Muscovies in trees?

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Muscovies in trees?

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silenthavendevon

Joined: 21 Nov 2012
Posts: 20

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 4:05 am Post subject: Muscovies in trees?
Apparently Muscovy ducks roost in trees, but can anyone tell me, is it actually possible to keep them so that they do this at night, negating the need for a shelter? (I live in a woodland).

Piggyphile

Joined: 02 Apr 2009
Posts: 891
Location: Galicia

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 7:10 am Post subject:

If you don't clip their wings then they naturally roost high at night. Mine used to roost on the roof if I didn't clip them after a moult.

If it is not a daft question why don't you want to give them a shelter? They will need somewhere safe to nest assuming you intend to let them breed. Also you will never find their eggs if they lay them all over the wood. Is it just for meat? There isn't much meat on a female, the males are very worth while though, their meat is very good. They are however sods to pluck and they breed like rabbits and shit like geese.
I used to skin mine (until I rehomed them).

silenthavendevon

Joined: 21 Nov 2012
Posts: 20

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 8:54 am Post subject:

Thanks-

It may be just pure laziness on my part, but living in a woodland, it would be more energy efficient and integrated and low impact to let trees do the job of shelter for me, but I appreciate what you're saying about the eggs. Maybe I will compromise with a rough treehouse. I want my Muscovies trained to be as tough as they can be.

By the way, badgers can't climb trees can they? (Thinking of egg raids).

Bodger

Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 9:25 am Post subject:
but they don't always nest up out of the way of predators.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 11:03 am Post subject:

A rough tree-house would probably work - it would give you the ability to make them somewhere safe to lay, and inevitably, go broody, as well.

In my experience, the issue with anything roosting in trees - guinea fowl and bantams - is that they come down early in the mornings and get eaten by the fox. So a tree-house that you could shut the door on might fulfil your criteria.

My Mrs Muscovy goes in with the khaki campbells, insists on going broody in the corner of the house, and flies over the fence in the morning to go her own way. We had to get her back off the cricket pitch again last week; luckily they had already broken for tea.

leggy

Joined: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 340
Location: Monmouth

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 5:30 pm Post subject:
How would you stop them flying off to pastures new?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 14 7:32 pm Post subject:
In my experience, clipping a wing just prevents them from taking off down the lane in to the village in front of the stag hounds like a Lancaster bomber. It doesn't prevent small hops over fences or on to the top of their house.

silenthavendevon

Joined: 21 Nov 2012
Posts: 20

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 14 10:11 am Post subject:
Thanks folk, food for thought. Will give this some serious consideration now. Um, one more thing -if the wings were left unclipped, could we train them to bomb the neighbours?

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