No matter how often I watch them grow, I’m always amazed at the rapid bulk this variety puts on daily. I’ll peek in the window of the Muscovy loft in the chilly pre-dawn to say good morning to mama Lumi and her brood dozing under the heat-lamp and when I return from work in the evening I see her kiddos have sprouted up during the day!
In the past I’ve noted that for this strain of French White Production Muscovy the drakes put on 12 pounds in 12 weeks… whew! They just seem to grow while you watch.
As a comparison to the video I took of their first day out when they were only 2 days old, here’s a video I took of them starting their day on December 29th when they were 4 weeks old:
They’re curious, quick, and sassy. It’s hard to keep an eye on them all the time, but they do have eyes on them throughout the day. Unfortunately, only 9 remain of the original 13. I lost one the first week when it climbed into a chilly duck pond. That prompted me to keep them separated in their own yard until recently when they began to feather out. One was born with an issue and only made it to week 2. After letting them out to range the property again with mama, I lost 2 more over several days to cold pond water… as I said, it’s hard to keep an eye on them all day and this is really the wrong time of the year for baby waterfowl.
This is the first time I’ve let a Muscovy mama raise the babies and, mainly because it's winter, it’s been a lot of work for everyone! But I’ve learned so much and hopefully Miss Lumi’s lessons benefit future broods. A new and improved system will go into place this year so that when my girls inevitably go broody on the cusp of winter we can avoid the major pitfalls.
This is the first time I’ve let a Muscovy mama raise the babies and, mainly because it's winter, it’s been a lot of work for everyone! But I’ve learned so much and hopefully Miss Lumi’s lessons benefit future broods. A new and improved system will go into place this year so that when my girls inevitably go broody on the cusp of winter we can avoid the major pitfalls.
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