Muscovy Duck: Pros & Cons??

[KikiDeAnime]

Someone near me found a female Muscovy duck and they're currently searching for her owners but if they're aren't found or she doesn't have any, we'll be taking her in. I started reading up on owning them but wanted to hear from people here that own them.
I'm hoping that if we do take her in, our ducks will like her.

What are pros and cons of owning these birds?

 

[333113]

Pros:
Muscovies are _much_ quieter than my other ducks, which are runners, Hookbills, and calls. Males whisper, females trill.

Cons:
Claws are very sharp so if you are holding a Muscovy and she panics, you will get scratched/stabbed. Those claws are fully functional for climbing and landing and roosting in trees.
Muscovies fly, especially the females. The males are too heavy to fly as well as the females, but they can surprise you! If their pen is not covered they will sleep on your roof, or on your neighbor's roof, or on the roof of the filling station six doors away, which is how I got my first Muscovy "rescue"--her owners got tired of tracking her down every day.

Pro or con, depending on how you look at it:
Muscovies have a much longer hatch cycle (35 days compared to a duck at 28), but they will hatch out and care for ducklings, and in my experience they are good moms.
Muscovies are not mallard-type ducks, so any offspring from matings with mallard-type ducks will be sterile.
The Muscovy males are as big as a goose and more intimidating. Visitors may panic. Males hiss even with friendly speech, so it can be difficult to know if they like you. Females are more shy. However, once they know you they can be quite friendly. My son and his friends spent many happy hours, beginning as a toddler, playing in a backyard shared with a flock of Muscovies. When the children got loud the Muscovies just moved away.

Hope this helps!

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Pros:
Muscovies are _much_ quieter than my other ducks, which are runners, Hookbills, and calls. Males whisper, females trill.

Cons:
Claws are very sharp so if you are holding a Muscovy and she panics, you will get scratched/stabbed. Those claws are fully functional for climbing and landing and roosting in trees.
Muscovies fly, especially the females. The males are too heavy to fly as well as the females, but they can surprise you! If their pen is not covered they will sleep on your roof, or on your neighbor's roof, or on the roof of the filling station six doors away, which is how I got my first Muscovy "rescue"--her owners got tired of tracking her down every day.

Pro or con, depending on how you look at it:
Muscovies have a much longer hatch cycle (35 days compared to a duck at 28), but they will hatch out and care for ducklings, and in my experience they are good moms.
Muscovies are not mallard-type ducks, so any offspring from matings with mallard-type ducks will be sterile.
The Muscovy males are as big as a goose and more intimidating. Visitors may panic. Males hiss even with friendly speech, so it can be difficult to know if they like you. Females are more shy. However, once they know you they can be quite friendly. My son and his friends spent many happy hours, beginning as a toddler, playing in a backyard shared with a flock of Muscovies. When the children got loud the Muscovies just moved away.

Hope this helps!

I've been wanting to get Muscovies to use to hatch eggs.

 

[333113]

I've been wanting to get Muscovies to use to hatch eggs.

That should work well for you, too, I hope. I have two Muscovies, both hens, who have been hatching duck eggs for me since last year. They go broody even without a male. One of them lays eleven eggs before she starts brooding, and the other lays a different number each time before she decides to set. When they started brooding last year I took all of their eggs and added Hookbill eggs. They hatched 14 out of 17. The second time they hatched all 20 Hookbill and runner eggs.

For each Muscovy hen without a male I use a wire-covered pen that's about 60 square feet with a large dog house in the middle. They nest in the crate. My other Muscovies, three females and one male, share a 100 square foot covered pen and two dog houses. There was too much squabbling over the dog crates at nesting time last year so I am going to try adding another without expanding the pen.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I'm still not sure if I'll get the female.
Just wanted to know the pros of having one.

Our mini duck flock includes: 2 ducks, 1 drake.
And within the past few days, their offspring hatched. 17 in total. Two different ladies used their incubators to hatch them for me

 

[SolarDuck]

I have to add under pros, they are just super entertaining to have around, they have complex body language that makes them very different from other ducks, and they are just one of, if not the friendliest duck breed!

 

[KaleIAm]

I believe I have heard many members say that because of the different ways muscovy and mallard derived ducks communicate it may not be the kindest to have only one muscovy. Quite similarly to how it isn't the kindest to have only one duck.

That could be a pro or a con.

 

[lost-duckling]

if they are happy they wont fly away and mine roost on on a bench or just sleep on the ground. they are from everything i have ever read/seen better

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

Someone near me found a female Muscovy duck and they're currently searching for her owners but if they're aren't found or she doesn't have any, we'll be taking her in. I started reading up on owning them but wanted to hear from people here that own them.
I'm hoping that if we do take her in, our ducks will like her.

What are pros and cons of owning these birds?

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

I consider this a pro. Muscovies can thrive in lots of areas since they can eat grains and seeds. They can also graze on grass and other plants. And they love insects. Mine always ate flies, mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, scorpions, maggots, and more. After I had the muscovies for a while I didn’t seem to have any bugs around.
Another pro is that they will hatch eggs from geese, all breeds of ducks, guineas, and chickens.