Why are muscovy the best ducks for permaculture systems and gardens?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2020
- Muscovies are the best ducks for permaculture systems and gardens. Quiet pest control with real character.
In this video I discuss why muscovy ducks are so popular in permaculture systems, and why they could be a valuable, useful and productive part of your permaculture garden.
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New title: A viking talking about muscovy ducks
Strictly speaking I'm a Celt, but I'll take that!
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture glad I'm not the only one who thought he sounded like Thor 😂😍🔥🔥🔥
@@caitlyndomzalski1682 Have you seen his Viking Mice video. You might enjoy it. 😁 th-cam.com/video/KvD-7478mbQ/w-d-xo.html
My experience with "training" muscovies and chickens to go in at night ran quite the other direction ;) My chickens would go in as soon as dusk came around. Our muscovies have been quite uncooperative and preferred roosting on top of the poultry house initially. In time they mostly broke that habit, but would still have to be convinced to go into the house, well after dark.
I am so glad this video popped up. I raise Muscovies. They're such amazing animals. We definitely enjoy their personalities although we've discovered drakes are much more personable than our hens. I also rescue so I have an imprint who is fun to be with and funny to watch. He's not quite figured out he's a duck although he's beginning to suspect. I loved this video and I wish more people knew about their great qualities and usefulness. Thank you!
I'd not be without muscovies, they're fantastic.
I have many breeds of duck. Welsh Harlequin, Silverappleyard, khaki Campbell, Black and Blue Swedish, Buff, Runner, Cayuga, Jumbo Pekin, Crested and Muscovy. I keep them in at night and free range all day. Along with geese, turkey and many breeds of chickens. Eggs last 3 weeks out of refrigerator and another 3 in. I have zero issues with my eggs. I love my Muscovy. Very different from all others. I free feed. They have plenty all day in the fields and gardens. Then can feed all night if they wish. I have three houses. They all put themselves in the proper house at night. I just walk them in. If I wait long enough they do it any way. They are smart animals. I now have well over fifty ducks. They dislike snakes and owls. I put rubber snakes on any place I don't want them sitting on. Like cars. I put a plastic owl on my porch. This way I do not have poop on there. I never thought I'd love the Muscovy as much as I do. They may very well be my favorites.
Those are fantastic tips! Thanks!
New to ducks and chickens getting ready for winter
Hey! Great vid, I also have Muscovys and I cut the hidden feathers of their wings so they can't fly but remains with a complete looking wing, if you wanna try it. I just hold them, stretch the wings and find the feathers that aren't visible normally. Sorry for my English, I'm not native haha
That's a good idea, I'd not thought of that.
This is what I do, but on one wing only. Love my muscovies!
Extremely informational! Sometimes Muscovies are overlooked and don't get the credit they deserve. I have three hens that will be two years old soon. Love to watch them forage through the yard keeping down flies and grasshoppers. Mine go in house at night as well and roost up high, like a chicken would.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Brilliant video, thanks. I was leaning toward muscovy based on research so far.., now I'm sold... And also determined to see what other awesome systems you're running. All the best!
Muscovies are fantastic, great fun to have around. I have a ten year plan for the main systems, there's a lot to build. The priority this year will be for more greenhouse space, a geese system, and at least one new pond. also a rocket mass heater for the house, before spring hopefully.
Thank you for the video!!! This is my first time keeping muscovy ducks on the farm and I'm excited about it.
They're fantastic, you'll love having them there.
I'd never considered muscovies, thank you for a really fact-packed and interesting video. They really do seem characterful too! Hopefully one day we'll be able to keep several and make the most of their services and company.
I can't imagine the croft without them, to be honest. They're huge characters. It's impossible to be in a bad mood with muscovies around, they always make me laugh!
Can't beat their eggs in baking, especially spong cakes. No need to separate egg white, just whip it together with sugar. Very simple.
my favorite darling Millie just had her quarterly indoor personal bath tonight and. although she doesnt appreciate it much, I feel better for it. She lost most of her one leg and most of her other foot to frostbite a couple of years ago but she is happy and healthy and the leader of her flock of 7 +3 mixed breed quackers. When I brought her out to join her crew they came out to meet us and then I put her down in the coop they went into the greeting neck stretch cooing. I just love watching and hearing it. I never try to catch or cuddle them and for their part, they tolerate me trying to hand feed them and will honour me with standing here and taking the odd bit of bread out of my hand. ooooo lucky lucky me! lol. I love my ducks and they are rarely in a row!
They're great fun to have around.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture Im planning on building a nice big pond for them in the spring. I scored an old hot tub so that'll be the pond with a nice yard around it. Im right on the edge of a hill so Ill be able to put a drain on the bottom to drain it into my garden! It would have already been done but I got sick and WINTER CAME EARLY! This is the earliest snow in 102 years! Honey if the world is getting warmer you sure cant tell from this corner of the world!
Muscovies have been on my list for almost a decade and a half now. Maybe after I finally get the pond cleaned up and figure out how to predator proof it.
I didn't know that duck eggs didn't last as long as chicken eggs, though. That's a useful bit of information.
They're great, I'd not be without them now. They're great fun to have around.
My eggs from Campbells last at least 21 days unrefrigerated. I think they keep better than my chicken eggs.
Love your video. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful video, thank you so much for the information!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely loved the video..
Solid advice and information
You did a very good job sir
Great, thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Glad I happened upon your Channel. I live near a park with ponds that has several Muscovy and Pekin ducks. There are also mallards, wigeons, canvasbacks, all sorts of hybrids, and Canada geese. I have been forming a friendship with one of the Muscovy ducks. Just tonight I managed to intervene when some knucklehead had his husky dog off the leash. He kind of ruffled my Muscovy friend because I was yet 10 yards away but my voice managed to distract the dog. Gave the dog's owner of piece of my mind. Musky was a little out of sorts tonight because of that encounter but we'll check him again tomorrow....
Huskies are notoriously dangerous around livestock and wildlife, it's lucky you were there!
Solid advice!
Amazing 😍. I love ducks especially muscovy duck. I'm also duck farmer.
Extremely helpful, thank you
Thanks!
Thank you so much for all the information good sir, God bless you!
Glad you found it useful!
I have a Muscovy who visits us on the lake everyday at 4pm. She flies in, makes the rounds at all our feed spots... then she takes a dump and flies off 😂.. she's tried to integrate into my small flok of 2 pekins but the pekins are too shy. She's left me a few eggs, one I've put in the incubator! Lovely bird, i look forward to seeing her everyday! ❤
I absolutely love having muscovies, I'd not be without them!
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture i really enjoy her! I'm new to keeping birds.... we just got into a daily rhythm: myself, 2 roosters, 9 hens, 2 pekins, and a drake Roaen. Got them thru some very harsh winter weather and was so happy spring is here. I spent hours everyday working on the my shoreline with all my little tag-alongs free ranging whilst i found them worms 🪱 and other fun things. Most were born only last July so everything was new to them (me too haha). I built them teepees from reeds and little shelters from downed trees, twigs, & grasses. Then 2 weeks ago, they were viciously attacked and murdered by a weasel!! I'm all broken up about it. One hen, my 2 pekins (badly injured) and my drake(mortally wounded). survived. It was a week before my ducks would leave the coop. Thankfully, they survived terrible head and neck bites and are healing up beautifully. I collected all the eggs that day and every other egg i had and bought an incubator. Praying for a good outcome, because those birds changed my life in the most positive way. My first step into homesteading and self reliance. Sorry such a long comment, i just love talking to people who love their birds too. I would like to get some Muscovy especially after hearing your video! 🌻
@@slowmochicken it's difficult to be sad when you have ducks. Just go and sit with them for a while.
15:08 the poop noise 😅 ducks have no shame. I’ve got 3 myself and one of their claws got me too. Great video mate. Hoping to breed some next year too 👊🏿
Completely shameless! Good luck breeding them, there's not much in life as cute as ducklings.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture 😁💙🙏🏿
Haha I was thinking this other day as one shat next to me sounded like someone spitting 😂.
Informative video! Subscribed!
Glad you found it useful!
Nice muscovy ducks 👍
Yours don’t keep long? We’ve Muscovy and Runners and we wash them with water and then oil them with mineral oil and store them in the fridge. They last months this way. I don’t leave them at room temp.
Because the shells are so porous, I prefer not to use substances like mineral oil, but this is a personal decision of course.
Wonderful video
Thanks!
To what extent do they ‘graze’? I’d love some one day, for eggs and pest control and companionship, but they’d be in my little field, which is mostly grass, and I wonder if they’d have a further function as grazers? Trying to gauge how much commercial food supplementation they might need is tricky…Thanks, always love your videos!
Thanks!
They're pretty good at keeping the grass down in the padi field, and whenever they're on new ground they love foraging insects. Other options are running a solar light at night to bring in insects for them to eat. But I've not got any hard data on how much they'll forage I'm afraid.
Love your little coop on the pond but that narrow approach slope I expect you have or will on some rainy day end up sliding into the pond while putting them away.
It's come close! It's one of the areas I need to add more crushed stone.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture I applaud your balance, I know 100% I'd of personally had a wet back end by now. LOL
It's worst when it's icy!
Thanks for the video. This is the only good source of information on ducks+permaculture I can find on youtube.
I'm a bit worried by the lack of ducks being used in food systems (relative to chickens/goats) in permaculture guilds. Do you have any suspicion why this may be the case?
Also, do you think trout and ducks would synergize well with a creek/pond system?
All the best,
Keep up the good work
I think the higher egg yield from chickens is a big draw for many people.
I think trout and ducks would work well together in a large pond system. Muscovy ducks will eat small fish, which would need to be planned for. It could work well to keep the pond from becoming overpopulated with small fish, if their numbers were kept in balance.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture Good points. It would be best to keep the ducks in a smaller pond when the trout fingerlings are young.
Your response also got me thinking that managing populations of mostly smaller fish in a couple smaller, shallower ponds (mostly
@@iamtmckendry and also grow duckweed, as a high protein feed.
Greaat video!
Thanks!
I am eating duck eggs from Campbells right now that are 21 days old without refrigeration and sometimes a tad dirty. I think they keep better than my chicken eggs.
Nice
Thanks
They are so sweet natured! I bought four females and one drake eighteen months ago - there are now about sixty, many of which have hgone wild but come home for some wheat" Mine all lay their eggs in hedges and bushes secretly and usually come out later with at least ten babies! They are REALLY prolific! I just so not know how to seee the,m
!They are wonderful mother/ I afree with you = there is nothing like muscovoes.
That's a lot of ducks! They're such fun to have around, I never tire of them.
really glad I stumbled upon your video. You seem like a good person if you're throwing out the "they don't need water" thing. I like people who clearly want their animals to be happy. On that note, I'm a bit curious about what would happen if I got some and never clipped their wings. I'm assuming if they have a big enough area with enough tasty things to eat, they would most likely stay put, right?
I don't know anything about wing clipping, and I'm sure it's a fine thing to do, but I would just like to see how much they would even want to explore beyond their home
For us, keeping them clipped is mostly about keeping them safe from predators.
I have heard of people who happily free range them and have them come home every night, but I've also heard of people having their females fly away, leaving the drake behind.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture haha, they're teaching their scoundrel drake a lesson :) Thanks for taking the time to write back. Have a good one!
Yes was happy to hear that as well-you only need to put water out and see how happy they are the minute its there! For reasons I won't bore u with I have 3 wk old ducklings that I basically have to have in the house 40% of the time -not much fun but soon I will be able to fix that issue. I fill bath up for them and let them have a play nightly ( not long as they are still in down ) U should see them" they chase each other under water like Otters do- and the speed is remarkable -believe me they need to play!
@@ruthsmith2447 haha so cute
Is their manure safe to spread on fields or should you age or hot compost it first? Could you feed them by just letting them rummage through a compost pile for bugs and worms?
I'd put it through a composting process first. They're very good foragers. but they won't scratch like a chicken would.
Thank you for taking about methane and climate change!
Thanks. It's pretty central to our work here!
One question: How feasible is it to keep muscovies alongside other species of domesticated ducks? I read they can be aggressive/territorial
I've not kept them alongside other breeds, but I have experienced the males being aggressive with each other.
i hope you will understand this when i say it,( we are both Scots so you should do!) Thanks for a grown up sensible video! no nonsense, honesty and facts. We've a fair sized garden at end of village-started off with hens as I'd been brought up with them ( NOT literally brought up- they were in the shed!) so sentiment led me back to them! - they wreck gardens! continually seem to hatch Roosters! ( from incubator!) so had to kill when I didn't want to-I will kill IF I have to but hate doing it ( though I admit I want to taste some of the Muscovy's!) for meat but if you wait too long they're as tough as old boots. Though the hen eggs taste great as they forage- as you mention you still need to feed a fair bit so I'm def not saving money( from my POV it's more about being brought up to appreciate flavour AND if I have to kill something I want it to have had a good life-better for them and us!. Really appreciated ur channel. Thanks again
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture i did- and sorry to go on but am I supposed to stop my ducky kids "grooming/pecking me or not- I see it as them grooming me ( a compliment?-or they think I'm scruffy?) but others say stop it, its a dominance thing? what you think?
If it's a male I'd avoid it, it's just too big an animal to risk dominance issues with.
Thanks, that makes sense... I think iys a male but only 3 weeks think it 2 females n 1 male. i have been "correcting him/it" when it seems on the pushy side have dogs n had horse so am kinda treating it same way! Wasn't sure if I was being "mothered or mated" (if I lose it will be "roasted!") Seriously thanks makes sense to put the rules in now.
@@ruthsmith2447arette.
how often do you need to clip their wings so they don't fly away?
We clip their wing feathers once a year, when they've grown back in after their moult.
My Muscovies made my garden their all you can eat restaurant ! 😂
They dont need *any* extra feed st all. Ours are 100% forage. The first ciuple of weeks out of the brooder, we use feed to bring them into the coop at night. After 2 or 3 weeks, they just do it without being bribed with food. As you introduce new birds, or they hatch more, the new guys just follow the herd. A generation in everybody does it without the extra feed.
Every context is different. Our site isn't diverse enough yet to allow them to forage completely. I'm hoping it'll be possible at some point though.
How is to have ducks, do they understand car/traffic? My place is near a "highway/main road" between two small citys. Do they know where to go away from car traffic etc?
We keep ours inside a fenced area, so I don't know the answer to this I'm afraid.
They are feral were i live. They do unerstand trafic.
Mine climb the shoulder to a state highway in the rain lately to check out the puddles. Cars and pickups don't faze them when they're on the shoulder. Bigger commercial trucks they do withdraw from somewhat. I had to take 2 passes by them with horn blasting to get them off the shoulder yesterday.
what kind of plants do they eat?I was thinking of planting some things in and out of the duck run just for them
They love lettuce, and will chase peas thrown in the water. They'll eat grasses, and most vegetables. There are a few plants that are toxic to them though, mostly ornamentals, so it's worth a google to check individual plants before putting them in the duck run.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture ok thanks . I was thinking of doing a patch of perpetual spinach and pigeon peas
I've considered something similar, with a hardware cloth covered frame that I can use so the ducks don't graze it completely down to the ground. I could alternate which section they're allowed to eat, a sort of reversed poultry tractor really.
Hello mame can I talk too about something
can this stuck be sent in Indonesia?
I've heard they're more like geese than ducks, and they don't quack like ducks, but can they live off grass, like geese
They can cross with ducks, but the offspring will me sterile, unable to breed. They cannot cross with geese though. They are like geese in some respects though. They do eat grass, but cannot live entirely on it, like geese can. A lot of a muscovy's diet is insects.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture Thanks so much for the reply!
Only having 1 drake is a risk! Especially if they're free ranging. What happens when a fox grabs 1. mine are wild, Black one, smaller. They aren't good trainees 😂
I wish I liked duck eggs more, I would have some muskovies if I did. :)
Have you tried muscovy eggs though? They're a little different from those from mallard breeds. I'm sure a local permaculture croft would be more than happy to give you a few to try!
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture lol - I would be up for that! PM you. x
Hello Dorcas, I am vego, and I am a bit adverse to this sort of taste. I have two muscovies and now I love the eggs much better than chook eggs. They are mild and creamy, and dont have that nasty taste that chook eggs at times have. At my workplace they are also sought after. So if you can, do obtain one to try. My ducks are sweet girls who poo in one part of their nesting/sleeping box, so cleaning is easy. If you dont like poo and mess though around the yard, dont get ducks. They are poo machines.
Also MASSIVE difference between bougjt eggs and home grown... Haven't had any from the Muscovys yet but anything else like hens r so different u would never eat a shop one again.
I feel like that there is a lot of good information in this vide; however the vocals seemed to be very mumbled, and I couldn't make out a lot of what was said.
I've upgraded my mic system since this video was filmed.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture cheers, mate. I hope that your channel continues to grow as there's a great need for this information as people awaken.
Thank you for this useful video. I like muscovies too - such sweet gentle voices the females have! (the big males remind me of dynasoars! Ours is called Duke! He is very much the Boss !) Cairn of Dunn Croft, please tell me what to do about the young males growing up with their brothers and sisters - about six weeks of age the males are already fighting each other!
Sometimes the males can learn to get along, but we limit our flock to one male, to stop fighting.
Ah yes the Muscovy Duck: a South American Goose.
I have a drake that is 17
That's fantastic!
This like my third time watching this video cuz I really want to learn about muscovy.... Onnllyy thing that's like uhhhh is the constant talking away from the camera at the into oooof nothing wrong with that idk why it sounds irritating to me. Great content tho:) just the inconsistency in the sound grr lol
Hi Cesar, Have you given the subtitles feature a try? Sometimes, it helps. I'll try to speak more clearly, going forward 🙂
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture ignore him-perfectly clear-maybe because i' scottish!
Also muscovys don't need anything like the amount of medicating that chickens do. That was the main initial selling point for me
I was also told Muscovy ducks are super resistant to all the normal diseases that are common with birds
@@sjtv6565 probably because we have messed with their breed that much - unlike all the selective breeding we've done with most other poultry
I found muscovey the dirtiest type of duck I've kept they love mud and make a right mess of pens and get their feathers in tatters so I find unless kept on large grass paddocks they are dirtier than any other type of duck. I found call ducks to be the cleanest and most well kept looking after themselves.
That's interesting! I find they stay pretty clean in our system.
@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture you have a good size pond I saw so that must be why. 😁 Thanks for your video. What age do I cull for meat birds please. As I'm raising one. Are they good guard ducks against small preditors like cats etc or not.
@@andrewsharp3451 personally I'd take the extra males as meat, and keep females to either add to the flock or to sell as laying birds. The males are much bigger, so make better meat birds. They're generally processed at 10 to 12 weeks.
Please name the South American country, it could be my native land!
They're native across most of central and south America, but were first domesticated by the people of Paraguay and Peru.
Most people in Guyana grow these ducks. Eight eggs or so would hatch, it's my experience.@@CairnOfDunnCroftPermaculture
"A quick video"
Makes video 18 minutes long