How To Raise Muscovy Ducklings

This post is following my 2017 Muscovy Hatch-a-long post, in which I tried my hand at incubating muscovies (which have a reputation for being difficult eggs to hatch successfully.) Muscovies mature slower than your mallard derivatives and will be fully mature at just under a year. Males may begin mounting around 4-6 months old, and females will usually start laying eggs at 5-6 months old, often waiting for the second year before they start.

This is after the duckling has fluffed out in the incubator.

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Brooder

All chicks, ducklings, and birds in general need a brooder after hatching, which can be as simple as a cardboard box, to as extravagant as a professional build that you get online. A brooder is essentially a replacement for the warmth the mother bird would have been providing the chick had they been hatched naturally.

A heat lamp should be provided, bringing the ambient temperature on one area of the brooder to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. You should only have one area of it in that temperature range so that if it gets too hot, the duckling can escape and go to a cooler area.

These days, it’s generally considered better practice to provide a UV heat lamp because it allows the duckling to sleep, as opposed to regular heat lamps which also provide light. However, I only have regular heat lamp, and I worry that the babies won’t be able to find food and water which they will need more often than older ducks/ducklings. Heat lamps are more prone to causing fires, so be careful how you secure them to your brooder.

Update: Switched to a top brooder (also known as a mama brooder) which is a non light heating element that covers them.

After the first week, you can lower the temperature of the brooder (if the entire brooder is heated) by 5 degrees per week until it reaches the ambient night temperature, in which case you can get rid of the lamp completely. However, it’s very good to keep an eye on the duckling and let it tell you if it’s too hot or too cold. If it’s too hot, it will lay down panting, spreading its legs and wings in order to try and dissipate the heat. Too cold, it will shiver and huddle in a corner and chirp unhappily (this is why I keep only one area of the brooder at that temperature so that they can decide.)

I usually allow, if the temperature outside is above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the ducklings to be out in a cage on the grass (with part of the cage covered for shade) during the day. They feather out faster with this method.

Once they don’t need a heat lamp during the night, I move them into a cage in the adult duck’s coop so that they all get used to one another. Once the ducklings are large enough to fend for themselves (usually 8 weeks old) I let them mingle. In general, the flock is very accepting and with only minor corrections here and there. I do provide the ducklings some extra boxes that are too low for the adults to get into in the coop at night, so they can escape the adults if they want to. I have not had any issues with adults picking on them. HOWEVER, this will only work if you allow them adequate space (at least 50 x 50) during the day (they can’t see well at night anyway.)

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Bedding

It needs to be something they can walk on, with traction, so their feet and legs remain uninjured. Newspaper is not good because it becomes slippery when wet. I like to use wood shavings for the first two weeks, then switch to a mixture of wood shaving and straw. Some people use towels but be prepared for the towel to be so disgusting it can no longer be used once you’re done brooding.

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Electrolytes

After the duckling has finished fluffing out, or when you first pick up your ducklings in the mailbox, you should give them some electrolyte water. This is just a fancy way of saying some sugar water with a pinch of salt added.

Here is a general recipe you can use:

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

This is so that they can regain some energy from the difficult process of hatching/shipping and will increase the chance of survival. You can take a dropper and drip a bit into their bills to get them to take it.

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Food

The duckling will not need food for the first 48-72 hours after hatching because they are still absorbing the yolk (which is why they’re usually shipped day old.) Water can be provided. I offer it to them at the outset and sometimes they’ll eat it, sometimes they won’t.

When they do start eating, at first they might be slightly confused so if you tap the food or water with your fingers, it can help stimulate them to eat/drink. They’ll do better if you add water to the food when offering it to them. Unlike chickens, ducks often need water to swallow their food, so providing water with their food is crucial.

Ducklings should ONLY be fed unmedicated starter/grower (if you’re using that–some people feed mashed eggs and other home made starters). Ducklings eat more than chickens and therefore they could overdose on the medication (not that they really need it since they are hardier in terms of health than chicks are.) I give unmedicated starter to them free choice. If you can’t find starter, then unmedicated flock maintenance with the addition of cat food is an acceptable substitute as well.

If they have access to the outside, or grit, you can feed them treats such as greens (lettuce, dandelions, spinach–not too much since spinach can inhibit calcium absorption). Grit, which are tiny pebbles they swallow, is essentially their “teeth” which helps them digest their food, especially fibrous foods like vegetables. If they don’t, keep away from giving them vegetables.

Once they start laying, you can give them layer’s feed. Otherwise, they should not eat it due to the high calcium content.

Water

Ducks love water, and though muscovies are not as obsessed with it, they do still like to play. I like using a plastic take out container with a cover that I cut a hole just large enough to stick their bills into. This way they don’t splash it all over the place and turn their brooder into a sopping mess, especially since if they get wet, due to the fact they don’t have a mother duck who uses her oils on them to waterproof, and therefore can get chilled and die.

Companions

Ducklings and chicks need companionship to be happy, as lonely ones can sometimes die of depression and refusing to eat. They’re also much calmer if they have another duckling, and can regulate their temperatures better if they have a buddy to cuddle up with.

If you ended up only hatching one, a stuffed animal and a mirror can be a makeshift replacement for another duckling until it’s old enough to join the flock. They are happiest with other animals of their own kind!

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Niacin

To prevent neurological conditions from developing, and possible eventual death, I pre-emptively like to add nutritional yeast for the niacin into their water source. You can buy either brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast, or poly vi sol (without iron) for this.

One tablespoon for every 1/2 gallon of water is adequate.

You can also give cat food (crushed), or Poly V Sol without iron (which will be in the baby aisle of your local pharmacy) for it as well. Don’t feed too much cat food as some research points to high protein as a cause of Angel Wing.