Control Mosquitoes Naturally with Muscovy Ducks

 

Control Mosquitoes Naturally with Muscovy Ducks

 

The number one reason I keep Muscovy Ducks around my chicken coops are for pest control, specifically mosquitoes.

 

Muscovy Ducks can see in the dark. They are ideally adapted to hunt throughout the night, lowering the chances of mosquitoes infected with fowl pox to bite my chickens.

 

Other benefits of keeping Muscovy:

 

Muscovy Ducks make good pets

Muscovy ducks can make wonderful pets if trained from a young age to accept handling by humans. They tend to bond with individuals, showing happiness with tail wagging and head bobbing. They are easy to catch and pick up, showing affection to their owner by hugging into one, or gently nibbling, usually from male ducks.

 

Muscovy Ducks are quiet

They are quiet birds and it is almost unreal when going from the noise of chickens to the almost silence of the Muscovy paddocks.

Males hiss while females make soft bleats or mews, especially when broody.

 

Muscovy Ducks as home pest control

They are most excellent at pest control, especially mosquitoes and flies, seeking out all damp and watery spots where larvae or maggots breed.

A female Muscovy kept with the chickens wipes out the night insects while the chickens sleep.

You can even keep a Muscovy on the porch, very few flies or mosquitoes will make it past their defenses into the house.

 

Muscovy Ducks for security

Males are territorial and might seem aggressive with their hissing, head bobbing and crest display (raised feathers on their heads).

They will protect what they see as their space, fighting off stray dogs, cats or other threats, even humans. They will kill and sometimes even eat rats, mice and snakes.

If your Muscovy sees your other pets as part of the family, he will protect them.

 

Muscovy Ducks economical eating habits:

They are light on food but heavy drinkers. 

Watering  

Provide a deep dish with fresh water so they can dunk their heads to wash their faces and beaks. They need this refilled at least twice a day.

Despite being ducks, Muscovy does not always like to swim. An occasional bath will do the trick, usually in a dog bowl, baby bath or puddle of water. 

Feeding 

An adult needs half a cup of concentrated food twice a day. This can be poultry feed, corn, or rice and veggies.

Muscovy ducks love their greens and will eat all the weeds and as much grass as they can. They are like goats in this regard and will try their beaks at almost anything green.

An economical way to feed large flocks are cutting banana leaves/stems and boiling it with rice. Feed cooled as a staple or a snack.

 

Muscovy Ducks can fly

As they can fly if not too fat, it is better to clip the flight feathers on one wing. This unbalances the bird and it will be grounded, able to jump up to roosts but not fly over fences. If they are happy with their home, they do not fly away in any case.

 

Muscovy Ducks are long living

Muscovy ducks average around 8 years with care, but can get much older. This ensures a long relationship with a special friend. 

 

Caution with keeping with chickens

 Muscovy hens can be kept with your chickens.

Male Muscovy drakes (and all male ducks) should not be kept with chickens as they may mount them and injure or kill them. Male ducks have a penis that penetrates female ducks while breeding. If this happens with chickens they can seriously injure or kill the chicken.

 

Bottom line is that Muscovy Ducks are entertaining, yet calming to watch. With a bit of care they make great additions to any family pet situation.

 

Written by H Gibson, Author of Chronicles of Han book series

Copyright © 2009-2025 H Gibson Chronicles of Han / Therapy Chickens Belize

 

Pet Roosters

 

Banshee and Bullee

Pet Roosters

Banshee and Bullee. 2019 hatch Brothers now over the rainbow bridge. Banshee passed away 11 days after Bullee.

People ask "How old do roosters get?"

The answer depends entirely on circumstance. I have older roosters still on active duty into their 8th year, while others pass over early for various reasons. The average lifespan for a chicken with good luck is 5-8 years. There are chickens older than 12 years old, so if you take on a chicken as a pet, make sure that you can commit for the same timespan as keeping a dog or cat. Pet chickens will give you as much, if not more, pleasure than other pets with their quirky personalities.

Article by author, H Gibson

Training Chickens

 

Tuesday, 24 September 2019

Training Chickens and Photo Shoots

Chicken Love

Training Chickens and Photo Shoots

Chickens are incredibly intelligent birds once the fear of a person had been replaced with trust.
When your chickens trust you, they will come to you for cuddles, seeing you as their human, thus training is done by playing with them.

This is the event that happened this morning, spontaneously, without pre-arrange input from me. I was fortunate to be able to share this bit of magic in my life with readers. It is an amazing feeling to know these chicks trust you so much as to want to be around you.

www.chroniclesofhan.com

Copyright © 2009-2019 H Gibson Chronicles of Han

"Cinnabun"

Cinnabun is one of the most inquisitive birds I had thus far, demanding cuddles whenever I'm around.

"Us too!"

Hmm. What is going on here? The others are occupying the chair?

"Okay, let us then line up."

Originally Blogged: https://chroniclesofhanstorm.blogspot.com/2019/09/training-chickens-and-photo-shoots.html

My first Therapy Chickens

 

Sunday, 23 June 2019

Back Yard Chickens - enjoying the babies - Maggie's first batch of eleven live chicks

Chicken Little was rejected by her mom and had to be hand reared. She quickly turned into a great, intelligent little chicken even though she could not stand after hatching. Here she is sleeping in my lap while I'm trying to work on the laptop.

Chicken Little preferred to sleep on her back until she could sit up. Egor did not grow feathers until much later and mom kept pecking her, thus she joined Chicken Little as a companion.

Egor and Chicken Little, two happy chickies a few days later. Lots of work, lots of love and lots of joy.

Chicken Little, not so little any more. Egor is growing feathers. In my daughter's hands is Pudding, not part of the batch, just a random egg placed under Maggie. Pudding loved her mom but had deformed feet, thus could not keep up with the little flock and was reared by hand. Her feet are now strong and fine and she turned into a feisty little chicken. 

Time will tell how their lives pan out. Right now they are just enjoying being much-loved free-range chicken pets.

Back Yard Chickens - by Author, H Gibson

www.chroniclesofhan.com

Originally Blogged: https://chroniclesofhanstorm.blogspot.com/2019/06/back-yard-chickens-enjoying-babies.html

Dragons and Meditation

 

Tuesday, 18 June 2019

Upon Feathered Dragons and Chicken Meditations

Upon Feathered Dragons and Chicken Meditations
Article by Author H Gibson, The Chronicles of Han.

What appeals to me most about chickens are that they remind me of feathered dragons.
Each one has a personality with a fierceness for survival just under the surface.

This is little Luna. She refuses to grow and her brothers and sisters are twice her size.
Luna decided she wished to join me in my meditation sessions, calmly taking a position best suited to the situation.

This is not by co-incidence but every time I settle down to meditate, resulting in extremely calming sessions.

I'm just glad she is a little chicken.

Anyone interested to come and experience my chicken meditation sessions welcome to visit by appointment. Contact me via email from my website www.chroniclesofhan.com 

Originally Blogged: https://chroniclesofhanstorm.blogspot.com/2019/06/upon-feathered-dragons-and-chicken-meditations.html

Therapy with Chickens

 

Saturday, 21 December 2019

Chicken Therapy with Therapy Chickens

Chicken Therapy with Therapy Chickens

Since having chickens I had to adjust to a more 'life just is' attitude. I did not expect the results of becoming a chicken person, but it seems as if the chickens are assisting me in becoming a happier person, keeping me grounded and focused on what I need to do, not just for them, but in effect for my family and my life as well.

What I find the most interesting of the chickens are their absolute sense of immediate joy in life, misery when they are unhappy, their gratefulness when they receive something from me, or their excitement when they find something extraordinary like a fat earthworm, screaming gleefully so the rest of the flock may know about it and the tag race is on!

They also teach about death and that sometimes death comes suddenly and unexpectedly, or sometimes a body just can not survive the rigours of life and gives out. And you watch and can do absolutely nothing but give as much love as you can in those final moments of a preme or a late hatcher with underdeveloped internal organs, a weak heart, or shock.

This includes hatching. Some eggs start out well but suddenly stop developing in the second or third week. Life just gives up. Creating a new body was not to be.

And then the miracle of hatching, which I find fascinating. The little wet bodies turning into balls of fluff, full of life and joy, each one with their own personality, from the first few hours.

No matter how many chicks I've held in my hand, I keep on marvelling at the creation of life.

Yes, I guess I've become a chickenholic. Wiser, more fun-filled, happier, and definitely having a lot more love to share with the world.

Han Gibson

Author, The Chronicles of Han

www.chroniclesofhan.com

#TherapyChickens, Life, Death, Lessons, ESA, Therapy Chickens, Happiness, Chickenholic, Chicken Behaviour, 

Originally Blogged: https://chroniclesofhanstorm.blogspot.com/2019/12/chicken-therapy-with-therapy-chickens.html