PORTERFIELD EXOTICS

Muscovy Ducks Wisconsin

The Muscovy duck is native to South America where they still exist in the wild today.  Some of our Southern US states have populations of wild feral Muscovy ducks as well.  They are one of the hardiest of ducks and are very self sufficient feeders and breeders.   Muscovies come in various colors, the most common is the white but they also come in pied, buff, brown, chocolate, lilac and blue. There are several other color combinations.  They have a crest on their head that can be raised at will.  They communicate with each other by wagging their tails and bobbing their heads.  They can fly and often will perch in trees where they will use their claws to hold onto the branches.  They are known as the quiet ducks as they do not have the quack of other ducks.  They are their own species and not a breed developed off of the Mallards as most other ducks are.  They have a 35 day incubation period as opposed to the 28 day period of most other domestic ducks.  They are also much larger than most ducks with males around 14 lbs. and females around 9 lbs. at mature weight.  Both sexes have what is called a caruncle on their head which is more prominent in the males.  They are considered the preferred farm duck, feeding primarily on insects, forage plants and seeds, in the summer months they are almost self-sufficient feeders.  They are proficient breeders who will lay, set and hatch 3 or 4 clutches of 8 -15 eggs per year.  They prefer other Muscovy mates but will mate with other duck breeds but the offspring will be infertile.  We currently have 2 breeding groups of Muscovy ducks, each consisting of 5 hens and an unrelated drake.  We have mostly whites with one pied drake but are currently looking for additional colors to add to our breeding program.