Musky in the Egg

Muscovy ducklings right before they were about to hatch!

 We started off this spring with 3 duck nests with 29 eggs. Well the cows got one nest (it was in a bad spot anyway) and then Andy let the PBPs out and they got the other nest; but Daphne picked a great spot up in the loft and after 35 looooong days (for me!) they're hatching!!

I candled all the eggs the day before they hatched, because I wasn't quite sure of her hatch day I've been keep careful track of when they're going to hatch.

I could see movement in 5 of the 7 eggs, and put Xs on those ones with a sharpie. The 6th had a duckling in it, but he doesn't seem to be moving, so that one has just a / on it & I put it back under mom just in case. The last egg was rotten and got buried in the compost.


One thing I learned this week is that duck eggs take a long time to actually hatch! I thought they'd be more like chickens who barely take any time between the first pip and when the chicks are out & running around, but they can take as much as 24 to 48 hours between that first pip and actually hatching.

Once they do hatch they're absolutely adorable!! Little tiny muscovy babies, we're all so excited to see them.

I put food and water up there as soon as the babies started hatching, because they're up in the loft they aren't going to able to keep using this as a nest spot for the ducklings as they grow (because they can't fly up there with mom). I didn't want mom trying to take them too far for food until I get a chance to move them all once they've all hatched.

Daphne's pretty pissed at me for mussing with her but she actually looked relieved (if that's possible for a duck) and stopped hissing at me as soon as I brought the food up.

Ducklings, or not

Delilah who was formerly sitting on 7 eggs is now only sitting on 2. So either something gotten in at her eggs, or the cows may have stepped on some, which is really too bad. Few more weeks to go and we should have ducklings though! Same with Daphne who is thankfully still on her 7 eggs.

2 of the 3 chicken hatches ended in momma chicken getting off the nest and things aren't looking great for tomorrows hatch. On the other side Coco is sitting a new nest.

I hold out little hope, but we'll see!

Moulting Ducks

 Not the sexiest time of year.

Just don't tell Louie that!

The Mysterious Daphne

 Daphne had been sneaking off between meals and I couldn't find out where she was going, since she was acting funny (very vocal with a quiet quacking sound) I was hoping she was hiding a nest somewhere. Hubs found her while hunting for pigeons and I'm very glad she picked the spot she did!

She's up in the loft above the cows in the very farthest corner. So when the fox came in the barn thankfully he didn't find her and her nest spot is probably why.

She is also sitting on 8 eggs, and guessing they'll be due a day or 2 before Delilah's but I'm not sure. Like Delilha's we will have to move the ducklings as soon as they get moving, or they'll fall out of the loft; but it's a pretty good nursery for little duckies!

Duck Nest!!

Not exactly the best place, but also not the worst. She's tucked away where the cows are unlikely to step on her, but we'll have to move her & the ducklings as soon as they hatch. Cows don't look where they step!


8 Eggs so far!! That's probably all she's going to lay right now but it is possible she'll have more. If the other ducks were laying I'd sneak those babies in too but I can't find any other nests.

Not pleased with me for fussing with her!

Ducklings are due April 11th (muskys take about 35 days to hatch).

Animal Humour

Ducks think they are funny... 

Dirty ducks

I realized, while feeding tonight, the reason the sheep's heated water bowl is always so dirty is that the ducks have been using it as a teeny-tiny hot tub!! I caught both Delilah & Lewie in the post-coital moment, with Delilah soaked to the bone (she seems to have an issue not having enough oil) and Lewie with a ridiculous grin on his ducky face (okay I may have been imaging that part).

Naughty Ducks!!

These Amazing Little Ducks

NAP - Micro Livestock

I found this while looking up good dimensions for the nest boxes. What I found was some more info that makes me loves these duckies even more!

"For years, some Canadian farmers have sworn that few muscovies took care of all fly problems on their farms. In 1989, Ontario biologist Gordon Surgeoner and Barry Glofcheskie decided to put this to the test.
"Starting with labratory trials... put a hungry five-week-old muscovy into a screen cage with 400 living houseflies. Within an hour it had eaten 326. ... it took flypaper, fly traps, and bait cards anywhere from 15 to 86 hours to suppress the populations that much."

The whole book is well worth a read, and you can download for free. You don't even have to register, just give your email & name and "continue as guest" by following the prompts. 

Muscovy are fine to go free-range because they are aggressive towards predators, they definitely have sharp-claws you don't want to get the wrong side of (although mine are fairly tame birds). They can fly, but tend not to fly far or away from the farm at all. Ours travel in a little pack all over the farm looking for tid-bits and bugglies before returning to the coop every night. They do like to swim in the livestock tank, but Muscovy are known for being more tolerant of not having a swimming area then other ducks. Although they do splash around in the chicken's water, they don't usually make that much of a mess. Their poops are not as wet and dirty as other ducks. They are also very easy keepers, our boys are HUGE. They produce tons of eggs they are supposed to be quite delicious. 

Plus they wag their little tails when they are happy and barely make any noise at all.

Fly control & all that in one adorable tasty beautiful little package!

Duck Nest

I wasn't able to find too much information about how to build a Muscovy nest, seems they pretty much just pick a spot somewhere, anywhere, and away they go. But we've got turkey and roosters and lots of other chickens & ducks in the coop so I was worried if they did start laying that the eggs all might be crushed if they did try to rear some young.

So, I came up with this design & my wonderful hand-hubby got straight to work for me. Each box is 12"x12"x18", with the bottom piece being 22". The holes in the front are 8". The top is hinged & I grabbed whatever exterior paint was in the shop to give it a quick coat to protect the plywood. There are stabilizing bars in the corners and on one side and bottom of each divider piece.

So far, the ducks are terrified of the new box...

We went with 4 nests for 3 ducks in case one was being aggressive the other two could move a nest away from her. 

Hopefully they'll move in soon, they are edging on 6-7 months old, with the coop light on 16 hours/day for the chickens, they should start laying soon. So we'll have lots & lots & lots of duck eggs. Apparently they taste just like chicken eggs only bigger, but I've never had one before so should be interesting!

We're also going to let the ducks rears up some babies, but not too many. Muscovy are prolific breeders and it's very easy to find chicks for $5 each (or less) especially during the summer. I've read that muscovy meat also taste fantastic, but our local processor want $13 a bird, and that's just not reasonable (it has to do with the increased difficulty with de-feathering the ducks, obviously they just don't want the work). We were hoping to raise some ducks for meat, but until we find a better price for processing or it's not feasible.

Ducks are Trouble Sometimes Too.

Hey! Get out of there!

The horribly, terribly loud, ducks.

You may want to cover your ears...

Or turn your speakers up!!
The noise is from the tractor next door, I wasn't too far away from the ducks and they were upset at Lenny for being a jerk. This is about as loud as they ever are, making that funny hissing noise.

Ducks out for a stroll

The ducks have taken to the habit of going out in a big flock for morning and evening strolls about the farm.

I am so enjoying having the Muscovy, we picked them up just wanting any breed of duck to have on the farm, but they've been a really enjoyable addition. Very nice dispositions, very quiet, and just adorable with their little waggling tails!

I wonder how many we'll have next year...

How long till Thanksgiving?

Almost full-grown Narragansett Turkey

Hmmm... I wonder who ate all my tomatoes...

Garden fence is in the works for next year! Once the turkeys started flying over their dilapidated run fence (long story, also in the plans for next year), I had to start leaving the door open so they could get back into the coop. Evidently, they really enjoy green, just about to turn, tomatoes.

Everyone who comes for a visit asks, "Are those the little baby ducks!?!?". Yes, the tiny little balls of fuzz from June are about the size of a cat/small dog now. I can see why Muscovy are raised for meat! They grew the best this year out of all our poultry, and are huge. This is Huey the biggest, showing off his silent squeak. Fear not, these guys are our breeding group so they are not destined for the dinner table, in the spring when we have tons of new little ducks... well, I'd better start collecting recipes!

I'm about 90% sure we've got Huey & Louie the boys, then 3 lady ducks who still need names (including Dewey, but I really can't keep calling her that). Muscovy are difficult to sex, but males are much larger and all these guys are supposed to have been born around the same time (Early May(ish) 2011). 

I don't think these South American ducks (the wild stock domestics come from) are going to have any trouble staying warm this winter!

Angel Wings

The ducklings as a few months old

Sometimes ducks and geese develop a condition known as "angel wings" where their wings tips will point outwards from their bodies. Know one seems to be very sure what causes it, either genetics or maybe too much protein in the feed. Either way, as we learned, it can also just be a growth spurt.

It didn't slow her down!

Dewie developed a problem where her wings were dipping as her feathers grew in. It did look a lot like angel wings but instead of carrying through with the treatment (which involves wrapping the duck's wings while they are still growing) I left it alone and watched very careful. Her wings became more and more normal as the days went by so I was sure it wasn't angle wings.

Getting better week by week

You'd never know she'd had a problem!
The wings have grown completely normally. 

When choosing to interfere or not you have to consider how much stress you are going to cause the birds. As well as the fact that you are going to restrict the muscle growth in the wings. Both of these lead me to the conclusion not to act on what was a minor cosmetic detail. If it was been more sever I would have wrapped her wings.

Now we just need to come up with a new name. She's definitely female so I don't think we're keeping the 'Dewie'

A look in the coop

Gobble Gobble!

 Their heads flush bright red when they see me because they've realised I have all the food.

Huey is getting, HUGE!

 Little ducks have fit very well into the flock

 

Lenny is still King of the Coop!

Still 'Dewey'

,

Poor Dewey's wing is still funny, but it's much better then it was before. We still may tape it, but she gets along just fine, it's just a minor aesthetic flaw.

A look in the Coop - At Night

The ducks are supposed to roost
as they get bigger, but my fat-butts can't get
off the ground yet!

 These guys usually just sleep in a big pile in a corner of the coop.

Turkeys taken over the nesting boxes.

After spending about $30 on dowel
and rushing to get them up...
The chicks sleep in a big pile
on the end where they haven't
been installed yet.

This used to be Lenny's spot, but once the chicks started roosting he was ousted!

Birds don't see well at night, so sneaking in with the lights off can be a great time to check on health and vitality of otherwise flighty birds.

A look in the Coop

Lenny and the little guys

 Lenny is growing up so quickly! 2 more months and our little hens should be laying eggs for us. It takes about 16 weeks (4 months) and we got them early June at a few weeks old.

The Ducks get bigger every single time I walk the coop! It's amazing! 

Dewie's bum wing. The right one originally looked like the left, but is now completely fine. It's just the way her feathers are growing, but I think we're going to have to tape her left wing.

Turkeys! They are getting noticeably bigger every week, and I think they are all full feathered now. 

The little guys roosting.

Mirror Image!

I don't believe they are related, in fact the little Roo is supposed to be a cuckoo maran, and Lenny is supposed to be a Dominic (because of the combs).

Still no decision about what we are doing with Lenny. He's a lovely boy, doesn't crow yet but definitely a rooster, so maybe we'll find him a new home at the next bird auction.

Quack is Growing Up!

We got out ducks mid-June at the auction and thought they were 2 weeks old. That would make them 2 weeks younger then our new little guys... yeah we were wrong! They must have been at least a month old, because they are MUCH bigger then the new little ducks.

Muscovy develop very beautiful (or ugly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!) red carnucles on their bills as they mature, and our lovely boy Louie is just starting to turn red on the edges!

Quack, Quack, Quack... Quack, Quack

Maddie isn't the only new occupant!

We weren't planning on adding any more poultry but sometimes a deal comes along you can't pass up. We've got 2 boys (Louie & Huey) and 1 gal (Dewy). That's a bad ratio to have with ducks, eventually they are going to start fighting over the girl and with them all being siblings bringing in some outside blood also means we can start our own flock.

I went to pick up the mother duck of these two, funny story, we got her to the car where she decided there was NO way she was going in that little cage... scratching (and Muscovy have BIG nails), flapping and wiggling, she got free. I was SO embarrassed but the kind woman selling me the ducks just shrugged and said "okay take some babies!"

And so, we have two very pretty little ducks!

The big guys already loved them. I was worried they would pick on the new guys, but it was Lenny that took exception to them and our other ducks immediately stepped in to defend the little munchkins! VERY COOL!

These guys were born the 19th of June. We thought our guys were 2 weeks old when we bought them (and therefor 2 weeks older then these guys) not so much...

You should quarantine any new bird for at least 30 days before adding them to your flock to lessen the risk of spreading disease

(we chose not to because the woman we purchased from was a knowledgeable owner of a very healthy looking flock, so we're hedging out bets on the little guys being clean)