Mable the Muscovy on the greenhouse roof.

I have two pet muscovies Monty & Mable & it seems Mable wanted a better view of the last of my sunflowers so she made her way on to the greenhouse roof

 

Hi Kathy, I got them in July when they were only about a week old. They are so sweet they have really great little characters.

 

Wing clipping might be the order of the day there!

 

Yes Kathy, I have an aylesbury, mallard and magpie drake, Darcey the mallard recently sat on a few eggs & had one duckling, I also have 8 chickens & three dogs a jack russell/ yorkie cross and two collies. What about you?

Is it difficult to clip their wings? Our previous three ducks already had theirs clipped when they arrived. The muscovies seem pretty content to hang around home, they have about bout an acre of grass & a pond etc. but it wouldn't hurt to prevent them escaping.

Here's Lily, Darcey & her baby.

 

They won't escape, as they sound like they have ideal conditions (too many people keep ducks in a back garden and then lament when the ducks turn their lawn into a quagmire!) so why should they wander...apart from mating time when minds turn to other things...

Clipping wings is easy, but with something as large as a Muscovy, you'll need two of you, one to hold the duck, the other to do the clipping.

Ease out one wing so you see the full sheaf of feathers. With sharp scissors cut ONLY the primary feathers (the ones that when the duck's wing is folded in are hidden) on ONE wing only.

The Omlet website shows good pictures. Cutting less is better than too much and hitting a blood vessel near the quick, but you'd have to cut very far down the feather to do that.

 

Now that is too cute.

 

Awww, I was just browsing & I saw my pic of younger Mable, she's grown up a bit, here she is enjoying the sun this evening and having a snooze with Monty.