Species · Poultry
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschata
Domesticated in South America long before Europeans arrived — a perching duck, and no relation to the mallard line behind every other farmyard duck.
The Muscovy is the duck for people the quacking rules out. It is a different species entirely: a big perching duck that talks in hisses, huffs and trills, climbs and roosts off the ground on strong clawed feet, hunts flies and beetles across the yard like it is paid to, and — in the hens especially — flies well enough to visit the neighbours. Drakes grow enormous, mothers hatch anything left under them, and the red carnival mask on the face is standard issue. Quieter than any other duck, stranger than most pets.
At a glance
- Lifespan
- 8–15 years
- Adult weight
- Drakes 4.5–7 kg; hens around half that
- Eggs
- Seasonal clutches — from a hen who would rather hatch them
- Minimum housing
- Shelter with roosting room; a covered run or clipped wings — hens fly
- Company
- Small groups; drakes squabble with each other
- Noise level
- The quietest waterfowl going — hisses, huffs and trills
- Diet
- Waterfowl feed plus serious foraging — they hunt insects
- Predator-proofing
- Foxes take even the big drakes; perching high is not a plan
- With children
- Calm to watch; the claws make handling an adult job
Breeds · 4 listed
The black-and-white barnyard Muscovy is the classic; chocolate, blue and white are the same bird in other jackets. All of them wear the red face.
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Black & white
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Chocolate
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Blue
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White
Right for you if
- Duck appeal, but the neighbours are close and quacking is a dealbreaker.
- Flying is a solved problem: a covered run, or a wing clipped each season.
- Insect control across the yard sounds like a service worth feeding.
- You are comfortable handling a strong bird with real claws, or not handling it.
Wrong for you if
- An open-topped run and hope was the containment plan.
- Small children will want to pick up the big friendly duck.
- A tidy ornamental pond is part of the picture — Muscovies redecorate.
- You wanted the classic quacking farmyard duck; this is not that animal.
Welfare and sourcing — read this part
- A Muscovy is a waterfowl at the feed bin whatever its perching habits suggest: chicken pellets are not advised for waterfowl, which need more protein and micronutrients than those rations carry.1
- Ducks are natural hosts of avian influenza and can shed the virus without looking sick.2 Keep wild waterfowl off the feed and water, and treat a sudden run of deaths as an emergency call, not bad luck.
- Handle over a surface with the wings pinned and the feet pointed away — the claws that let a Muscovy perch will open a forearm without malice. Long sleeves are not cowardice.
- Decide about flight early: clip one wing each season, net the run, or accept a duck that commutes. The neighbourhood's dogs get a vote on how that ends.
Sources
- Nijboer J, Fens A. Nutrition in Waterfowl. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Feeding chicken pellets to waterfowl is not advised: they generally contain less protein and fewer vitamin and mineral supplements than waterfowl require. Diets of only bread, lettuce and corn lead to protein and multiple vitamin deficiencies, which often show as poor plumage, swollen joints and pododermatitis. Excessively rapid growth in large waterfowl must be avoided to prevent bone and joint deformities such as angel wing and perosis (slipped tendon). Swans and geese are fed the same largely herbivorous diet as grazing ducks.
- Sato Y. Common Infectious Diseases in Backyard Poultry. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Marek's disease is common in backyard chicken flocks and cannot be treated; it is prevented by vaccination at hatch, and vaccination might not be effective in birds more than one to two weeks old. Coccidiosis most often affects birds one to four months old and thrives in moist, heavily soiled litter. Red mites feed only at night and cause feather loss, irritation and anaemia; roundworms and tapeworms are the most common internal parasites, and yearly faecal examinations are recommended for all backyard flocks. Waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza and can shed the virus without showing signs of illness; backyard flocks kept outdoors are at particular risk.
Every source here was checked, not recalled. Where this page makes a health statement and no source appears against it, that is not an oversight we have hidden — it means the claim is not yet sourced, and the build reports how many are in that state.
Availability, registration and keeping requirements differ from place to place. Check the rules where you live before you commit to any animal — we describe animals, not law.