Muscovy Duck

MuscoviesIf you have the space for waterfowl (they can be messy) and if you want to raise your own meat (and eggs too if you like duck eggs), I don't think there's a better choice than Muscovy ducks. Also, they are quiet if noise is an issue. They are excellent setters and mothers, so other than a brooder to get your first ducklings started, you don't need an incubator. They also make good surrogate mothers if you have other waterfowl species that aren't good natural mothers. They typically hatch two broods a year, but the spring brood is usually the larger one. I've had as many as 15 ducklings hatch in a brood. They do take longer to hatch and mature than mallard-type ducks but that's not a serious drawback in my opinion. I've occasionally gotten a cross-breed with the other breeds of ducks (Swedish, Rouen) that I used to raise, which I thought was kind of cool. They are excellent foragers and in principle could pretty much fend for themselves in the summer, but unfortunately they are as vulnerable to hawks as any other duck, so that may not always be possible. Two things to watch out for: sexually Muscovy drakes can be very aggressive to other Muscovy drakes, so the drake to hen ratio is very important. Since they are climbing ducks and capable of flying, they have sharp claws and strong wings unlike mallard-type ducks and can really scratch you or swat you with their wings if you're not careful catching and holding them. But other than that and females protecting their young, they aren't aggressive to people like, say, Chinese geese (the one breed of poultry I don't like). A great choice for an easy to raise, hardy, productive bird.