Our Muscovy Ducks
These are the only domestic ducks not derived from Mallards. They are a very old breed, originally domesticated from wild Muscovies in Central and South America and brought over by the Spanish Conquistadors. They are much quieter than other ducks and seem to huddle in little groups and whisper to each other. Because they are not related to Mallards the males cannot be distinguished by the curly tail, but adult males are twice the size of the females so are still easy to identify.
Yet more new additions
who came to live with us in November 2003
The picture above was taken on their first night in a shed. We must fit some perches in for them as Muscovies like to roost at night. They had to be carried inside again on their second night. Sleeping inside is a new experience for them, but I'm not letting any foxes get a free meal from my pets. After a few days they got the idea and are quite happy to go inside at night now.
They are obviously still getting used to their new
surroundings and keep very close together, but the bird in the foreground shows the
typical horizontal stance of the breed
The standard says they are supposed to have a fierce
expression, because of the red skin round the eyes and down to the beak. I don't
think that is quite the right phraseology though. You couldn't get a prettier
pair than the two below could you. These are Auntie and Mother - guess there
relationship to the rest of the flock.
The bird below has Angel Wing, so we've called him Angel. This
condition is caused by too much protein in
her diet during development, that makes the last few primary feathers stick out. We
are trying to correct it by supporting the wing in the correct position against
his body for a few days. He's an excellent escape artist though and had our
first attempt to bandage it up off within seconds of being put back in the
muscovy paddock. We then tried a crepe bandage which didn't last any
longer - their wings are so strong just one flap and he's out.
A bit of a struggle to get out of his pond, but they like to splash all of
the water out of it nearly every day.
Standing Guard!
Tilly, who came to live with us at the end of July, and a new friend. Tilly is the duck on the left in the two pictures above. Note how the red in her face has grown! The greyer one on the right is Mother, who can be seen below sitting on her nest. We didn't know the exact date to expect the eggs to hatch as she stayed close to eggs whilst she was still gathering her clutch. Not all the eggs hatched - she kicked a couple out last week and there were four others that she abandoned today. Obviously the birds are having similar problems to us with the fluctuating humidity this year.
Mother, protecting her four ducklings that hatched today (5th August). Her body is not rteally that much bigger than her head! Unfortunately when I went down to photograph the babies she had decided it was time for them to go to bed, and she just hissed at me and sat tight. With a bit of luck I'll get some better pictures tomorrow.
1 day old.
The ducklings are 3weeks old now and allowed out with the
other ducks to forage and dabble at the edge of the pond for tasty morsels to
supplement their growers pellets (guess which they prefer). It never ceases to
amaze me how quickly ducklings grow.
Two other ducks are sitting on eggs - Auntie and Tilly. This is Aunties second
attempt. She had built a nest outside the stable and despite us building a
protective shed around her, something dug up from below and ate the eggs while
she sat on them. She lost a few tail feathers and was very pale for a few days
but has now made a full recovery and both 'ladies-in- waiting' have opted to
build their nest s in separate corners of the stable where they are safe from
predators. At this rate I'll be over-run with Muscovies. I don't really mind though
as they are so friendly and don't make any noise to upset the neighbours, but I
can't go on doubling the numbers every year or I'll run out of space for them.
Ducks need lots of space!
Tilly with five ducklings.
Muscoveys are very sociable ducks and share parenting duties.
They are also excellent broodies for hatching other ducks' eggs so I just swap their own eggs for ones I am short of. That way they can saisfy their instincts and I keep my Muscovey numbers down.