Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>]

We have muscovies and they are indeed very useful although they are still bad news in the garden as they like many crops. The females do fly well but ours never roost in trees. Instead they sometimes fly away never to be seen again. The males are much heavier and I have never seen these fly. Advantage is that they have at least as much meat on them as a goose and they grow faster.

Females lay a good dozen eggs and then start hatching for 35 days (longer than even geese at 31 days). We have lost muscovies to foxes here so I am not too sure that your coyotes could not get them too. They have only their great nails for defense and they can empty their bowels in impressive and smelly amounts with some force over a distance of at least three feet with great aim when they feel threatened.

They can indeed lay about 50 eggs per year or hatch a clutch 4 times per year if you let them.

John

From my experience abroad and here, every farm should have Muscovies.  I have seen them eat flies right out of the air.  I assume that they will eat grasshoppers.  No coyote can catch one. They roost in trees and do not need a house.  Lay about 50 eggs per year.

 

Ken

 

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