklings ate bread crumbs. They must be older than I thought.

There was another duck sitting on eggs. She joined Mama duck and is behaving as if she's their Mama, too. Wierd!

This is them. The black duck is Mama and the brown duck is Mama's helper.

[lonecowhand]

Congratulations Gene! Now if they can survive predation. We know you have snakes. Do you have Martens?, Minks? Weasles? Civet cats? packrats? they all can squeeze through some tiny openings and all like poultry for dinner!

[Blessings Farms]

Congrats Gene .Those mom muscovy do bit hard yours still protect her
Babies. As mean as the hens are it has to something brave and wise.

[genebo]

I don't have martens, minks, weasels civet cats or packrats. I do have foxes, coyotes, raccoons, possums, skunks, hawks, owls and eagles. They all have to eat. Unfortunately they seem to eat more than their share of my stuff! @*HK@!!

Guineas and adult male Muscovies sometimes kill a duckling, keet or chick. Any one of them foolish enough to fail to get out of the way can get a quick peck to the head that can kill. I've seen that happen.

I pulling for these ducklings to make it. A year ago I had 63 Muscovies and I'm down to around 18 adults, mostly males.

I have a dozen Muscovy eggs in the incubator, due to hatch Friday. I think I heard a peep from the incubator today. All that hatch will go to join the 4 that I took from the current batch.

I have always been proud of what a good job the Muscovies do of spreading manure piles, so I don't have to drag the pasture. I don't have enough to keep up.

[otf]

Raising any poultry is a challenge; predators are bad enough, but I had no idea Muscovy males would kill their own offspring! I used to cringe when a hawk would sweep down every morning to snag a bantam chick...EVERY MORNING! I loved my little banties, but I couldn't stand to see what happens to them. I've not replaced any of them.

Right now all I have to worry about is a nasty little rooster who waits until my back is turned to come after ME! I keep two sticks outside so I can take a swing at him when he does. His days may be numbered. And to think I saved him from the dingy dark cage at the feed store and gave him a home. No good deed goes unpunished......

I hope your little ducklings make it to adulthood. Please get a closeup photo before they are all gone!

[genebo]

Five still there tonight!

[Blessings Farms]

I think we need to bid nesting boxes this week end. Have had 3 females
start nesting and then abandon nest. Now they and the chickens roam
freely in pasture and barn and we find our eggs in various places
in barn. The first hatch worked this way.

[lonecowhand]

otf, It's "coq- au- vin" time! You might wait til there's a chill in the air...mmmm.

Bill

[otf]

No, Bill, it's all I can do to eat one of the Dexters after raising it. There's no way I could throttle that rooster, however many times he comes after me, and then pick it apart and put it in a pot. I was meant to be a vegetarian but my genes got mixed up and I can't kill anything myself to eat it. If I got lost in the wilderness, I'd be some carnivore's dinner.

Gale

[wvdexters]

Good Luck with those peeps Gene!! And have fun. They are so cute when they are young.

I think for us it is probably the big black snakes that are the hardest on the little ones. The doggone things can squeeze in through the chicken wire and get them even when we try to keep them safe. One also cleaned out one of our blue bird boxes a few weeks ago.

[genebo]

Four and counting.

[genebo]

Two left.

[otf]

Oh no!

Gale

[genebo]

It's a mystery to me what is getting them. I checked yesterday at 3:30 and there were four. Every time I looked they were in the pen next to the chicken house. Never went out into the open. We emptied the water pans to see if they had drowned.

When I came back from cutting hay I stopped to check on them (about 7:30) there were no ducks, chickens or guineas in sight. They were all in the barn or the goat house. To me, that means there was a hawk overhead. They alwyas hide when a hawk or eagle comes over. I couldn't see it or hear it, but still ...

[jamshundred]

I agree with Karrie.  I suspect a black snake.  When I lose poultry to a hawk, there is always a small pile of feathers that were shed as they are grabbed.   The year I was losing my young ducks, I would let them out of their pen in the morning into the area with their little pond, count them, and when I put them back in the evening the count would be the same.  Then there would be a day when the count was short and no clue.  One morning when I opened the door of the duck house there was a black snake there with half a duck consumed.  These were not baby ducks.  They were good size.  Probably about six to nine inches in length.  I could not believe that snake mouth had expanded to the size it was!  Huge duck he was dining on.  I discovered a small opening between the dirt and the edge of the duck house in the rear where he was apparently entering and existing.  I have seen one literally full of egg bumps.  And there were more than enough mice around!

I have a wisteria gone wild on the side of my house next to a deck.  It is just outside my office.  As I was working one morning, I slowly became aware of a "bird" racket outside the door, and then realized there was a bird having a conniption fit over something.  I opened the door onto the deck and could see the bird flitting about near a nest in the wisteria branches.  I kept looking around and when I looked up, nearly lost it when there was a black snake entwined in the branches just above my head and not too far from the nest.  I think he had already got the eggs or baby birds because I got the broom and whacked him until he disappeared but the nest was empty.   I struggle with the reality that I am supposed to protect black snakes because they are a force for "good".  Ha.  Only if they would wipe out the mouse population and that does not seem to be the focus.

Judy

[genebo]

Down to one. Two mamas and one duckling! After putting the chickens, ducks and guineas in the henhouse for the night I laid snake mesh around the outside. Maybe I'll catch the varmit tonight.

The snake mesh works. It has caught 4 this year around the brooder pen near the house. When I got the mesh from the shelf where I keep it in the equipment shed, it already had a snake skeleton in it.

My brother in Texas saw a black snake's head sticking out of his blue bird box. It had gone in and eaten all the baby birds. It was too big to get back out the hole. My brother used his shotgun to enlarge the hole. That snake was cured of his bad habits.

[wvdexters]

Doggone it! It is so frustrating once they start disappearing. And so sad! What's snake mesh?

And it is something when they are raiding a nest. I went after ours with an old broom handle, but it was too late. The parent birds were frantic, but it was a big snake and he cleaned out the box. You wouldn't think they could climb that high, probably 8ft or so up an old electric pole we use to hang the big gate.

But like you we hate to kill them because they keep the rodents down, and the copperheads/rattlers back.

[otf]

I'd never heard of snake mesh either, wvdexters, so I googled it and found all sorts of interesting photos and information, except for the ones where snakes are caught in it and have to be released. No way would I be able to do that!!! It looks like hardware cloth but I guess it's flexible. But it's good to know about at any rate.

I too had a tragedy several years ago when I walked into the barn and found two dead young banty hens on the floor. They had been up in the rafters but a snake got them, tried to eat them but was unable to because of their size, so it just left them on the floor all slimed up from head to shoulders.

I leave the snakes alone unless it's a copperhead. I figure everything has a right to make a living and survive, even at my sad expense occasionally.

Gale