Muscovies Are More Humane Than Chickens
It’s currently summer and when I peruse Craigslist, I see that everyone who had bought or hatched chicks are in a hurry to get rid of all the cockerels that have now started crowing. It’s sad because many of them can’t find a home for their roosters and I often think that had they been muscovy ducks, it wouldn’t be an issue to keep them since they make no noise, if they didn’t mind males, and they were adamant about them not being eaten. For those who only buy hens for eggs, they don’t realize a lot of these hatcheries dispatch the male chicks in large batches (to save yourself the horror of seeing it, don’t Google how they do it.) This is because most meat birds and layer birds are different (and depending on whether it’s an egg production facility or meat production facility, their needs are different) and it’s not worth it for them to raise egg layers for meat (same amount of feed, vastly different quality of meat.) Whereas muscovies are dual purpose birds, raised for both eggs and meat.
Then they get so desperate they just give their roosters to anyone who would take them, and the fate is the same.
Obviously, if they are willing to process their male poultry, it wouldn’t be an issue, but many of them don’t have the heart to.
I don’t have a problem selling my male birds for meat, if not for breeding–they were raised humanely, allowed to free range and socialize and live their lives comfortably, and while it is a sad eventual truth that they will be processed for food, at the very least their existence on this planet was a kind one.
So perhaps think before getting chicks (which even sexed, only has an 80% chance of being correct), what you would do if you ended up with a few males. If you can’t handle the responsibility of that, then muscovies might be a better option.
If I’ve somehow convinced you and you want to learn more about them, the dropdown menu under “Why Muscovies” will provide some great resources on this wonderful backyard poultry.