Muscovy ducks

@bivol 10115 wrote:

Hi!

I’ve red this about muscovy ducks, and i thought it would be interesting

http://www.fleecefields.com/MuscovyDuck.jpg

muscovy ducks are not a domesticated form of wild european duck. they’re tree-dwelling birds from south america, who don’t need a pond so much as common ducks.

why are they good, or better to keep than common ducks?

1) they’re quiet. they don’t make a noise except hissing when they feel threatened.

2)they eat flies. and lots of them. surely anyone who has horses or oxen knows there are lots of flies around. once they cut open a muscovy duck and found it’s belly full of flies.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/1/1-3/Harvey_Ussery-4.jpg

3)they eat spilt grain and concentrate, leaving less for vermin. and not sure bout it, but they could also be eating mice.

4) they are large and have good meat, although dark in colour. the taste is said to be similar to veal, or beef, strong hasting. surely better than a common duck.

http://countryepicure.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/goth-7.jpg
anyway, a picture says a thousand words.

5) they’re tough. a muscovy duck can stand being outside in moderate winter conditions, and on snow.they are rarely ill.

That is interesting. I know that a lot of people keep muscovy ducks around their barn yards in our area, but I didn’t know why.

Thanks for the info. I will look into getting a few for my barn area. Anything that eats flies would be welcome.

Bivol, I picked up 3 Muscovy ducklings yesterday. I have to say, I probably would have passed on them without your posting about them. We got a male who is black and brown (and currently missing…hopefully temporarily) and two girls who are the prettiest color blue-grey. They are indeed voracious bug eaters and the woman who we bought them from has seen them eat mice…whole. My only concern about them is that they are very independant and roam very widely….makes me nervous. I’ll post a photo when I find the male!