Adorable, Friendly Ducklings and Drakes

Thank you for viewing our beloved Muscovy duck residents at our not for profit animal sanctuary in Berriwillock 3531, Victoria! (Please note our location as we are not close to Melbourne!)

Do you have a large land area and/or ideally a farm, for our male ducks for live in with a constant water source? If so, please read on!!

We have black/white pied muscovy DRAKES only, available for $1 adoption cost. These are large sized waterfowl whom require a constant water supply, large drinking vessels and large grassed areas to roam, so farms are ideal for them. Not suitable for residential size blocks. Muscovy ducks live in small colonies in the wild and will happily live together without a female present. Muscovy ducks will integrate with other breeds of ducks but please be aware that males are very aggressive during breeding season if females are present (spring, summer are peak breeding times) and like all male species, they will fight aggressively with other males if there are females present. They will also interbreed with other ducks, so it is best if they are kept as male only groups!

Environment: All poultry needs to be housed in a suitable predator proof pen. Pens should be fully enclosed and constructed of strong materials to withstand predators digging underneath and jumping over fences. Electric fencing on the outside of poultry pens is common. All dogs have naturally high predatory drive levels 'wired into them' which varies with breeds, so it's a good idea to keep your dog on a leash during initital introductions to new waterfowl to prevent any horrible accidents.

Water requirements: Muscovy ducks are waterfowl and require a constant supply of fresh drinking and bathing water, in several deep, heavy water containers which are at least 10 litres capacity each (concrete/pottery/old enamel fridge crispers are ideal). Muscovies are a heavy weight bird and will tip over light plastic containers which are too shallow for them. Waterfowl require water not only for drinking/bathing, but also for digesting all food. Ducks can also become waterlogged and drown in water, so plastic swimming pools should be lined with some large rocks.

Dietary requirements: Muscovies require cereal grains (wheat/barley/corn), protein rich legumes (peas, lupins, lentils, beans), soaked soybean meal, insects for protein (dried mealworms/crickets), plus greens - soft grass shoots, kale, lettuce, soft leafed weeds eg dandelion, chickweed and milk thistle. Watercress is a favourite too! They should preferably be fed an all in one pellet such as Showbird Premium or Game Bird Finisher as well as grains/green food/insects as described above. Pellets can be mixed into grain. It is recommended to feed hygienically fermented grain for improved gut health. A source of calcium is recommended such as fine shell grit (served separately) cooked/dried crushed egg shells, dried/crushed cuttlefish bones or oyster shell grit. Crushed builder's lime etc is not safe for poultry to ingest.

Parasite treatment: All poultry needs to be treated regularly for both internal and external parasites such as worms and mites. They also require external treatments applied to their environment (insecticidal dust/permethrin spray/lime sulphur spray). Lice and mites can severely debilitate poultry if left unchecked.

Our Facebook page contains more information about our Sanctuary, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/WindDancerAnimalSanctuaryBerriwillock/

Wind Dancer Animal Sanctuary is an ACNC registered not for profit Animal Sanctuary.
We prefer as much information as possible for our adoption screening process, including photos of external environment, land size, enclosures/pens and size, description of other pets/breeds kept.
Photos are required of your established poultry enclosure, before any adoption application is approved.
Thank you for your interest in adopting our little lovelies, whom we adore.