Wednesday, May 27, 2009

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.

8 comments:

Rebecca Sweeney Krokoski said...

Man oh man, I found you through clicking on the word Reiki in my personal posting. Your blog is amazing! I am glad I have stumbled upon it and shall return regularly. THANK YOU for all the info you post. We are listening!
LOVE, rebecca (Cancer with Leo rising and a screwed up yet wonderful gal :D)

Princess Jenni said...

Awww, they're so cute! Thanks for posting the pics.

clown princess said...

Oh my, they are so adorable. Hope you find good homes for all of them and your other critters as well.

Rainbow Tree said...

I'm delighted to have you here Rebecca!!!!

It's always wonderful to see new faces and read the thoughts you have left. Thank you for the amazing compliments! I look forward to getting back into the routine of things in the upcoming weeks. Summer Solstice is just around the corner and I would like to write a little something to post on here for everyone. :-) I'll hope for the best on that, but not holding my breath...

A lot going on with our getting ready to move & such, but I should be posting some new rituals, meditations and other goodies here in the near future. Thanks again for coming aboard. :-)

Namaste,
Rainbow Tree
(Kandice Thompson)

Rainbow Tree said...

Princess Jenni
They are simply adorable. I've been watching them everyday and trying to interact. Soon we'll remove the mom to allow the babies to become a little more people friendly so we may adopt them. :-) Your welcome for the pics.


Earth Heart
Thanks for posting! I love all the baby ducks. As soon as we can tell the sex of them, then it is time for them to be adopted out. We've had a few people volunteer to take the remainders in the event they don't all find homes. This is the 4th batch we have adopted out. :-) Such sweeties they are and a delight to have around.

JoyK said...

I have some muscovy ducks and one of them has chosen to lay her eggs in a larg flower pot that I have on my back porch. Two of them have broken because there is nothing in the pot. I wanted to ask you if I were to put some straw or something soft in there with the eggs (I would have to touch them) would she abandon the nest?

Rainbow Tree said...

Joyful,
Sorry for the delayed response. Been busy with the move and all. As long as you are gentle with the eggs and try not to flip them over or rotate them quickly, they'll be fine. If the momma duck is friendly or semi friendly with you, there should be no problem. Your scent shouldn't bother her. Be cautious though as she may hiss or peck at you while you place the cushioning around her existing nest. Muscovies are sensitive so I'm sure it is upsetting her that her eggs are breaking. Straw, as you mentioned would be your best bet. It is least likely to have to much of your scent plus, she can rearrange and move the pieces as she shes fit to protect her eggs. :-)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope this info was helpful!

madar86 said...

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