5 Reasons You Need Muscovy Ducks
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Are Muscovy ducks the most sustainable breed of duck for your small farm or homestead? I'm about to break it down with 5 reasons why you NEED Muscovy Ducks.
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We have one pet muscovy duck that refused to stay with him mum and followed us to the house. We house raised him and he is so personable and happy to see us.
That is a sweet story. My husband would NOT be happy if I tried to bring a duck in the house ha.
I had a house duck for 9 years. She was a good girl. I'm just really tired of diapers. Now I have five girls and a Drake in the backyard and six two month olds. Maybe two and a half. Some of them have got half their wings. I think their mother stole eggs from the other ducks because they are all different sizes which makes them hard to sex. One of them I'm sure is a drake, another one might be and the rest of them I'm pretty sure are female.
The weirdest thing is that the last two hatched two days later. Their mother ignored them I gave them to another duck and eventually she took all of the ducklings away from their mother. But when they were first attached they were flipping over on their backs for a week or two. One of them you really had to go and turn her back over. I didn't think she was going to make it. And now she's two and a half months old. She doesn't flip over she hasn't for a very long time. Unless somebody comes and knocks her over. But I didn't think she was going to make it. Any duckling I have ever had before that kept flipping over, they died. I'm still trying to figure out where the black ducks came from. One of them is blue and white and the other four are sort of cream color. You would think they were white unless you put them next to the blue and white duck. Or either of their current mothers. Neither of which hatched them.
We had Muscovies many years ago on our second homestead. We loved having Muscovy ducks! We made many a land payment selling ducklings.
That’s awesome! What price were you able to sell ducklings for?
@@FableHillFarm In 2001-2005 they sold at a poultry auction for $5-$8 each.
They are selling for $15-$40 each for a little bit older one around Navarro County area of Texas right now. I am adding them in the spring and hoping to have enough to enjoy plenty of eggs as well as some meat.
I know I can drive a bit and find them cheaper or just buy very young ducklings. Even the young duckling is $15 plus right now.
@@treykerr1868hard to find any
Hatcharys that have them
I just paid $5 each for 14 ducklings 3 days old. Straight from their momma. 8/14/2024
I live in south Florida and these ducks have always been a part of my life. Amazingly adaptable and so quiet. The bad thing is that they like to eat banana trees.
Whereabouts in FL? I am from Cape Coral. They are very interesting ducks. I did not know they eat banana trees.
@@FableHillFarm I am in Miami and the ducks can be found in any body of water except where condo commandos pay duck killers to remove them.
@@FableHillFarm they will pluck at the hanging leaves and destroy the offsets
I'm in southeast Georgia and one just showed up in my yard today. I'm trying to learn about them so I can take care of him. Provided he likes living here.
I just moved to South Florida from Missouri. I've never seen them in the Midwest
My drake was the best pet ever. I raised him from 2 weeks old until he passed away at 6.5 yrs old. He was spoiled rotten & he had a super interactive personality. He could “talk” to me, and he would follow me anywhere. I love him so much. He loved plain tofu and mealworms and
Imitation crab ☺️
One of my 8 week old was running across the yard today with something hanging out of it's mouth the rest were chasing her (I think) and it was a frog! She got to the water and was able to eat her prize!
Sorry for the frog, as it’s a bad way to go, but what a treat for your bird ha. I’ve seen my chickens with a frog once and it was like a bunch of velociraptors fighting over a steak.
Another good reason...They're free! I lived in Jacksonville, Florida for a while and you could find them wandering around in almost any parking lot. And since they're an invasive species, I don't think there's any law that says you can't catch them and bring them home to the farm.
May 17,2022. I will pick up the day-old Muscovy duck today. But I have to watch your video until the end to learn how to keep them, thank you so much again for your advice.
Thanks so much for watching. Congrats on getting new babies. I'm glad you are finding value in my videos.
I would have them just because
There just really cool birds
They live all in my apartment complex! I’ve lived in my local area my whole life & they’re nowhere else. I think someone must’ve had pet ones years ago & they got out or something. They’re super friendly even tho they’ve been “wild ish” for who knows how long…they wait for me to pull up in my parking spot at night & wag their tails! & when I hand signal for them to cross the road leaving the complex, they make eye contact with me & make sure I’m stopped, & they cross the road. One day a baby was waddling straight to my moving car & I stopped & the parents ushered him across the road. That same family recognizes me & runs up to me & tries to follow me home haha. It’s really incredible how smart they are🥹
That's really sweet. They are certainly MUCH smarter than chickens ha.
I just received my first 3 whites yesterday, got 5 black ones coming in July… I hate waiting, but I also hate having all white birds. I went a little crazy with poultry and fowl this year, but this is my first full year at my new 20 acre farm, I got the space, so I got what I wanted. I also have a pair of Egyptian geese and 2 pairs of ruddy shelducks. I like your videos so far, came from the 5 reasons NOT to get Muscovy ducks ;)
Everything I am reading about Muscovies looks great except the leanness of the meat. One of the huge advantages of ducks and geese over chickens and rabbits is the higher fat content for dietary reasons (especially for carnivore or semi-carnivores) and use in oil lamps.
How much more lean are they compared to other breeds? Do they still provide more fat than chicken and rabbits?
I just committed to buy 10 of them so I'm here to confirm it was a good idea 😅
Thanks for being right out honest and proud of the MSKs.
South Carolina here and I take care of about 30 to 40 Muscovy ducks in our neighborhood. I really want to learn about better feed for them.
Sorry for the late reply. Do you have any specific questions related to feeding Muscovies? The biggest things I look at as far as feeding my ducks is protein content and niacin (which I make available through yeast).
Muskovy's pretty much raise themselves. Its poultry on auto pilot. Plus the males are quite cute when the are being pissed. I love it when they raise and then lower they head while hissing as they walk
Very great video my ducklings are15 days old and what I have learned sofar is the are amazing I love them.
I love your property rhis time of year! In the video ,not real life. Im sick of this cold! Lol 😆
We've had a really mild winter so far but I have a terrible feeling we are going to get hammered with snow. Where do you live?
This is going to be my life soon. I have been adopted. I live in Florida. They remind me of dogs.
This is too funny :D I love how you said you've been adopted. They are very curious, comical animals. Whereabouts in FL are you from? I'm from Cape Coral.
They are delicious with peking sauce.
Very good video. You seem to have a wonderful personality as well. Thank you for the information.
Hello my friend thanks for the knowledge you share, new friend from Philippines,, I'm happy to see your beautiful color breed of Muscovy duck
Thanks for watching, especially from so far away. I appreciate you!
@@FableHillFarm welcome 😊🤗 happy farming,,
What about predators like cats foxes raccoons bobcats etc? In California we also have herons hawks ospreys. Will they know to avoid them?
We did lose a couple babies to hawks our first year with our flock, but have lost none since we added our LGD. The mothers will attack predators to protect their young, including aerial ones. Chickens seem to be much easier prey for the types of predators you listed, so if you have both chickens and Muscovies, I think your Muscovies are fairly safe ha. I don't have bobcats here so I really can't comment on those, but I can say that our ducks are intelligent and seem to keep themselves out of harm's way.
I have 1 Male moskovy
And he's a beast literally a beast
He's the boss
Dogs,cats even people who walked by at my house he literally go and attack them without any reason
Do they eat herb plants or veggies?…would I have to put a fence around those items?
Are they good at protecting themselves from predators (like hawks, eagles, etc…?) …or do I need to get geese to help?
Hi there. They can get into trouble in the garden, yes, though I would say overall they are less destructive than chickens. Adults are pretty adept at fighting off predators but it's not impossible for a larger predator such as an eagle, fox, raccoon, etc to kill an adult animal.
Thanks for the info madam. It helps me a lot as a beginner raising Muscovy ducks.
They are native to southern Texas, too.
Thanks Ma..
Thank you for watching
Storing eggs in lime water will keep them edible for 10 months easy, no refrigerator, Great to get over the lay off.
I have been wanting to try this for years but haven't done so just yet. I don't personally use my Muscovy eggs for much cooking because we have chickens and I prefer to let my ducks hatch their own eggs, as ducklings are much more valuable to me than a duck egg in my belly. But I do enjoy using them for baking when I have extras in off season.
how do you keep them during the winter time?
Hi there Victor. I house my birds in the winter in their duck house which I enclose with tarps to help trap heat. They still free range during the day though they usually will spend the days under our wood stove, in our wood shed or on our back deck. I feed them more, obviously, and offer some hot water on really cold days but otherwise they do just fine in the winter.
hahaha, you got me at the "enabling' comment. Subscribed.
Thank you so much for watching :) I appreciate you.
can you make a video on clipping your muscovy ducks wings please? I have a male and it’s starting to get at the age where it likes to flaps it’s wings ALOT
Loved it! I had a pet Muscovy when I was a little kid!❤️❤️❤️
Great video - wishing to add some mascovies to my tiny homestead.
My question is : how low does the temperature go where you are as the frostbite part in particular caught my attention.
I'm based in northern Europe and the temp can get to -20 Celsius in the dead of winter ❄️🥶.
I have a greenhouse as an emergency shelter but was curious of your lowest temps so i can appreciate if they will do well in my temperate climate
Thank you
Hello there - thanks so much for watching! Where we are located, our lowest temperatures are typically around -10 Celsius, but we had some brutal weeks last winter where lows were in the -16 to -20 Celsius range and the birds made it through just fine, with my one drake getting a little frostbite on his carnuncles, which did heal very well. Do you have access to straw? Doing a deep litter method for them with straw will keep them remarkably warm despite freezing temperatures.
@@FableHillFarm Thanks for the reply,
It seems we have very similar weather conditions, which gives me a lot of hope.
Since I've added the question, we actually got 1 drake and 3 females and we love them.
From day 1 they started sorting out slug invasion that was destroying most of the crops in the garden.
The eggs are delicious and huge as well :D
Thank you for the immense amount of information about Muscovy ducks - it's definitely my fav place on the internet for anything Muscovy-related.
Stay safe and all the best.
We live in the 'burbs but are looking for a home with some property to get out of crazy Denver but we bought 2 Cayuga ducklings and they were shockingly messy even at a few weeks old but we raised them to adults and they just got too loud, should've bought the Muscovy's. I have a lot of questions, I'll just read up on them but this is a great video, I'm subbing and that's for putting this one out..
Thank you so much for watching! I have heard mixed things about the Cayugas. We love our Muscovies and I have no desire to get other duck breeds, personally.
you can set up a cheap run of 200sq ft in any configuration and they'll be very content. They are dead quiet and are truly good ducks.
Very nice muscovy ducks, muscovy ducks lover here 👍
Hi there! Thanks for watching. Where are you raising Muscovies at?
Lol..your funny and informative. Any suggestions? I may be acquiring a mama and chick's today. In NC Florida...5 acres and a retention pond
I live for Indonesia countris Asian . You vidios the best
I love them too
Do these ducks need a pool every day for their care? Beautiful video, thank you ☺️
Thanks Honey! Muscovies are more of a land duck so I don’t stress if they don’t have a pool but I always make sure they do have a fresh pool at least every few days.
You're convincing me!! We may have to talk about this a little more. ;) Do you have to clip their wings to keep them from flying away?
Ha! Do it! They are so great, we love having them, and they are a really sustainable option for meat. I only clip wings during start of breeding season if I'm going to have females separated with a particular drake as I will alternate free-ranging day to day between the breeding groups and I want the others that are penned up for the day to stay in their pen and not fly out. I have never had any issues with them leaving our property. We did have one hen who wandered pretty far down the road, but she was the only bird I had from an Amish family and I don't think they were used to getting fed up at the barn so they ranged a LOT farther to forage. I sold her and didn't have any further issues with that.
Brilliant, put a love/like if you love Muscovy Ducks
We bought 7 first of the year. We have 4 drakes and 3 hens. Soon we will thin the group to 1 drake and the hens. What age do you suggest butchering the unneeded boys.
12-13 weeks is optimum for tenderness in butchering drakes.
About 8 Muscovies virtually cleared our yard of TICKS in 2 years! Predators easily kill them from @3pm-9am, if ducks are not brought into shelter. They come when called, if grain fed only at night. Protect hens, eggs, and chicks from snakes by keeping in separate, impenetrable pen. Also, it takes gloves and practice to pick up the Drakes, because they have powerful, sharp claws. That said, they are very sociable!
You are right about those drakes claws, they are so powerful, even their wings will beat the snot out of you if they want to get away. It's definitely a skill to pick them up and hold all the right places so they can't flap about and scratch. Very personable, social animals. Thanks for watching! I love that they eliminated your ticks. Ticks are the WORST. We lived in upstate NY for a few years and the ticks there were really bad.
Muscovy ducks are great, never cause problems, quiet, and nice.
They are the best! I do really think it would be hard for me to ever own any other duck breeds because of the quietness of the Muscovy. I really appreciate them for that.
@@FableHillFarm I know so many people with chickens and I keep trying to convince them to get muscovies because they complain about slugs and snails and muscovies are much better than chickens when it comes to pest control and foraging for their own food over feed; nobody is ever convinced.
My friend keeps a muscovy as a pet. An abandoned duckling came into his garage and he has kept her since. She spends her days in his garden. He has a small tub that she bathes in. She comes into his house at night to sleep. Is there any chance she can be released out into the wild again? He has had for her almost 6 months from now and states that he can't keep her forever. She is very sweet and loves meal worms. He has tried to bring other ducks around her but she is not receptive. He is hoping she will go off with a group of ducks but I don't see that happening. Another issue is that she has some angel wing, which can affect her flying.
My muscovy are a month old now, hoping I don't end up with only drake's
Do you have photos? You can send some to me on my Facebook, email or Instagram
Great video ! Thanks ! Can Muscovy's share a shed with meat rabbits ? Our rabbit shed is 8' x 8'. We don't use 100% of the space, so was thinking about adding some Muscovy's. The plan is to build a fully enclosed pen to protect them from eagles, hawks, foxes etc...plus keep them out of sight from the neighbors. The pen would connect to the shed to give them a water/windproof shelter option. Appx size: 16' x 8' x 6'6" high.
Thanks for the info
Thanks
Nice
Thanks so much for watching!
will they eat snails? I have a big snail problem where I live :( It's completely discouraged me from trying to grow anything
I don't personally have many snails so I can't say I've seen my ducks eat them but I know ducks in general do like to eat snails and that this is a reason many people utilize ducks in various ways for agriculture, such as in permaculture orchards.
Great for eating, as long as they're not let out in the wild.
It is actually illegal in the United States to release them into the wild.
luv ur channel..i have 2 muscovy hens n a drake.but i have 3 times bad luck hatching eggs under muscovys,i dont know whats the problem .one of my friends say its ur drake ,,mate ur hens with some other drake ..
Thank you for watching. What is the issue with the hatches? Poor hatch rates? Are you seeing the hens being mated consistently? How many eggs are they nesting on?
You are right to the point very helpful
Those FL ppl should be told that the Scovies eat skeeters and Palmetto bugs - game changer LOL
That's true, they do, good point! But I think the bugs far outweigh the Muscovies ability to kill them ha.
Hi personal question, Is it necessary to freshen their swimming water 2-3 times a day (in 8-10 different pools)? And do you have to spend over 1500 US dollars a month on corn scratch and duck pellet? We have over 100 of em, all pets, and a certain somebody here obsessively spoils them absolutely rotten!
Necessary? Haha no probably not, but, your ducks do sound very well loved :)
Very informative video! Thanks for posting!
Thanks very much for watching Jody - I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Thank you, I love the video. Have a few Muscovy ducks now, and appreciate knowing they are so adept at raising their young. Do you think a 4 foot fence is big enough containment?
They will fly right over the fence. My husband proudly installed one to keep our Muscovy ducks from our deck, but a few minutes later the ducks were back on the deck. 😂😂😂
They definitely need a net over top if you want them to stay in haha. They are very determined.
Clip their wings and they cannot fly.
they will fly over a 6 ft fence and onto your neighbors roof...
January 30,2023
Some one pond off Muscovy ducks to me in the fall , I was not set up ,so I butchered I have 6 or 7 months of cold winter here and they were to messy with the water.
But they tasted like steak so I want to raise this year for that and eggs any suggestions for the winter.
Thanks -30 today
Hi there. The best thing to do is keep them in an insulated house (if it's THAT cold - we're talking Fahrenheit right?) and bed it down deep with straw and shavings, and keep bedding it to keep it dry. I offer my birds warm/hot water on really cold days and put their water and feed close to their coop so they can go indoors and not have to travel far. I have found that some birds just aren't smart enough to survive winter without extreme frost bite damage - we cull those birds.
@@FableHillFarm -30 Celsius feels like-41 northern Ontario.
So probably be to much of pain for the ducks , if it wasn’t for the water they get every thing wet and them selfs,
I from Indonesia, i like this your video👍👍👍
Thanks very much for watching! Hello from the USA.
6:31
Are those DogXMuskovy hybrid eggs?
I like mascovy duck
Great video, thanks for sharing. I was think of getting a few in the spring and process them when old enough instead of breeding them. I live near a lake and swamp what are the chances of them staying around and not leaving with other ducks. If i get chicks in spring and had a house for them how long would i keep them in the inclosure before letting them free range. thanks again. and do you just leave the inclosure open even at night and give them a high perch? It would be great to have them on there own besides a little grain at home.
Hi there, Stephen, thank you for watching. I do leave my duck house open at night, but I contribute a lot of our lack of predation to our LGD at this point. I would say the only way to really know if Muscovies would stick around on your property is to give it a shot. I don't know that free ranging works for every situation, as sometimes the resources aren't sufficient to keep them or something else is more enticing to them elsewhere. I think you would be off to a good start by getting ducklings and handling them a LOT when they are young and really teaching them that food comes from you. I would keep them penned until they grow their adult feathers and then clip their wing feathers, then let them out during the day and try giving feed either morning or night only, which will encourage them to come back. The water sources near you may be too big of a temptation and you may not be able to keep them on your property. But all you can do is try...
Awesome thanks so much 😊 really helpful.
how many sq ft per bird would you need if you were to use them in a tractor. I cant free range to many predators.
I am not positive as I've never done them in a tractor environment but this is information from Metzer Farms' blog "If you have 5 ducks, that means they need a minimum of 16 square feet. If you have 10 ducks, they need 30 square feet. With 100 ducks, they need 300 square feet. From age 9-17 weeks, the ducks are now fully grown and will require a minimum of 3.5 square feet per bird and 20 square feet minimum." www.metzerfarms.com/blog/how-much-space-should-i-have-for-my-ducks.html#:~:text=If%20you%20have%205%20ducks,and%2020%20square%20feet%20minimum.
Amazing,,, very interesting😍😍
You can't cull clutch size first year
Do Muscovy crosses lay eggs?🤔🤷🏻♂️
Hi there. Muscovy crosses, known as Mules, can lay eggs yes, but the eggs are always infertile.
Nice and beaufitul
Good im from indonesia🇲🇨
Oklahoma Muscovy owner of 14 ducklings. At what age can I put them with the rest of my flock of adult ducks?
@@BigJim-n-OsageCo When they are big enough that they aren’t getting beat. Depends on your flock size and their environment.
I have 9 Peking ducklings about 2 weeks older than them. 2-4 month old Muscovys and 3 adult Peking ducks. They all have come together as my pinned up flock in the last 3 weeks.
O and thank you for the super fast response
Good video! thanks!
Thank you for sharing. God Bless.
Thanks very much for watching!
I have Muskovy ducks too
Love your videos
Muscovy duck eggs will hatch in incubator?
Thank you
Thank you so much for watching!
The only bad thing about muscovy ducks is that when they poop it sounds like hiroshima in 1945
They can be noisy poopers ha.
cool!
great video
Thanks so much for watching!
Have you had them fly away I’m looking to get some but can I keep them with two mallard-based breeds
Hi there. I have not had any fly away, no, they are pretty content with their surroundings, but I am sure it would be a possibility if there were not enough resources. You can keep them with other ducks but you always want to consider your drake vs. hen ratio and if keeping a Muscovy drake and smaller breed hens, you may find he is too large/rough on them and need to separate. I personally don't keep any aggressive drakes, but I can say they do get very large, especially certain genetics.
Do you haveana incubator you can recommend for hatching Mosovites?
I do not personally have any experience with successfully hatching Muscovies so I can't suggest anything in particular. Sorry I can't be of more help.
I have some muscovy and how to get bared color?
Barred is a recessive gene so you need to have both a drake and a hen that are carriers for barring.
Thank you so much. 🙏
Hi how do you keep rats down
I noticed you have no rat holes
?
PS your videos are 👍 great
Hi there! We have never had rats near our ducks. We only had a rat issue after our first winter with our chickens because we had stacked straw bales around our coop in an effort to help insulate (turns out they don't need it ha) and we spent that whole summer eradicating the rats, eventually having to resort to poisoning them because we couldn't get rid of them there were so many. We do have four barn cats so that probably is a contributing factor.
@@FableHillFarm I am so pleased you make mistakes too
I have just got a nice man to come and kill our rats so far 28 in 2 days
In spring it’s horrible as they take ducklings and chicks so I am trying to have them killed now
Cx
@@cazsantics525 muscovy ducks will eat baby rats. They help keep rodent populations down. They are amazing!
I do have 1 question
I have just purchased Brown muskovy The breeder says they are sex link
So if you have a Black male to brown females all their babies males will be black
Have you heard of this ?
Please do more Muskovy videos absolutely love them
Subscribed 😊
Why is my Muscovy don't sit on her eggs. She had 27.
Hm. What is your climate like? Is she sitting yet since you commented?
10.2 acres wow.
Very nice mam
Thank you! I appreciate you watching.
How many egg you put in there for incubating?
My incubator only holds around 6-9 eggs, it is very small.
Amazing
great video :)
Thanks so much!
What do you feed them sister?
Hi there! Please check out my other videos on feeding muscovies as I go into what I feed my flock in great detail in several videos. Thank you for watching! Where are you watching from?
Why are all my ducklings female?
Excellent luck? Ha. No, I’m joking. I’m sure there is a biological explanation. I know in chickens, if a hen feels there are too many roosters, she is more apt to hatch female offspring, from my understanding. What is your current drake to hen ratio?
Don't they fly away
they are quiet
Indonesia 💘💘💘💘💘
Комментарйй🦆🦢🐔🦢
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Thanks for watching!
Is that tattoo in your chest?
Do you have insta account?
YES! instagram.com/fablehillfarm/