The ducklings are here!

Some people have asked me why Muscovy ducks are different. The fact is, from what I can tell, that they are not true "ducks" but were classified as such due to their duck bill and webbed feet.

Muscovys are quiet birds, the males making a hissing noise and wagging when excited, and the females almost entirely quiet unless softly peeping to their babies. They don't need water, they make excellent duck mothers, even being used on farms to hatch other eggs. They will roost in trees if left alone, but ours have learned to put themselves away at night into their coop area.

They eat less than other birds, forage really well (they are very wild genetically still), they're true lap birds, enjoying the company of people they trust. In fact, my George waits eagerly at the gate each morning for me to let him out, which I always do first, and then he follows me around while I do my chores. When I go back into the house, he hops up the steps after me and waits patiently while I go inside to get him some treats, which he gobbles up and then hops down the steps to start foraging for his own treats.

Their meat is purported to taste like pork and be indistinguishable from steak in appearance, and to have a lot more white meat than other duck. We will find out soon enough, I suppose. They are used all over the world as superb meat ducks, as one pair will yield up to 100 ducks annually. In Asian countries, they are mated with Peking ducks to make a good meat bird, which is in high demand. This mating yields mules, as they are not entirely the same species, the offspring are sterile.




Martha is now the proud mommy of 12 beautiful ducklings. We have pics, but will have to post later as we have company tonight.