Will a muscovy duck fly away?

[Puddingtheamericana]

I wanna get some ducks and I want to get a quiet breed. I want to get some Muscovey's since they're quiet breeds but apparently, they're also good flyers, if I get one will it fly away? Has anyone else had issues with their Muscovey's and flying?

 

[BullChick]

To be honest, mine only flew when in danger, and not far. As long as you are feeding them, they are as likely to disappear as any other pet.

 

[BullChick]

That being said, if your ducks, or any other fowl, are being boogers, clip one wing.

 

[JaeG]

We clipped ours the first year and even when their wing feathers grew back they didn't fly far on our 11 acre block, and really only towards us if they thought we had food (flying is faster than waddling), or if they wanted to get down to the pond faster. We've had one girl fly across the road, I think more by accident than design, and she isn't that tame so I can't catch her to clip a wing, but she only did it the once.

 

[Puddingtheamericana]

I'm in an urban area with a fairly sized backyard. the coop is surrounded by 6 foot tall mesh wire fence with trees covering it, would they fly outta that and know to get back in? should i just stick to a diffrent breed?

 

[JaeG]

I'm in an urban area with a fairly sized backyard. the coop is surrounded by 6 foot tall mesh wire fence with trees covering it, would they fly outta that and know to get back in? should i just stick to a diffrent breed?

I don't think they'd make it out of there, but you could always clip one wing initially if you were worried, and then by the time the wing feathers grew back they'd be well homed to their coop and run, and they'd know that's where the food is at. They need quite a bit of space to take off and on our place they'll use the slope of a hill to get airborne, so I think they'd find it difficult to take off out of your set-up.

 

[BullChick]

If they get out, they can get back.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Most people on here clip the wings of their Muscovies, and with good reason. Somewhere, there is a very helpful thread on how to do so. The only reason I do not clip the wings of mine is because only one of mine can fly well, and she doesn’t have intentions of flying off to be an only duck. That, and she’s over 3 years old now, and used to being able to fly. I’d hate to think of her getting into trouble because she assumed she could fly out of a bad situation and suddenly could not.

That being said, I spent a truly irritating couple of hours this past spring trying to catch her after she was startled by something and flew off into the woods and over the beaver brook.

If I got any new Muscovy hens, I would get into a routine of clipping.

However, I certainly wouldn’t avoid this amazing breed because of their ability to fly!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

If there are things that they can fly and hop to, they can get higher than 6 feet. In my run, they have "flown" and hopped to the top of the chicken coop and that is 8 ft tall.
However, they've never flown away. I kept them penned for a good 4 months before I let them wander our open backyard. I've actually only clipped their wings to try to keep them out of my chicken coop and they still managed to hop over a 4' fence, glide, land and then walk into the chicken coop up the ramp.
Muscovy can also climb. But, if you get drakes a short hop is about all that they can manage once they get over a yr old.
I love my muscovy. They are less messy than their mallard cousins. But, they can be a handful.

 

[Quatie]

I clip the wings of mine. I didn't raise them from ducklings, but got them when they were old enough to sex. They like to stick around and hang out with us more than other ducks. They have jumped over the fence before to lay an egg and jumped back in. It is a 3ft fence we keep them in with. To be fair they could get over taller fences if they really wanted to. Mine could definitely escape at time if they ever wanted to, but they never have. And that is with ducks I didn't raise as ducklings.

If you get adults, you will want a covered run to get them adjusted to their new home. Because then they might try and leave.

However, I have heard stories of people not clipping their wings and they flew away. Depending on where you live, they are considered invasive and you should clip their wings since they can be prolific breeders.