Nor a particularly sunny disposition.....
Or rather the lack of those nasty little buggers is.
Despite my son never leaving the screens in, we have very few flies in the house this year. The barn yard has none. NONE! The house is less than 200 feet from the barn, the flies should be terrible. Spring being as wet as it was there is plenty of both fly and mosquito breeding ground. Neither have been a problem for us. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever be without a Muscovy again! They rock!
Muscovy meat is lower in fat (and greasiness) than regular duck, and even lower fat than turkey. With the breast tasting like veal and the rest making good sausage. They are excellent mousers/ratters and are flying insect killing machines! All excellent qualities to have in a barnyard, particularly a smaller concentrated one like ours. They also aren't bad layers during the breeding season, often chucking out an egg a day. Duck eggs are great for baking. If you can find them. Free ranging ducks put the Easter bunny to shame when it comes to hiding eggs.
Another nice quality of muscovies for a small farm is that they are super quiet. While the females will occasionally quack when alarmed, it's pretty rare. Mostly they just make a soft "chuff"-ing sound, and the males hiss. Neither of which would disturb even an urban neighbor with his windows open.
They have personalities too. BIG ones.
Meet Krypto the super duck.
Below is Elvis, who is currently sitting a new nest of mostly borrowed eggs after sitting a failed one for over two months (Muscovy eggs take 35 days to hatch-which is different than other ducks). She seriously wants to be a mom. Personally I think she wants some new recruits for her matchbox carjacking operation.
That's right.
She steals matchbox cars.
And sidewalk chalk.
I highly suspect the sidewalk chalk is so she can disguise the stolen cars until she can get them to her chop shop in the chicken house.
Then there's Martha and Ralph.
Both black barred hens with white heads, they are named after one of the kids favorite cartoons. They are inseparable. Until Ralph decided to set a nest they were rarely more than ten feet from each other. Since Ralph got the mothering bug, Martha helped by laying eggs in her nest too and she shares the warming duty every night. When I put the nightly corn in front of the nest, Martha leaves it for Ralph and goes to the community bowl for herself. They are adorable.
There are a couple of others, one white hen (Daisy) and one blue (Peking), but they tend to avoid us.
My favorite is definitely Stitch, the drake. Not only is he good to his girls, he treats the chicken hens as if they were his own ladies. And me. And the kids. He lets the girls eat first, he protects their nests when they are setting them. Last but not least, he has done what none of us mere humans could. He has tamed the beast.....
Our roo was pretty aggressive. He'd been kicked at enough that he waited until your back was turned before he'd jump on you. The trick was to never turn your back on him. Not as easy as it sounds when you have work to do.
I didn't want to get rid of him because I loved his looks, and as far as protecting and warning his ladies of hawks and what-not he was wonderful. I witnessed him hanging off the tail feathers of a young red tail hawk who eventually left empty handed. I was also afraid we'd end up raising one who would turn out to be worse.
Enter Stitch.
Stitch will not allow the rooster to hang out anywhere near the duck hens, or us either if we are in the barnyard. That roo is petrified of him. Seeing as he's triple his weight and has claws strong enough to rip through to the bone, I suppose I would be too if I had any sense. The chicken hens have even learned to hang out with the duck hens when they want left alone. Us humans he just follows around waiting on us to feed them something.
So to summarize, they eliminate pests and rodents like nobodies business. They are comical and entertaining to watch. They are cheap to feed. They reproduce like rabbits which means lots of rich eggs and great tasting meat. A duck just says "farm" to me and they come in many colors. They are quiet enough for even an urban homesteader and often make fair pets as long as you aren't looking for something cuddly. Muscovies enjoy, but do not have to have water either. A kiddy pool once in a while is more than enough to keep them happy.
Their only drawbacks being that they can fly and those claws. A yearly wing flight feather trim keeps them from flying, but muscovies are serious homebodies and rarely leave home anyway. They will however roost on the barn or roof if allowed. The claws are used for roosting in trees in the wild, they aren't for really used for defense. Good gloves are a must for handling because they are freakishly strong and their claws are sharp even if they aren't intentionally trying to gut you. (and it will seem that way!)
Have I convinced you to run out and get yourself a Muscovy or six yet?
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