Muscovy

They are amazing animals. I leave mine outside and feed them a mix of corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, milo, and oats. They are beutiful ducks and are super quiet and alert. Cold hardy and can fly fairly well. I'm giving this review because they are amazing!
FIVE STARS

The muscovy has been my first duck breed to ever own. I started hobby farming in june of last year. I have many different breeds of chickens and 2 muscovies and i can say with ease that the muscovies are my absolute favorite. I cant say i will never get another type of duck, but i will always have a few muscovies around. such docile and friendly birds! They dont find the need to be in water 24/7 like other ducks.

We have had a pair of Muscovies for a little over two years and they have been a great addition to our family. They eat a lot of bugs and worms from the yard, greet us when we go outside. We have a heated enclosure for them in the winter and our female lays all year round, 25-30 in a clutch. Variety of colors and all gorgeous.

love the ducks

We love our 9 Muscovies, they are so sweet, smart, and personable and come to our front door and windows to let know they're ready for their snacks! They also let us know when we have company.

I'm sharing my review because IMO this is the best bird for the farm out there. Smaller than a goose, but bigger (males) than a chicken. They are silent. They keep the grass short and bug population down so they don't need a lot of feed. They will be the primary bird on the farm next year. They also provide a another meat variety to the chicken, pork, goose, rabbit, turkey and moo.

I'm not looking forward to the next waxing, but its better than a gander and it's gaggle screaming all day long. If you buy geese buy a female, or keep them far from the house if you nap.

The only downfall I see is that they can really fly well, but thats nothing trimming won't resolve. They have claws but I've never been clawed.

Great birds, they do well in my climate and the only main con for me is low egg production. A great hen will produce 90 eggs a year here. Also, pay attention to where the hens have decided to lay their eggs, you don't want them to go broody out in the woods and then get killed by a predator. Another possible con is they are flighty and hard to handle if they are not tamed. Also, don't let a chicken mother a single duckling, I let a silkie mother one Muscovy duckling and 1 year later he thinks he is a chicken and tries to breed with the chickens, fight with the roosters, and he pays no attention to the Muscovy hens or drakes.

Our girls are very kind - love eating out of your hand. They are gentle and come when called! A very quiet breed. They are great eaters! They will snatch bugs right out of the air. They devour the tadpoles and I have seen them swallow a frog whole! We have had a great experience with them and are hoping to find more!

I have kept muscovies for a year or two now, and they have been the most productive duck I have ever had. I keep white, French white and black. The Muscovy is a great dual purpose bird. The females go broody very easy and make great mothers. If you plan on showing muscovies, black is the better colour as they don't get as messy as the whites.

These are by and far my most favorite breed of duck EVER! I have owned a small flock in the past and I currently own a one year old female and an approx. 5 month old male... I live smack in the middle of suburbia and my neighbors don't mind them at all because of how quiet they are... They are amazing at keeping pesky insects and creepy crawlies under control. Momma muscovies are absolutely amazing mothers and will defend their nests and their babies with their life if needs be... My flipper kids love human interaction and will seek out people to hang out with if they manage to get out of our yard (it's only happened twice and the neighbors didn't want to bring them back because of how sweet my birds are)

I have owned Cayuga, Rouen, Pekin, Swedish and Indian Runners in the past and Muscovies are by far the best breed I have ever raised... They are more than ducks...they're family!

Honestly I cannot say enough about these wonderful yard puppies. They are super cute when they are wagging their tails and the ducks make the cutest trill sound and drakes hissing laughing sould.. unless pissed.
Won't find a better breed of waterfowl..

My flock get to free range day and night. I found it creepy when I 1st noticed them stalking/patrolling the yard at night. I've gotten use to it, now I find it amusing.

Overall Muscovy ducks are worth the while. They are very compassionate, and friendly. They wag their tails like dogs and great you every time they see you. They hiss not quack. Perfect duck for the city! They have very sharp claws and love to perch. Once you gain your Muscovy's trust the bond is very strong. They are great hatchers and mama's! I highly recommend them!

I absolutely love my muscovy flock. I don't know if all lines are like this, but my line is totally child safe, they reproduce like crazy and try to get in three 20+ egg clutches every year with a great hatch rate, my favorite drake even cares for his own ducklings and leads them around the yard and sits on them (until they are old enough to realize he can be dominated, unfortunately, and then he's relieved when the males are gone), they're quiet, so friendly (except for nesting mamas-watch out!), they love foraging, they look you right in the eye and talk and dance to you, and when you finally do have to correct the male/female ratio to preserve peace and safety the meat is the best thing ever. But that's the bad part. For most of the year the best males are like puppy dogs and the girls are a riot-a little less friendly if they remember you as the egg stealer, but still party animals in their own right. The ladies honk when upset, trill when they're happy, and the drakes just HUFF and hiss. So funny. They're also amazing foragers and will empty your yard of snakes and other *surprises* for better or for worse (we had a lot of snakes, aka duck spaghetti).

As far as cons go, they are definitely seasonal eggers. Mine start laying as soon as it starts staying above freezing, then stop when freezing sets in again-not counting the times on nests, of course, but they eat so little feed while nesting I really don't mind.
They can FLY like eagles, and I'm talking over your house, not just over the fence, and they LIKE it, so you either have to pinion in the first week (not hard or traumatic surprisingly), or watch carefully for molts and do your yearly duck rodeo to make sure your birds don't get lost or hit by cars if that's the kind of area you live in. I've discovered it's a lot harder to ride your drakes and clip those huge wings while they try scratch you off with all they've got-and they're pretty big and strong. And heads up, pinioned birds can still fly about four or five feet high, but like I said, you won't see them winging it to the next county, just the occasional escape from the pen.
The feathers when processing do not want to come out if you do them too late. Scalding and duck wax will become mandatory if you procrastinate like I did this year (shame on me, but I think most people can understand).
Those girls are wired to make clutches, feather their nests, and SIT...for 38 days. As soon as the spring season starts they become single minded, but even that's not terrible as long as you can handle it. And the worst mine do is pinch when you go under them. Just watch out for that nasty, cement colored broody poo. Never upset a sitting muscovy hen or she may foul her nest and you.
The worst part is their massive claws. They are flying, perching ducks. Their talons are sized accordingly. They WILL try to scratch their way out of trouble, and if you don't know what you're doing, wear a big thick coat and gloves for the first year whenever you have to handle them because they WILL scratch you deep, and it WILL get infected. I'm to the point now I don't usually get scratched unless I do something stupid (hey, female ducks don't like to be absent mindedly patted on their fluffy underpuffs like a football-totally my fault), so I usually don't anymore, but DANG those claws. Babies have sharp little scratchers too. Luckily once they get big, at least if you've clipped their wings or have them pinioned, you really don't have to handle them often. All you have to do is herd them and it's all great.

All in all they are great birds. I love them, and I hope to never be without them again (unless, of course I couldn't let them reproduce, then that wouldn't be fair to the girls who become hatch machines every spring, but re-become themselves each winter).

Our muscovys were hand raised from a day old and were the most calm and affectionate of all the breeds we've raised. During their adolescence they can be quite elusive and a little jumpy, however, I have found them to mellow very much as they mature. Ours love to be patted, follow closely and are the most trainable of all breeds. Muscovys are the only duck breed I've come across that will let you pet them like a dog (except while broody). They are extremely good foragers and very quiet- though they still express themselves with eager heavy breathing/panting/hissing noises or song-like calls. Very good pets and adaptable with other animals, however, can be quite sassy and domineering in a mixed flock (with other breeds).

my hen is kind of young and is taking a while to warm up to people but she will ask for treats. anytime we have a new arrival into the flock she gets crazy and defends the coop other than that she is nice and she definitely likes to eat.

I Love Muscovys!! They Prefer Land To Water So They Only Need A Small Pond

I have two Muscovy drakes and I just adore them so sweet and cute with their hissing and wagging of their tail feathers I love them a ton and there crests are gorgeous and mine have a beautiful green sheen to their feathers they are my favorite ducks!

Clark one of my black barred drakes: