Muscovy Duck
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The Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata, is a large perching duck which is native to Mexico, Central and South America.
A small wild population reaches into the lower Rio Grande River basin in Texas. There also is a significant feral population in southern Florida and southern Texas.
This non-migratory species normally inhabitating forested swamps, lakes and streams. It often roosts in trees at night.
The wild Muscovy Duck is all-dark apart from the white in the wings, with long talons on its feet and a wide flat tail. The male is 86 cm long and weighs 3 kg, much larger than the 64 cm long, 1.3 kg female. His most distinctive features are a bare red face with a pronounced caruncle at the base of the bill and a low erectile crest of feathers. The drake has a dry hissing call, and the hen a quiet trilling coo.
This species, like the Mallard, does not form stable pairs, and, again like that species, forced sexual intercourse can occur in feral populations.
The hen lays a clutch of 8-10 white eggs, usually in a tree hole or hollow, which are incubated for 35 days.
The Muscovy Duck has benefited from nest boxes in Mexico, but is uncommon in much of the east of its range due to persecution.
Its diet consists of plant material obtained by grazing or dabbling in shallow water, with some small vertebrates and insects.
Domestication
The Muscovy Duck had probably been domesticated for centuries by South American Indigenous cultures at the time of its introduction to European colonialists.
How the muscovy inherited its name is not entirely known. It is not from Moscow. Though it is commercially known as Barbary Duck it is also not native to Barbary.
The Domestic Muscovy duck is matrilineally descended from the wild Muscovy Duck. While the majority of its patrilinear ancestors were also wild Muscovy Ducks, the males of two other wild species also contributed their demes.
The South American Comb Duck drake was crossed with the first semi-domestic founders. Males of this hybrid have limited fertility whereas the females are sterile. The f1 hybrids show marked hybrid vigour and are much larger than either wild species. Though the majority of the male hybrids produce abnormal sperm and are thus for all intensive purposes sterile, one out of every thirty is likely to be fully fecund.
As Muscovy Ducks lay large clutches and can be encouraged to produce up to three clutches of offspring a year, the selective breeding regimes of the South American Indian cultures were successful in producing dramatically larger domestic muscovy with unusual colouration making individuals recognizeable. This is critical in the development of domestic breeds.
Once the domestic Muscovy Duck reached the Phillipines and Indonesia it readily became the most important poultry for many European settlements for the qualities of the meat and tolerance of heat and wet.
At some point, Europeans and/or their Asian neighbors either indavertently or purposely hybridized the now critically endangered White Winged Wood Duck to their domestic Muscovy Ducks. The White Winged Wood Duck is much closer related to the Muscovy Duck than the Comb Duck. Fertile male offspring were bred back into the domestic Muscovy Duck gene pool in high enough numbers to introduce a number of new traits into the populations of founders that reached African and European Shores.
This breed is popular because it has stronger-tasting meat, like roast beef, and is less noisy. The carcass of a Muscovy Duck is also much heavier than that of most other domesticated ducks, which make it ideal for the dinner table.
Domesticated birds, like those pictured, often features differing plumage from that of wild birds, and are also usually also bulkier.
Muscovy hens range in weight from 2 to 5 kg (5 to 10 pounds), while drakes are commonly 5 to 7 kg (10 to 15 pounds). Domesticated birds can breed up to three times each year. Some have escaped into the wild and now breed outside the native domain, including in western Europe and the United States.
The Muscovy Duck can be crossed with the domestic duck in captivity to produce hybrids which are known as Mulard Duck ("mule duck") because they are sterile) and are often used in the production of foie gras.
Problems with feral populations
Some feral populations, such as those in Florida are said to present problems. Muscovy ducks can breed near urban and suburban lakes and on farms, nesting in tree cavities or on the ground, under shrubs in yards, on condominium balconies or under roof overhangs. Problems arise from aggressive begging for food and mess created by droppings. It is said that each adult duck produces about 150 g (1/3-pound) of droppings per day, and they defecate in swimming pools and on patios and docks. This presents a possible health hazard.
Legal methods to restrict breeding include not feeding these ducks, deterring them with noise or by chasing, and finding nests and vigorously shaking the eggs to render them nonviable. Leaving the eggs to the nest will prevent re-laying as the mother duck would if the clutch were removed.
Humane feral duck population management
Feral populations can be humanely managed to reduce the number of offspring produced by resident feral ducks, by interfering with a duck's natural nesting instinct. Simply destroying all nests or eggs will only result in the duck renesting in different locations until she has a successful hatch. This is the key consideration when managing active nests. The duck must be allowed to incubate and hatch at least 2 ducklings, otherwise she will abandon the nest and immediately start a new nest elsewhere. Allowing her 2 viable eggs will ensure that this duck will spend 3 weeks incubating and up to 12 weeks caring for her 2 ducklings.
The goal is normally to alter all but two of the eggs in a nest so that they are unable to hatch. This can only be accomplished during the laying period (before incubation).
If there is any doubt regarding the development of the eggs, a sampling should be taken to a local wildlife rehabilitator for candling. During the laying period (before incubation), the eggs are still dormant and should be vigorously shaken to cause the internal structure to change (comparable to scrambling the egg inside the shell). Each shaken egg should be dated with a crayon the day it is shaken and returned to the nest. Removing the altered eggs could result in the duck abandoning the nest and starting a new one elsewhere if she feels a predator has discovered the site.
The eggs can also be coated with vegetable oil. Do not shake two of the eggs. These eggs should be labeled by crayon as "Viable". Keep the unshaken eggs on top of or away from any oiled eggs. The shaken eggs can be safely pierced and discarded one week after the female leaves the nest with her new ducklings, or 45 days after incubation began.
An incubated egg should never be shaken; it has begun development and rather than rendering the egg infertile it could result in a deformed duckling.
This information refers to domestic ducks in the USA only. It is a violation of US federal law to disturb the eggs, nests, or raise ducklings of all wild ducks without first obtaining the necessary permits.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Related Web Resources: Muscovy Ducks (FeatherSite) ... Muscovy Ducks (Personal Homepage) - charming story of living wih muscovy ducks ... Muscovy (Oklahoma State University)
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