We candled the Muscovy eggs last night and of the 7, saw 2 that concerned us. One was damaged – there was a tiny impact point and a crack that spanned about half the egg. Not good. Since we didn’t have any plain wax for sealing the crack, we painted it with nail polish. Sounds weird, but some people claim they’ve successfully hatched cracked eggs this way. Worth a try. Note: only “five free” polish was used (no Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, or Camphor). Continue reading “Incubating Duck Eggs and Warmer Days”
Tag: Muscovy Ducks
The Duck Eggs Arrived…Finally
The Muscovy eggs ordered last week were shipped by the seller on Monday by Priority Mail. Unfortunately, they were mysteriously delayed in transit and didn’t arrive at the local post office (and strangely, went to a different PO, rather than the one to which we’re assigned) until today. We’ve been watching the tracking carefully, so as soon as we saw that they had arrived at the local PO, we called and asked them to hold the package for pickup.
The package was in good shape, and the eggs were carefully wrapped, individually, first in paper towel, then bubble wrap, and placed in a box, which was placed in a bigger box and surrounded by paper to cushion the eggs. The eggs appear to all be unbroken.
Cleverness Runs In The Family
We’ve been trying to figure out which of the Muscovy ducks is laying, and we know Coraline is for certain. The other morning, we found 3 eggs in the duck coop. Based on history, we concluded that one was laid by Coraline, but who laid the other two was a mystery.
Without seeing who’d laid the eggs, we speculated that Phoebe (Ty’s girl) would likely be one of the layers, as would Pru. Piper is the fourth duck, and she has the brown head with little caruncling. She just seems a bit less mature than her sisters.
Can You Identify This Snowprint?
It snowed today. Everything is wearing a soft, lovely white coat. All the hard edges of the landscape have been softened. The snow muffles most noises, and few cars have been on the road. It’s a good day to watch the snow fall, and the birds mill around the feeders. The cardinals are bright splashes of crimson on the white background. A Northern Flicker, with its signature reddish-orange head, is busily working at the feeder. Continue reading “Can You Identify This Snowprint?”
More About The Muscovies
Our Muscovy drake, Tiberius, is a handsome fellow. He has a crest on his head that he raises, and it looks like a pompadour (we joke that we should have called him “Elvis”). His caruncles are vibrant. He’s roughly twice the size of the ducks, and while he looks slow, he can really move when he’s motivated. His hissing and head-bobbing are charming. Continue reading “More About The Muscovies”
Duck Hot Tubs And Waterbugs
It’s frigid here today. With wind chill, it’s in the single digits. The ground is rock hard, water frozen solid. Appropriate shelter for outdoor animals is a must on these winter days, and warm food and water help add some comfort. We pull on our balaclavas, like ninjas, and do the farm chores.
Muscovy ducks reputedly don’t have the same requirements for water (i.e., a pond) that other duck breeds do. Supposedly, enough water for them to clean out their nostrils (nares) suffices. While that may be true with regard to minimum water requirements, ours love a wading pool or even a puddle to splash around in.