I was one of those people who were horrified and contacted F&WS. I also_______________________________________________
contacted hatcheries who had muscovy ducklings for sale and had no idea that
suddenly they were supposed to have their customers fill out forms, and that
in fact no more muscovy ducks were to be raised in the USA except for
registered producers, and all those backyard birds that were "grandfathered
in" were supposed to stop reproducing too. Those of us who discussed this
all agreed that only protection from predators kept our muscovies alive.
Down in Florida they can be a nuisance, and in Texas some have naturalized.
The F&WS were apparently equally shocked to discover that muscovies have
been around for so long in so many places without making trouble.
I guess muscovies are a lot like goats. If sufficiently protected and
fed, they can take over and eat everything. If insufficiently protected,
they can die out. To be practical and be worth the effort, they should be
used. They are excellent meat birds with excellent foraging capacity, are
terrific mothers, are much less wasteful of water than quack ducks, and are
very pleasant to have around. The mature drakes are quite uncouth, but you
only need one. Donna
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