I love these ducks! They are quiet, which can be a good thing and a bad thing.
Because they are so quiet I sometimes lose them, can’t hear them and then I worry as they are free ranged here. They can come and go as they please.
To make sure I can find them, we have a couple of Welsh Harlequins who announce wherever they are. 🙂
Another thing I love about the Muscovy is that they are not tied to the water bowl, or a swimming hole. They are quite content to
Another difference is they have long, sharp claws which are used to attach to tree branches at night when they roost. These claws can make a difference in how you carry a Muscovy…you don’t want to end with your blood on it’s claws!
Put your carrying arm over and around its body, pinning both wings in place and with your hand, take hold of one or both legs (depending on the size of the bird and the size of you) gently but firmly. Carry the bird backwards, like a football.
Muscovys eat a bit of everything – grass, slugs, bugs, flies, grain They are great for pest control. Be careful around your vegetable garden as your lettuce might suffer, but they are fine around less delicate and perennial crops. Muscovys make great pets, they socialize well with people as well as other pets such as dogs and cats.
Muscovys are not great swimmers, so do not need a pond or large body of water. They are content with a pan.
Muscovys breed very easily, and before you know it you might have quite a few. If you do not want to eat them, then don’t let the girls go broody, and eat all the eggs instead. Muscovy ducks make fantastic mothers. Rainbow hatched out 13 eggs, which is pretty amazing as the girls aren’t all that big.
They will often fly up and roost, and are known more for flying around than flying away! Our first Muscovy, named Rainbow, did that within days of bringing her home. She flew off , much to my son’s dismay. But 3 days later she circled the homestead and came home. After that, we never worried when she took a notion to fly as she always came back.
She also was an excellent mother, nesting somewhere and then bringing us the cutest little ducklings.
