| A lot of duck farmers will tell you that keeping | | | | ducklings while they migrate to look for a place to |
| Muscovy ducks is easier than keeping other breeds | | | | live, food, and security. |
| of ducks. Muscovy ducks are kept for a variety of | | | | Muscovy ducks need to be kept in a small confined |
| reasons including to be used as pets, to make your | | | | area when they are younger than 3 weeks old and |
| farm look good, to produce eggs, and for their meat. | | | | they need a heat source. These young ducklings |
| Keeping Muscovy ducks can reduce the insect | | | | cannot produce enough body heat to keep |
| population in your yard. The Muscovy duck is not one | | | | themselves warm so this is important. You should not |
| of the popular domesticated breeds of ducks but it | | | | let baby Muscovy ducks swim in anything bigger than |
| can perform domestic purposes, which is why a lot | | | | their shallow water container. The young ducklings |
| of farmers choose to raise these ducks. | | | | should be eating food high in protein. The amount of |
| Muscovy ducks are a lot like Mallard ducks. They will | | | | protein and type of food they need depends on how |
| not mate with only one male as some breeds of | | | | old they are. |
| ducks do. They mate both in water or on land while | | | | Between three and six weeks, young Muscovy ducks |
| most ducks only mate in the water. Muscovy ducks | | | | can be moved to a bigger pen. They can also be |
| kept for domestic purposes mate as many as three | | | | provided a baby pool to swim in once they have |
| times a year. | | | | their full plumage on the bottom. It is important to let |
| Female Muscovy ducks lay between 9 and 17 white | | | | the baby ducks out into the yard to look for food on |
| ducks and will do so in a tree burrow or tunnel. The | | | | their own every so often so they learn how to do |
| eggs incubate for 35 days, a week longer than other | | | | so. The baby ducks will scratch to find grains that |
| duck eggs. While incubating her eggs, the female only | | | | enhance their diet. |
| leaves her nest one time a day for between 30 and | | | | Muscovy ducks can be kept out in the open |
| 90 minutes in order to eliminate waste, eat and drink, | | | | between 6 and 12 weeks. It is important to give |
| and groom itself. After the eggs begin to hatch, the | | | | them a pen to keep them safe from predators that |
| process can take up to 24 hours as the chicks break | | | | may want to eat them. You can do this with a small |
| through. Ducklings hatched in the wild generally remain | | | | fence made of wire but do not use chicken wire. At |
| near their mother for about 10 or 12 weeks. They | | | | this age, the ducks need to have a baby pool to |
| are not able to produce enough heat themselves so | | | | swim in. As the ducklings grow, their nutrition needs |
| they need to be near their mother in order to stay | | | | to include plenty of egg mixes, grains, and green |
| warm, especially at night. The male duck also stays | | | | feed. |
| near the ducklings for a few weeks and escort the | | | | |