Hi there,

I have a couple of muscovies and would love some advice.

They are a brilliant pair, loved up and look after each other. I have yet to add another one or two ducks to the pair making it one drake to 2-3 ducks. However, due to lack of muscovies in my area I will have to wait.

What I have done is bought half dozen fertilised eggs, lavender and white mix. She has layed 8 - one a day - since putting the six in. I have taken about 25 or more eggs from her since I have had them, and wish I had left some in. But she is a trooper and under a year although not far off, and has only left two days between laying. This is why I found it so difficult to determine when she was going to stop her first clutch. She left two days after producing about 20 eggs and then carried on.

Anyway, she still seems to be laying, I have checked briefly everyday to see if there is another, and whether there is any faeces that needs cleaning away from eggs. However, I just wanted to know when she will go broody.

She is out during the day and goes to bed earlier than usual, she has created a nest for the 14 eggs so far and has plucked out some nice thermal feathers. She sits on them a night and not during the day as I conclude that she will only sit when she has finished her clutch.

But, is it alright for the eggs if she keeps sitting on and off, are they different to chicken eggs, do they go dormant before she sits, will they begin growing when she is on them and when she gets off will this harm them? I have basically kept it all clean and kept them fed and watered, rarely intervene, as i want it to happen naturally. But is there anything I should do other than what I already am.

Also, the drake for the last 2-3 days has been sleeping in the second pen that I made, which is a bigger ground house, triangular type pen. I built this for the future ducklings as they will not fit in the raised stilt house I have for the couple. He has always stuck with her and can manage getting up the ladder, but is he leaving her alone on purpose, is this something I should leave or should I take him out and put him back with the duck?

Lastly, are there any weeds, plants, foliage or anything in general that can harm muscovies? I live in the UK. They live in a 50m perimeter 6 foot high fox proof pen that I built. Including a 3ft x 3ft house on stilts 2 foot off ground with a bent wooden trunk that they love walking up.

Many Thanks in advance,



James Girdler

p.s. sorry for length or post - also would it be worth moving the eggs to the lower pen or is it too late. I do not want the ducks to hurt themselves but i suppose they should be used to slight height being in trees or do they nest on the ground in the wild?

If she is off the eggs during the day they will be dead and rotting! Birds will lay an egg each day in their nest until they have a clutch and then that MAY spark them into broody mode, most though will just keep laying just like yours is doing - nothing that you can do I'm afraid to make them go broody! Once eggs have started to be incubated they can't be stopped and if they go cold for more than half an hour they die.

Remove all the eggs and put in some fresher ones about 8 -10 will fit under a muscovy, mark them with an x or something so you know which ones are which and leave well alone preferably in a dark corner of the house, replace the marked eggs every couple of weeks to stop her sitting on rotten eggs and remove fresh ones for eating and just wait to see if it works. My muscovies used to breed like rabbits but usually were more prone to broodiness in their second year then it's a question of stopping them going broody! Alternatively stick some of her eggs under a broody hen if you have one!!
If she does go broody and sits for several days in a row and only leaves to get food and water for 20mins or so then you know she is going to stay. Only then order in some eggs, if you want new blood, or have a few that she has laid in the last week and stick the fresh ones all together under her at night or when she gets up to eat and poop and remove the marked ones.

Eggs can remain fertile before incubation, so sat in your house pointy end down somewhere cool, for about a week/10 days then the fertility starts to drop. If ordering eggs through the post always make sure you rest them for 24hrs pointy end down somewhere cool.

As for removing the drake - it doesn't make any difference - once the duck goes broody she will just sit tight and ignore him - he'll carry on doing his thing without her so I'd leave them do what they like!!
If you do get ducklings you need to make sure your house is totally rat proof - rats LOVE ducklings and will sniff them out a mile away and take them out from under the duck at night - so pest control is a must especially if on the ground!!

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Muscovies are generally known as good brooders....
It depends on the age, background,,etc... If this is her first clutch, then I'm sorry to say that you should take away THIS CLUTCH, because she is still growing... She will do better with her next clutch of eggs and her next clutch will come quickly and before you know it. I know it's tough but it's your only choice, ALL MUSCOVIES go broody but age is the issue here!!
My duck did exactly the same thing yours did, so I removed her clutch and waited for next one and guess what!! She had successfully hatched her eggs and she is still raising her ducklings now even though they were hatched in 25th of last February!! I can post a pic of her and her ducklings if you want.