Breeding Muscovy ducks

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by bonsai, May 25, 2010.

  1. bonsai

    bonsai Junior Member

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    Hey everyone

    I have recently bought some Muscovy ducks, which to my delight have done an excellent job in helping me control weeds and flies in my garden!

    They are now about 3 months old, I'm curious about breeding them, as I have a drake and duck..

    I've got a nice, secure and cosy coop for them set up with pea straw.. is this all they require to nest in for successful hatching? I've never bred poultry so any advice would be great.

    :)
     
  2. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    Hello Bonsai.
    My take on this is that ducks do the wild thing without too much help from us. I feel that you need to have several ducks for the drake as one seldom satisfies and he will try to hump the dog.
    Also if they are free ranging they will make their nest where ever is least convenient for you and least safe for the duck. Keeping them penned till mid morning will get them nesting as long as she has a quiet place to set.
    Hope this helps.
     
  3. bonsai

    bonsai Junior Member

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    Thanks for the response purplepear :)

    Here's hoping my drake finds the duck attractive :) my dogs would probably try and hump the ducks before it went the other way around!
    They like to sleep in the nesting area at present, so I'll keep my eye out for a nest.
     
  4. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    I thought i might as well tag along on this thread since we are both new mothers-of-ducks. We might learn together or something. Share experiences. Whatever. :)

    I'm just about to buy four ducks and a drake. I wonder what I am in for in terms of ducklings. How many will come? What will i do with them all? I am not in a hurry to eat them being more vegetarian than anything but I will if i have to. I don't know that I can afford to feed a herd of ducks. Mine are about 8 months old. Do you know when they will start breeding? I bought them for their innate gardening skills.
     
  5. bonsai

    bonsai Junior Member

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    muscovys lay 28 each in each clutch, one each day.. 3 to 4 times a year.

    depending on conditions one can expect almost all of these to hatch in about 33 days from laying. you can seperate the drake from the ducks if you dont want the eggs fertile.
     
  6. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    My ducks don't seem to be eating much of the feed i am giving them. They are eating laying pellets. I give them two double handfuls a night. There are five of them altogether.

    I have had them 2-3 weeks now. I have recently let them out of the pen and see them nibbling on things in the garden but surely its not enough to satisfy them. I can't tell if they are losing weight.

    I also give them fresh lettuce but they don't seem to eat that. I think before i got them they had only eaten the pellets and any bugs that flew into their duck pen (which was quite big). They were 8 months old at the time i got them.

    Any tips?
     
  7. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Either you have ducks with anorexia nervosa (I doubt it) or they are eating more than you think when they forage. I'm confident that ducks don't deliberately starve themselves to make a point to their mothers....
     
  8. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    My ducks don't seem to be laying eggs. How old are they when they start. They are about 9 months old now. No eggs as yet. I give them laying pellets for food. But not a great deal. I think its the right amount. They go out during the day and eat at breakfast time and in the evening. They just sit under a tree during the middle hours of the day. I think they are pretty happy here. there are four females and one drake. I know the drake is randy. What else do i need to do? I want more baby ducks.
     
  9. Stingray

    Stingray Junior Member

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    HI, we have a pair of muscovy's, (have worked out they are about 10 months old)
    in Early September (she was about 8 months old or so) she finally started laying, and as this is her 1st lot of eggs we decided to let her clutch.
    She laid 19 eggs in total, then all last month sat on them most of the time
    Yesterday, when i did the mornin water/feed she was still sitting on the eggs, how ever when i got home from the morning school run, i went to top up the local bird feeder we have, and heard some "peeping" and looked over to see a bright yellow duckling wandering about the pen :)
    when i went over to check, i discovered a total of 18 ducklings and 1 egg unhatched (still unhatched today)
    Can some one offer advice on how to sex them? as I would love to sell the girls, and seperate the boys into another pen (for fattening up), and would love to know how many of each we have.
    Thanks
    Darren
     
  10. ziggy

    ziggy New Member

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    hi all im new here , and keen to find out when, as i have three muscovys 2 female 1 male. im keen to let nature take its course. what times of the yr are normal? we live in the uk. & ive noticed they lay eggs but as we regularly take them to eat , when should i start to leave them for her? they will be 12 months old at easter. are all there eggs going to be fertile ? because i dont always notice them at it. although i know they do but the fella makes a bit of a hash of it , and often just jumpos on and squashes her! regards ziggy
     
  11. rjfuss

    rjfuss New Member

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    Hi everyone, I am new here and also new to muscovy ducks. I have 1 duck that cannot walk properly, I think its a drake. He seems to lift each side of his body up in order to move his legs forward. Seems like a big effort to me. I like to ask it its an infection and is the meat ok to eat. The people I got the birds from dont know what it is.
     
  12. Stingray

    Stingray Junior Member

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    New Arrivals ;)

    hey everyone :)
    went out this morning to feed the horde and noticed a discarded egg shell at the front of the ducks "house" ..
    went in and had a look see, thinkin maybe the drake had been in there and squished some eggs, but no ;) found that over night 14 cute lil ducklings had hatched :)
    [​IMG]
     
  13. ambishop

    ambishop Junior Member

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    If east coast Australia, likely paralysis tick, or even a regular tick. If not removed it will likely die. Look for a tick on the face. Had one go this way, and another almost go this way, but removed the tick right away and duck recovered quite well a few days later
     
  14. floot

    floot Junior Member

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    hello all,

    bonsai,

    I believe my learned friend purple pear was trying to be polite. Muscovy drakes are one of the nastiest male things you can have out in public. Drakes, he was being polite, when he suggested you need a few more ducks. He was probably talking from knowledge. One cute Muscovy girl and one cute boy... the result will probably end up with you referring to a counsellor and the duck taking out a restraining order...

    I do this tongue in cheek... but that's just Muscovy... and they are a great choice for eggs and feeding yourself. However, do not think that the cute thing lasts past 3 months.


    Cheers,
     

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