Muscovies

[GaryD]

Muscovies are excellent livestock for urban farming purposes.

While they are often referred to as a duck, they aren’t derived of the Mallard like other domestic duck breeds and scientists regard them as more of a goose than a duck.

Muscovies are much quieter than either ducks or geese – they hiss rather than quack or honk – so they’re less likely to annoy your neighbours.

Muscovies, like geese, are grazers and a large part of their diet can come from good forage.

Like ducks, they’ll happily clean up food wasted by other animals and they love live food like:

snails
worms
slaters
earwigs
flies
mosquitoesDucklings will hunt flies almost as soon as they are hatched.

[Miki]

Hi Gary, Muscovy's are lovely birds to have. We have put our three young ones at 6 weeks in with the chooks and they have settled in well, though it did take a while for them to get used to us - after a few weeks they have started copying the chooks at feeding time and it is a great sight having 5 black/blue/green Australorps (nearly point of lay pullets) running out of the paddock followed by 3 white waggling Muscovy's. It is a joy having them, they don't make much noise, they don't even hiss. They are not that active (other than at feeding time) but waddle around their water bowl which is refreshed every morning. The muddied left overs from the day before feed the veggie patch.

They all have their distinctive marks, one has black eyebrows, one has a couple of black dots and the other is completely white. Pictures will follow when made.

[fishfood]

Muscovies are excellent livestock for urban farming purposes.

While they are often referred to as a duck, they aren’t derived of the Mallard like other domestic duck breeds and scientists regard them as more of a goose than a duck.

Muscovies are much quieter than either ducks or geese – they hiss rather than quack or honk – so they’re less likely to annoy your neighbours.

Muscovies, like geese, are grazers and a large part of their diet can come from good forage.

Like ducks, they’ll happily clean up food wasted by other animals and they love live food like:

worms
slaters
earwigs
flies
mosquitoesDucklings will hunt flies almost as soon as they are hatched.

You forgot snails

[GaryD]

You're right......I overlooked one of their favourite foods......fixed!

Thanks FF.

Gary

[grassroots]

I am considering getting a male muscovy and 2 female peking ducks for meat production. I have read that crossing them makes for a superior product that hatches earlier, on the table earlier and heavier than a female muscovy. Am I right in assuming this, or have I missed some important points?

Gwen

[GaryD]

Hi Gwen,

I was under the impression that crossing Muscovies and member of the Mallard species (most other ducks) produced 'mules' which are capable of good growth but which were usually infertile. I could be wrong.

Can you point me to the material to which you referred?

The reason I like Muscovies for backyard food production is that, unlike other ducks, they don't quack......so they don't present an issue with neighbours.

GaryD

[grassroots]

At first I was going to get muscovies because they did not quack, doing more research I found a few sites that wrote about these crosses.
http://www.metzerfarms.com/mule.htm
This is one of the sites about crossing muscovies and pekins. As I am breeding to eat, having infertile progeny is not a problem. The quacking of the pekin might be a problem as I live in the middle of town. If the quacking is a problem I will have to go back to the muscovies

Gwen

[MarkEinOz]

I have 4 Indian Runners and they would have to be the noisiest beggars getting around. They whoop it up, just to get your attention and stooge you for some food. I think I will have to move them on before the neighbours get cranky (and I have great neighbours).

Stick with "Mussies" if your a townie. You will need to clip their wings though. The young females in particular sometimes get excited and they are capabale of getting up and over your fences.

[Ravnis]

I've never raised poultry before, but am thinking of giving it a go. Debating on which one would be easier to raise: chickens (Chooks?), ducks or geese. From what I've read, the muscovies seem to be the best. I don't have a pond, but could get a wading pool rather easy. Any thoughts or pointers out there?

[kellenw]

Ravnis,
Are you wanting to raise something for meat, eggs or both? Muscovies are not a good selection for eggs, but they are a great bird for meat. They are hardy and grow fast. If you want a dual purpose duck, consider khaki campbells. They lay LOTS of large eggs and, while they dress out smaller than a Muscovy, they still provide a lot of meat. Pekin/Khaki crosses are even better in my opinion. Coturnix quail are easy keepers if you like lots of tiny eggs (they are delicious, just very small) and really tasty meat.

[Ravnis]

Looking for something mainly meat, but eggs would be good. Also looking for something that didn't require lots of pens. From what I've read the muscovy doesn't require a fancy coop, mainly a place to overwinter. A plus would be eating grass and bugs. Not too fond of chickens as they can be noisy and duck eggs are supposedly better for baking.

I am concerned with predators as there are neighborhood cats, but the muscovy seems big enough to fend them off. I have a fenced in yard, but cats just climb fences.

[Ravnis]

I have a mix of muscovies and buff orphintons now, 17 in all. They have grown quick. The older ones have begun to fly , but stay close to the fenced in yard. THe fenced in area is about 50ft x 50 ft. Had them since mid july and they still kind of shy away from me. Although if there food bowl is empty, they will follow at a distance while I refill it.

One of my 5 month old kittens decided she wanted to dry some duckling and went in the fenced area. To my amazement the adult ducks put the ducklings in a circle and formed a "guantlet" between the cat and the fence. That cat couldn't get out of there fast enough and won't go back in. Amazingly smart critters.

[GaryD]

Hi Ravnis,


I have a mix of muscovies and buff orphintons now.....
You may need to separate them as they get older or you may find that they'll "mix" in the biblical sense. Once thing is certain, your buffs won't appreciate a 5kg Muscovy drake trampling all of them.

Gary

[Ravnis]

I'll keep that in mind. The only trampling I have seen thus far is the one khaki cambell(male) and the oldest buff. I have not seen a single drake feather form on any of the scovies, so they might just turn out to be all females., but it is still early I think as they are 3-4 months old now. Guess that one drake may need an energy drink if he turns out to be the only male.

[Brier]

Muscovies do not get the typical drake feather seen in mallard based breeds. Look for a more elongated body, and more exposed skin on the head.

[Bear]

Hi
Gary may have forgotten this but a few months ago one of our neighbours asked us to look after their selection of mixed poultry while they went fishing for 3 days, 1 goose (female) 3 turkeys (females) 4 layers and 1 large randy muscovy drake (no lady ducks) all penned up together.
What an absolute disaster,we went to put them away on the 2nd night and found one of the turkey hens had been very badly mauled by what we thought was our resident fox but turned out to be the drake, he made a shocking mess of her back between her wings when he had pinned her down and trodden all over her back.Gary had to put her down as she was in awful trouble and would only have been attacked by the big boy again. Please don`t keep an adult drake in with anything other than a female of his species, if he manages to trap them he will do a lot of damage.
Jan

[Ravnis]

finally got around to trying some muscovy meat. I may not have cooked it right as it was my first attempt, but it tasted like a very tender, lean roast beef. The buff meat is like a cross between turkey and beef. Have not tried goose yet. Does anyone know what that meat tastes like? I incubated my first batch of eggs and am now up to 26 birds from 11. Had a 75% hatch rate.

[GaryD]

Hi Ravnis,


finally got around to trying some muscovy meat. I may not have cooked it right as it was my first attempt, but it tasted like a very tender, lean roast beef.
Sounds like you got it pretty right to me. The usual mistake that people make with duck breast (like many other things) is that they overcook it.

A good way to cook Muscovy breast is to sear it at high temperature (to brown the outside and crisp the skin) and then move the frying pan to the oven to finish it off.

It should be quite pink in the centre and, by the sound of it, you got it right. Overcooked duck breast becomes tough.


Have not tried goose yet. Does anyone know what that meat tastes like?
I'd describe it as tasting a bit like a cross between duck and chicken.....but that doesn't fully do it justice.

The important thing with goose meat is that it is very oily. Cook it on a rack in an oven tray so that the copious quantity of oil can drain from the bird.

Keep the fat from both duck and goose.....and strain and refrigerate. If you have not eaten potatoes fried or roasted in duck or goose fat, you have not eaten the ultimate fried or roasted potatoes.


I incubated my first batch of eggs and am now up to 26 birds from 11. Had a 75% hatch rate.
Congratulations.....an excellent outcome.

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi,

Ravnis' recent Muscovy meal reminded me that it was a while since we ate this excellent food, too.......so, when the opportunity presented itself to buy some, we did so.

We'll feed this lot up for a week and then the biggest one will become dinner and the others will follow at regular intervals after that.

Gary

[Pugo]

I wonder will Muscovies work like geese when it comes people wondering around your yards. I had plans of getting some guard geese. But the noise kind of put me off. But in the Philippines who cares about noise that place it doesn't make much of a difference, everyone has a pet rooster as many People from the Philippines love cock fighting..

[Ravnis]

The muscovies I have hardly make a sound. The buff orphingtons sure do though.

[GaryD]

Hi,

We bought four young Muscovy drakes a couple of weeks ago.

As the first photo evidences, they were prime meat ducks.

As the second photo evidences, one of them was not pleased at being unceremoniously removed from the crate in which they'd been transported.

One might be excused for thinking that someone who has handled as many chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese as I have would observe appropriate safe working practices ....but one would be wrong.

I've been scratched, pecked, kicked and bitten.....and had my wedding tackle seriously assaulted by every kind of livestock you can imagine.....and I still front up to them with the thought "I'll just grab them and do this and that"......and, within a short time, my pain threshold gets tested, the wedding tackle is nowhere to be found or ......the blood flows.

But, as they say, all's well that ends well.......and my aggressor, and his brothers, are now cooling their heels in various packages of duck parts in the freezer.

Our first Muscovy meal was duck curry.....mmmm!

Gary

[Pugo]

Duck are something loved here in Taiwan almost everywhere you go the is roasted duck for sale, in the Philippines it is Duck eggs. (bault) nice little business too.

[GaryD]

Many years ago, we produced balut (using chicken eggs instead of duck eggs) for members of the Vietnamese community in South Australia.

For the uninitiated, balut is duck/chicken embryo. The eggs are incubated for up to 18 days (in the case of chicken balut). At that point, the eggs are placed in a refrigerator so that the embryo is killed off.

The eggs (which by this stage are more chicken than egg) are boiled and eaten directly from the shell. It sounds horrible but they are highly regarded delicacies to folk from various Asian countries.

You can see a photo of balut here (http://philippinesfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/01/filipino-exotic-foods.html)......or google for other images.

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi,

A few weeks ago, we obtained another 8 Muscovies. I knocked up a makeshift shelter.

At this stage, the males will end up as meat. We might keep the females and buy them a good-looking drake - and breed them.

Gary