#Muscovy eggs

[emmashouldbewriting]

Mother of Christ I could make a quilt with that nest

[forestduck]

black muscovy

[vincentblackbearmediallc]

Raising fowl is a rewarding experience in many ways, and Muscovy ducklings are no exception.  They can be raised for meat, eggs or simply for the pleasure of watching these feathered friends forage around the yard.The breedMuscovy is the only domestic breed of duck that did not originate from Mallards.  Large birds that are typically white or white and black in the wild, they have evolved through domestication to now be available in a wide range of coloration.  There are some interesting, unique facts about this type of duck that is different from other breeds; for one thing, they enjoy roosting.  As the evening draws to a close, the ducks fly to the fence tops, building rafters or rooftops to roost for the night.  They also display a rough looking red “caruncle” around the area of the eyes and beak; a feature that some find endearing, while others consider it to be unattractive.

[shocktreatment]

family sippie :)

[coyotecreek]

The first turkey poult of 2023!

It's a chocolate! And it's BIG. This one hatched three days early, so it's in our overflow/backup incubator, at the moment. It's really active, so I didn't want it disturbing the rest of the poults that aren't quite ready to hatch. We have some pips and peeps, but no real action yet.

[subbalakshmisastry]

Exotic Muscovy Ducks At Planet Earth Aquarium Mysore, Mysore Tourism

[kedreeva]

So I live somewhere where certain foods aren't readily available. I'm looking to buy a house - smallish house, biggish land is an option(cheaper). I've never kept anything more ~interesting~ than snakes. I went to a restaurant in a city a few years back where I tried duck for the first time and it instantly became my favorite food. Would it be weird to uh, keep ducks for eating? I've no problem with butchering but I'm worried I'd get attached to MY ducks.

I can't really answer if you'll get attached, because I don't know you or your penchant for getting attached. I can answer that it's not weird at all to raise ducks for meat. There are entire breeds of ducks that are great to raise for meat (like muscovies or pekins). Personally, I prefer the muscovy breed because I find them to be adorable (lots of cool color morphs! they do a little butt waggling dance in a circle!), GREAT moms who take on HUGE clutches no problem, they don't require or play in large amounts of water the way pekins do, and they're not as noisy (they hiss, they don't quack). The boys also get quite large, without getting super fat the way proper meat pekins do.

Like that's just. Terrible. I assume they get belly rub sores. The meat is probably good, the fat is probably good cooking. But at what cost?

I can also say that most people do get somewhat attached to animals they raise for food, but I think that's an important part of it. Part of raising animals for food is understanding that you're giving them the best life you can up to the point of butcher, which is often better than whatever life they would have in a factory farm. Part of raising food animals is caring enough about them to do well by them, as the only gratitude you can show to them in exchange for their life. Part of raising animals for food is understanding that you are going to take the life of another creature, and I think that attachment is how we understand the weight of that decision.

Personally, I think that it's right and good for people to get attached to their livestock. I think it helps them remember that they're caring for a living creature that has needs and feels pain. A creature that is deserving of excellent care while alive. I see a LOT of people allowing animal suffering in the fowl world because "it's just a chicken" and the babies "only cost a couple bucks," and "they can be replaced." IMO, it's a particularly callous attitude to have, toward an animal whose life will be taken to provide for you. Even one whose life is dedicated to providing for you while living (eggs, milk, wool, honey, etc) deserves better than to be considered a Thing that can be allowed to suffer merely because it is replaceable.

Lastly, I can say that (for me at least) there's often a major difference between the attachment you feel toward a pet and a livestock animal. Part of it is expectations going in, part of it is time. For pets, the expectation is that you will have that animal for the duration of that animal's average life expectancy, and you can plan accordingly for allowing yourself emotional investment. For livestock, the expectation is that you will only have the animal until its butcher date, which is often quite early in their life. A healthy, well-kept dog you can probably expect a good 10 years from, a cat nearly twice that. The average butcher age for a pekin duck is 3 months old (for comparison, they have an average lifespan of 5 years before their bodies give out from growth and weight issues), for muscovies 3-6 months (with an average lifespan of 20 years). There's just not as much time to get attached in the first place, unless you're getting attached to your breeders.

So, is it weird to raise ducks for food? Absolutely not. Are you going to get attached? I hope so, at least a little bit. And I hope that you feeling that connection to your food source helps you to take excellent care of them until their time comes, and that it compels you to make their end as quick and painless as possible.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Since I’ve been studying what people do to make money on Airbnb, I’ve come across the most idiotic, yet cheapest, accommodation. For $15 a night, you can stay in this guy’s shed in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. As a plus, he says it’s “Better than a tent.”

To get there, he explains, “Google Maps gives a decent location to this spot. As soon as the barn appears (as in this picture), turn left into the grass. Drive slowly and park wherever you see fit!”

He goes on to say, “This is your exterior. (one door is open and it will be closed when you arrive) It locks with a small key inside (unlocked when you arrive). This is located in the grass before the gate and well before the barn. Drive slowly on up! =) When inside, you can use the wood bar to "lock" the door.”

“This is the inside of your shed. It has no electricity or toilet. There is a mirror, chair, and bucket. The chandelier was in the shed when I purchased it, so I painted it to match. I call it... art. =)”  So, am I to understand that the bucket is your toilet?

“There is a small bird that likes to nest with you. I try to shoo her away, but she is quite stubborn and not much of a nuisance.” I think the bird is the nicest part of this.

“This is an air mattress with pillows and a sheet on a tarp. It usually holds air all night?! Feel free to bring your own sleeping arrangements, I can easily remove this. I have a dog bed also upon request.”  Also, Fresh farm eggs and bacon breakfast available $3 / person. Occasionally, Muscovy (duck) eggs are available for $1 extra/egg for adventure eaters. =) Coffee $1 / cup.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34979361?source_impression_id=p3_1659135918_lYiEdkZXlybmoiJi

[b4kuch1n]

review of every type of meat that’s ever been subjected to me

disclaimers: this will include offals when I have personal experiences with that. score is subjected to personal taste and accessibility price- and prep-wise. YMMV, etc., etc. "meat" here includes non-mammal non-avian animals, as long as it comes directly from the body (which means eggs and such are not included). I tried to find the closest english word for some of these that I only know as local ingredients, but the taxonomical orders at least should be correct.

pork: 9/10. classic. a bit finicky to prep and cook, which is why it doesn't get full mark, but re-heats nicely. very versatile, though on the heavy side as is the case with most bigger animals. the amount of fat and gelatin that comes with a belly cut makes it ideal for new year aspic, which very few other types of meat can be used for. pig offals are of acceptable textures most of the times, though they've overall softened as time goes on, which may lead to one point docked as I don't like that texture.

chicken: 8/10. also very versatile and takes on spices very well, but experiences may vary much more due to the large difference in texture and taste between dark and light meat on a chicken. the big reason why I mark chicken one point lower than pork is that I find reheated chicken much less pleasant than reheated pork. phantom extra point for show of skill with eating bone-in chicken with chopsticks. remove phantom extra point for overrepresentation in every offering meal. offals are inoffensive, but overly soft for my taste. blood however is more tolerable than pig blood.

beef: 8/10. I love beef. beef is great to eat and great to cook, especially viet beef, since you're either sautéing it on high or stewing it until it falls apart anyway. but not only is beef expensive, quality also varies greatly with different price points. beef fat is also very hard to deal with and it makes me mad to throw away a whole puck of fat. as a casual source of protein it falls firmly into the "more troubles than it's worth" category. the one thing keeping its score in the high range is phở and beef jerky.

duck: 9/10. far superior to chicken in my sincere opinion, but a chore to eat in the summer. in no way an every day meal, but this only secure its place as a treat, which gets it graded on the treat ladder, and it scores high there. the only thing keeping it from perfection is the heavier musk that limits its versatility compared to its land-bound counterpart.

muscovy duck: 7/10. taste-wise deeper than duck, but texture-wise much chewier, which makes eating it even more of a task. cooking options have been pretty much limited to roast and poach. it being bigger than a duck makes prepping and portioning it just slightly off as well, so most often you go out to eat it, which docks point for convenience.

squab: 6/10. the problem here is maybe lack of dedication to the craft. or maybe it's that it's very little, not very exciting meat for too much effort. putting a tentative question mark here for this score because I believe there is a squab experience out there that doesn't feel gimmicky but will blow the doors wide open to new horizons for me. I see potential in this, and I'm not yet sick of disappointment.

silk worm: 8/10. the reason why it's not getting a higher score is because there's one single dish I like with it as an ingredient, which is roasted dried silk worm with fish sauce, but the reason why the score's still an eight is because that dish slaps mad shit. it tentatively falls on the treat scale because it's not very easy to acquire, but once you get a bag of it you're pretty much set for several months, so I would still consider it casual-meal-worthy. may be an acquired taste, but I fully recommend acquiring that taste.

snail: 5/10. abhorrent texture, mild taste. better as ingredients for more complex dishes than as a standalone protein. my mom likes it though so it gets passing grade.

oyster: 3/10. worse texture than snail, even worse taste. doesn't get better when you season it, only makes the seasoning itself worse. not getting a zero only because it's good for blood and I'm open to a chance of redemption down the road.

shrimp/crab: 6/10. get the same mark because I eat them at the same frequency and the amount of paperwork required to eat them is equally excessive. take on spices fairly well, but it's not enough. if I could hold a crab like a hamburger and take a big bite this score would change. saved from the mid grade by their seasoning quality for delectable summer broths.

eel: 4/10. the only good way I've found to eat eel is to deep fry it until it denatures and turns into basically seaweed chips. this is good for sour soup rice noodle, but for that same palate a number of different fishes do the job better with more personality. it's okay with a heap of sauce japanese style, but the price discourages exploration.

tuna: 7/10, and mostly for canned tuna salad. eaten raw I find it mid and unexciting. a nice tuna salad sandwich is fun and childlike in its appreciation of the simple things though, so I wholely respect it.

salmon: 9/10. about as versatile as a seafood can get, and is fun to experience in any form. only one point docked for price and lack of excitement - I also, like with squab and oyster, await a life-changing salmon experience that makes this protein perfect once and for all.

clam worm: 8/10. like with silk worm, I only find it edible in one single form, which is minced clam worm patty fried up, but it excels at that one single thing. also stays in the high grade for fun factor of being a seasonal treat.

frog: 6/10. I really like frog legs. it has the tenderness of white fish with the ease of access of a chicken wing, and the taste is delicate in a delightful way. but I really dislike most of the rest of the frog to put in my mouth. this makes it kinda wasteful as a meat option. overall just kinda better enjoyed alive than cooked for like a third of its body.

dog/cat: 3/10. grouped up once again because they're equally unpleasant texture-wise and limited in prep options. I find meat from mammals of this size downward soft in a really off, is-it-going-bad-or-is-it-just-like-this way. the musk borders on off-putting, which is why prep options are limited to heavy seasoning and stew or roast. overall just way too little bangs for their bucks.

rabbit: 5/10. texturally worse than dog and cat, but the musk is much lighter and takes on seasoning much better. not really something you can find casually in the wet market, so exploration of the possibilities here isn't of convenience. this score may be subjected to change in the future.

deer: 6/10. interesting taste, but tough texture and a bit hard to figure out how to season. very hard to get one's hand on in the city, and honestly from my exposure to it I wouldn't go out of my way to acquire a cut. firmly in the "sure, if I come across it" category.

water buffalo: 6/10. beef but chewier. makes for good drinking food, but I barely drink, so mostly not my thing. also limited in ways to prep - most commonly sautéd with garlic or made into jerky. I feel like there's a depth to this protein I cannot access, which makes me mad, but also earns it respect.

field mouse: 4/10. texturally even worse than rabbit, taste-wise extremely inoffensive. verges on the low end because it just raises the question of why. why is this a local specialty. it's mouse, dude. you can not be gentrifying that. they failed to make it a big deal btw so I'm correct on this one.

lobster: 6/10. gets this score for lobster freaks who spent decades studying how to make this big shrimp taste better and furiously honed their craft with cheese and butter and garlic. 80% of lobster experiences happen at the hands of those people, so the median score averages out at pretty ok. I am, however, lactose intolerant, and thus unwelcomed by these lobster zealots. this, combined with lobster being a luxury food, lowers the score to slightly above passing grade.

snake: 5/10. literally the only impression it left me with was that it was snake meat ooh how rare and cool. texturally more pleasant than eel and more versatile, but that ends up landing it squarely in the “utterly unremarkable” zone. at least now I’m pretty confident I would bite a chunk off a snake if I’m ever lost in a jungle with no way out. passing grade for the worth of information.

horse: 7/10. has the taste depth of deer, but with the texture of beef when simmered for a long time. literally had this first time today so my experience with it is extremely limited, but I can't really imagine it being easy to chew if roasted. two outstanding features are that the fat is really nice to eat even in larger pieces, and the blood cooks into a texturally acceptable jelly, which is not the case with any other animal blood for me. score may be up to change in the future as well.

mantis shrimp: 8/10. lobster wishes it has the playful zeal and easy-going nature of mantis shrimp. the amount of paperwork required to enjoy mantis shrimp is half of shrimp's or crab's, and texture-wise it's just better. literally crack this one in half like a flip phone and put some salt and lime on it, that's a treat. so far the gold standard for shelled seafood. only gets an eight because I don't really think about eating it every day, but I have hope this can be turned around in a shocking and life-changing event as well.

anchovy: this one doesn't get a score due to its ritualistic importance. really is included here because I ritually cleaned and cooked way too many of these so a job I was gunning for could go through successfully. it worked btw. still don't know if I recommend it

[msburgundy]

Your metzerfarms.com mention sent me down a rabbit duck hole and imagine my surprise to find that the ugly invasive Muscovy nuisances that are literally everywhere here are a sought after breed?? There's gotta be a couple grand worth of ducks in my neighborhood at any given time.

stop being rude to them rn

though i was shocked to see that the black muscovy in particular is like not super available and metzer only recently even started selling them

you probably couldn't sell feral adults but if you found nests and either sold hatching eggs or hatched them yourself and sold babies you could probably make a lot of money without ever even keeping birds yourself lol

[briarpatch-kids]

a muscovy duck mother laid her eggs across from my window and all like 7 of them hatched today and the babies are so adorable and it reminded me of ur duckkeeping :) i am going to get to watch them grow up!

yes!!! That's so fun

[forestduck]

[rederiswrites]

Two ducklings and one chick doing well and acting comfortable and calm. One hen and one duck sitting on eggs (Joanie the Muscovy duck got comfy directly below my bedroom window). Moonlight the rooster, as always, keeps a wary eye on me in case I misbehave.

[dumbass-ducks]

Do you specifically know ducks who are dumbasses, to whom your name refers? Or are you claiming all ducks to be dumbasses? Or did you, perhaps, simply like the alliteration?

If yes to the first, may I ask for more details on said ducks?

If yes to the second, may I ask for your reasoning?

If yes to the third, that's kind of boring but also fair. Sorry for including the most likely and least interesting option and blaming you for it.

This is inane and likely annoying, but the tab said 'bother me'. How could I be expected to resist?

Hope you are having a good day, or at least not a dreadful one.

well i suppose i like the alliteration but also I truly belive all ducks are kinda dumbasses as part of my work over the summer I took care of 4 muscovy ducks(3 hens and 1 drake) those things are idiots and mean they also don’t quack instead they hiss the camp kids loved them but then again they didn’t have to go in the coop with the muscovys

they(the ducks) never figured out that they had to go inside when they wanted me to empty and re-fill the pool instead they’d freak out(despite knowing me and being fine when i went in to feed them) and fly up to the beams or get stuck behind the door. absolute idiots

i also hold a grudge bc one of them kept laying and then getting nest bound(she didn’t wanna get off the nest so she’d sit on it for most of the day) that meant every time i needed to get the eggs from her id have to fight an angry duck that weighed around 7bs(drakes get to about 15lbs hens only get to 7ish) and had massive wings, claws and a sharp beak plus the prime defensive position of being in a box(our nesting boxes opened like a door from one side and then the other side was open for the birds) she was a pain to fight and i have at least one new scar thanks to her

also Quackity(the drake that one of the kids named) was wild defensive of the hens and untied my shoes once but also couldn’t figure out how to eat the leaves in the center of the wading pool(dumbass energy)

One thing they’ve got going for them is they figured out that the orange bucket = garden scraps and they’d behave oh so nicely when I got a new load in and they realized if they hissed and cocked their head to the side the kids would go “awwww babies” and feed them bugs they caught and all the weeds the ducks couldn’t reach. so they’re not total idiots

Quackity

The nest bound hen(i forget her name) this was a few days after I removed her for the second time(she warmed up to me after some bribery of veggie scraps)

[sci-simulacrumb]

Hey! I was splashing around in one of the lakes south of my pond when this weird bird landed on the water. Its face was so warty and pink I thought it was sick!

    I quickly ran to get Galen. Since they like reading about medicine, maybe they knew how to help. When we got back, the warty animal was hanging out with two new ducks across the pond.

     I was sure that bird was going to infect the others, so I needed to swim to grab the weird bird. But, just as I jumped off the pier, Galen grabbed me by the shell.

      They explained the warty one wasn't sick. It's actually called a Muscovy duck, or Cairina moschata. This one is most likely a domesticated one, as wild Muscovy ducks are typically much darker.

       Wild and domesticated combined, Muscovy ducks have a huge range throughout the Americas, though the domesticated ones are more likely to appear where I live in the northern continent. The ducks like to perch and nest in tall trees, and males have been recorded to mate with other duck species to create sterile offspring. Female Muscovy ducks can lay between 8 and 15 eggs, and may even raise the interloper eggs of Black-bellied Whistling ducks awith their own. 

       Domesticated Muscovy ducks have been around for a long while, with many Indigenous nations of the Central and South America cultivating them for food and fashion. Galen even read somewhere that the Muscovy ducks were linked to the Aztec wind god, Ehecatl.

That sounds so cool! But when Galen and I tried to find other references that agreed with that claim, our library came up dry. Scientist doesn't really trust us to take trips to Central America on our own just yet, so if anyone could help us learn more about the god Ehecatl's connection to water fowl, that would be awesome!

Chelys out!