Our Newest Additions

First time in the water under mama's watchful eye.

Our brown Muscovy duck brought her babies out of the nest today. There are 27 little balls of fluff!

Anecdotal evidence and our experience indicate that Muscovies are usually better mothers than other ducks. Many say it's best to keep the drakes separate from the ducklings because they may sometimes unintentionally trample ducklings. Be that as it may, our Muscovy drake, Socks, is a great dad.

This brood, however, has been adopted by our Pilgrim gander Westley. His mate, Buttercup, died last year, so he has been rather lonely this spring. Westley has been nervously standing guard over this brood all morning. Poor guy, we need to find him another Buttercup.

Westley helping with the chores --
 "As you wish."

We supplement our ducklings with a chick starter After a few weeks, the ducklings can be switched to a chicken grower feed, although ours will have access to all the tender grass and weeds they want. At about 4 months they'll be ready to harvest, especially if we supplement with a grower feed.

Muscovies are excellent livestock for backyard homesteading, mini-farming purposes.

Buttercup, a Pilgrim goose

While they are often referred to as a duck, they aren't related to the Mallard like the other domestic duck breeds. They have some characteristics of ducks, but are also similar to geese. They don't take to deep water like ducks, though they enjoy having plenty of water to wash in. Like other waterfowl they need water deep enough to submerge their nostrils and eyes to keep them clean. Like ducks, they like to mix their food with water--what a mess in the brooder pens. Muscovies are South American birds that like to roost in trees at night, and have fairly sharp claws that enable them to do so. They're not strong flyers, but they have no trouble clearing our five- and six-foot fences, if we don't remove the flight feathers from one wing.

One thing is for certain, Muscovies are much quieter than either our ducks or our geese. In fact they make no sound except for a rare, short "peep" and a warning "hiss." This is a good animal to have in a close neighborhood. Muscovy drakes weigh up to about 15 pounds and ducks weigh about half of that. They come in a variety of colors, and in our experience color of the offspring is not dependent on the color of the parents.

Muscovies have less fat than Mallard-type ducks. The breast on a Muscovy is large and almost fat-free. We think it tastes very much like beef. In fact, cooked properly and served with a little horseradish sauce, it is reminiscent of prime rib. The darker meat of the Muscovy tastes more like chicken. (Doesn't everything taste more or less like chicken?)