Msucovy ducks...the future chicken"?
Some good news about Muscovy's; their eggs are bigger and better tasting, they grow to adulthood faster than chickens, and their meat is tastier.
They're "cute"...and that's why they're taking over habitats of many "less cute" and "shy - but beautiful" native species.
They're reproducing rapidly....and they're disease carriers. If you walk over to feed them, be sure to wash your shoes - especially if you have toddlers. Psittacosis, also called "Parrot fever" will cause many pet birds many hours of suffering.
If you swim in the same waters they swim in; they're are also known carries of the parasitic worm that causes swimmer's itch.
They're considered a "pest" or "invasive" species....they are causing many of our common natives - herons, egrets, and gallinules, to name a few - to nest elsewhere.
But they are edible...and they are huntable.
I do not live here - I am on a work hurricane response team. I am only photographing them because they are pretty & I am bored. I have zero control over the locals & their animal population. They are just pretty photos of my exploration of the area.
My neighbor just had two litters ( 10 +)of Miscobie ducks we're looking for homes for them .
Hmmm 'you' are looking for homes for them, not 'your' neighbor is looking for homes for them?
Good food for pet snake owners. They're rapidly spreading "pest" species. Please do not let them go in the wild...they take over native bird habitats.
@Robecology We have foxes to keep the population in line .
@Robecology, @Heidi68 I found a woman who has lost most of her ducks who will take them .
@Besalbub Not a good answer. The fox population is then artificially stimulated to grow due to this slow, messy, but friendly bird - that does a lot of harm to natural bird wildlife. The foxes then grow in numbers..and then wild native birds are threatened as well.
It's a species of national concern.
Here's comments on it by the 2010 "Federal Register"
"We received comments from States and individuals expressing concern over control of muscovy ducks in response to the 2006 proposal to add the species to the list of those protected under the MBTA (50 CFR 10.13). In general, States expressed concern over feral and free-ranging populations of muscovy ducks present as the result of human activity. For example, one State was concerned that protecting the species under the MBTA “would severely impede our efforts to manage the feral and free-ranging populations of domestic muscovy ducks.”
Sorry I couldn't find more current articles; but if you do some research you'll see they're becoming a serious, spreading problem.
@Robecology I'm not worried about overpopulation of ducks besides foxes we have plenty of racoons , oposumes , coyotes ,snakes , hawks , ospreys , dogs and cats . If they weren't penned up they wouldn't they would probably would be eaten by now .
Posted by FrayedBearShared from New Zealand.
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Posted by FrayedBearMy current house & pet sit has a new bonus.
Posted by FrayedBearMy current house & pet sit has a new bonus.
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