Muscovy ducks are a type of domestic duck that originate from South America. They are large ducks with black and white plumage and bright red facial skin. While Muscovy ducks have some benefits as a farm animal, they also have some drawbacks that lead many people to dislike them.
Benefits of Muscovy Ducks
Let’s first look at some of the benefits of raising Muscovy ducks:
- They are excellent foragers and can find much of their own food.
- They are less susceptible to illnesses than other duck breeds.
- The meat is lean with a distinct taste.
- They can be quieter than other ducks.
- The males don’t quack loudly like other ducks.
- They lay more eggs than other duck breeds.
So in many ways, Muscovies can be a good duck breed to raise for homesteaders or small farmers looking for productive ducks. Their ability to forage and avoid illness is a major perk. And the meat and egg production can be valuable as well.
Drawbacks of Muscovy Ducks
However, Muscovy ducks do have some significant drawbacks that lead many people to dislike them:
- They have very strong claws and can scratch people.
- The males can become very aggressive, especially in the breeding season.
- They are not as good at swimming as other duck breeds.
- The meat can have a stronger flavor than other ducks.
- The males make loud hissing and puffing sounds.
- They roost in trees which can make containing them difficult.
- They fly better than other domestic ducks.
- The females lay eggs in secluded, hard to find nests.
- They have a reputation for being messy poopers.
As you can see, while Muscovies have some benefits, they also have some qualities that can frustrate owners. Their claws, aggression, noises, roosting habits, and messiness are the major factors that lead people to dislike them.
Aggression and Noisiness
Two of the biggest complaints about Muscovies are the aggression of the males and the hissing noises they make. The males can become quite aggressive during breeding season and will chase, bite, and attempt to mate with females forcefully. This behavior obviously makes them unpleasant to have around.
The loud hissing, puffing, and other noises the males make are another annoyance factor. They hiss frequently when agitated or to display dominance. And the puffing sound is their mating call. So the combination of aggressive behavior and irritating noises makes Muscovy males particularly bothersome.
Difficulty Containing Them
Muscovies are known for being harder to contain than other domestic duck breeds. A few factors play into this:
- They can fly very well compared to heavy, grounded ducks like Pekins.
- They will roost in trees at night, making herding them into an enclosure difficult.
- Their foraging skills allow them to find ways out of enclosures.
- Males will fly out of enclosures to find females during breeding season.
So owners report Muscovies escaping enclosures, flying over fences, roosting in hard to reach areas, and wandering off at a higher rate than other ducks. This can obviously frustrate owners who want to keep them safely contained.
Messiness
Muscovy ducks have gained a reputation for being messier than other duck breeds. A few factors play into their messiness:
- Their watery poop tends to splatter and get everywhere.
- They splash and spill more water while drinking.
- Males urinate frequently on their own faces, then shake it everywhere.
- They scatter food from feed areas.
So between a wet, splattering poop style and tendencies to spill water and food, Muscovies can dirty areas more than other ducks. This bothers owners who want a tidy flock.
Difficult Egg Laying Habits
Female Muscovies tend to hide their nests in dense bushes, tree hollows, under porches, and other secluded places. This can make collecting eggs very difficult compared to ducks that neatly lay in provided nest boxes. Owners can face challenges finding all the hidden nests and retrieving the eggs. When you factor in that Muscovies lay more eggs than most ducks, it can be a time consuming chore to gather them all up.
Solutions for Disliked Behaviors
If you decide to get Muscovy ducks, there are some things you can do to mitigate some of their less desirable behaviors:
- Keep males separated from females except for controlled breeding times.
- Clip flight feathers regularly so they cannot fly off.
- Provide optimal space and protein to reduce aggression.
- Acquire ducks from breeders who select for temperament.
- Pen Muscovies separately from other duck breeds.
- Provide plenty of cover for females to hide nests.
- Clean up water and food spillage frequently.
Implementing solutions like these can help make it easier to live with some of the challenges of owning Muscovy ducks. Though they may never be considered the friendliest or easiest duck breed, you can take steps to improve their less desirable qualities.
Reasons Muscovy Ducks Are Disliked
In summary, the main reasons Muscovy ducks are disliked by many owners include:
- Aggressive behavior in males.
- Loud hissing, puffing, and other noises.
- Difficulty containing them.
- Messiness with food, water and poop.
- Hiding nests and eggs.
- Strong claws that can scratch.
However, there are benefits as well. When properly cared for and managed, Muscovies can make a productive and low maintenance addition to a small farm or homestead. With precautions taken to limit aggression and noise, they can be reasonably pleasant ducks to keep. Though they may never win any popularity contests, Muscovies do serve a purpose for those looking for a hardy, free-range duck.
Conclusion
In the end, Muscovy ducks get a bad reputation from some of their challenging qualities like aggression, noisiness, messiness, and difficulty containing them. But they also have benefits like excellent foraging skills, longevity, and prolific egg laying. With some extra planning and care, many of the undesirable traits can be managed to some degree. Muscovies will likely never be the most socially friendly ducks you can own, but they can have a place on small farms and homesteads looking for a low maintenance duck. If you know what to expect from them and take steps to mitigate their less suitable qualities, Muscovies can be a useful breed of duck for certain situations.