Muscovy Ducks ~ Hatching Babies with Momma

Princess helping her babies hatch

A few days ago our female Muscovy Duck hatched her eggs. Muscovies are a water fowl from South America. They perch in trees, eat bugs, veggies and even meat. For over 3 years we have raised these beautiful water fowl for pets and pest control. They skim the shallow water and eat the mosquitoes, search the organic gardens for horned worms and rotten veggies. They are a delight to have around!

We have one male and female named Prince & Princess. The red crunckle around Prince is normal as is the curved beak. The more red the better the male appeals to the female. Prince is the spawn of King. King was a 30+ pound Muscovy that made his way about 4 miles down the road to another farm with female muscovies. He is living happily there and no one seems to mind. Prince loves to catch cherry tomatoes in his mouth and he loves to follow you around the property shaking his tail like he was a dog.

This is Prince

The muscovies are very interactive and involved with each other and the process of the babies hatching. We knew when they were close becasue both ducks gathered around the nest eagerly awaiting the new life. Out of 14 eggs all but 1 hatched. We have 13 adorable babies!

Princess helping one out of the shell

I've studied the habits of the Muscovy ducks these past several years and can tell you just about anything. I visit and interact with them daily. They make fantastic companions and feathered friends! Often they will perch in various areas of the property giving a neat and unique feel to the land. I hope to someday write a book about life with Muscovy Ducks and raising them. Their history is fascinating and they were even used in one of the World Wars to spy on the enemy. They are extremely intelligent birds!

Life with Muscovy Ducks is simply wonderful! We will be taking two or three of them with us when we move in the next few weeks. The rest of the babies will need to be adopted out.
Many of the baby ducks will change color to all white, white & black and some will stay brown like this momma duck. We have had solid white females in the past with all blue eyes. They are a stunning creature.

So how do we tell a male from a female? In about 2 to 3 weeks the babies will be large enough to see who has fat wide legs and who has delicate legs. This is how we have always found out the sex of each duck and it has been 100% accurate.

Hope you all enjoyed the babies hatching. We feel fortunate to have such wonderful creatures as friends and part of our family! Several of these ducks will be available soon on the Animal Adoption page of the Giving Earth website.