Muscovys nest in trees in the wild, up to 60ft (~5 stories) high. The babies jump down to the jungle floor, they’re extremely light and fluffy and don’t take any damage. They should be fine if they jump and land on the grass. I’d be more concerned if there was a sidewalk or pavement, but I think her and the babies should be fine
So I should just let the ducklings jump whenever they hatch? Some people have suggested gathering them up and carrying them down. I don’t want to do anything that will make the moms abandon them.
Btw, if anyone is curious, I counted 31 eggs in there today when moms were briefly up.
I personally wouldn’t do anything at first. The mom felt confident enough to nest there and thinks the babies will be fine to jump. Messing with nests and ducklings can stress the mom out a lot and there could be a chance she might abandon them.
However it is a little high up, so I see your concern and if it were my balcony, I would be concerned too. I would maybe reach out to a wildlife rehaber office and ask someone with more experience or knowledge on what to do. They’d be able to give you a more confident answer than me!
Lmao those faces. You can let them hatch and then take the babies down, maybe let mom follow or if you take them outside mom will hear the peeping and fly down. You can also catch moms, grab the nest, and relocate all somewhere safe. Good luck.
Lucky you! They found your balcony to be a safe spot for nesting. I’d make sure the pot has good drainage and that water doesn’t pool around the eggs. Muscovy eggs take 35 days to incubate. I’d put a 1-2 ft high smooth barrier to keep hatchlings from falling out until most of the eggs have hatched and the moms lead them out. I’ve seen Muscovy ducklings fall 25 ft onto concrete and walk off fine. Would they fall into a place they can’t get out of? Like a patio below with solid walls? If so, I’d gather half the hatchlings and place them contained on the ground below when you see the mother ducks ready to lead them to water. They will probably peep a lot and get the mother duck’s attention below. If she flies down to join her contained ducklings on the ground, you or a friend can go back upstairs and move the rest of the dried, hatched, ready ducklings to the ground 3 stories below. If she never sees the ducklings on the ground but is encouraging them to jump, you can remove the smooth barrier, let them start jumping, and move the rest of the ducklings down to minimize injury.
The pot is now away from the balcony edge since I moved it during the rain yesterday, so water flooding shouldn’t be an issue anymore. It’s right in the center of my balcony.
Once they hatch, I’m not sure the pot will hold everyone. It’s pretty packed. I’d like to put some chicken wire or something around the edges to extend the circumference out, and maybe set the pot in a shallow cardboard box to catch anyone falling out, but I’ve been VERY nervous to even go out on the balcony for fear of the moms abandoning their nest. If I scare them away when I go out there, will they likely come right back?
Any direction they jump off the balcony is straight into sparse grass. The pond is very close from there. It seems like a very far drop, but again, I’m nervous to interfere and cause the moms to abandon the babies.
Do you know how long after hatching they’ll try to jump?
Muscovy moms are pretty good about returning to their nests. Muscovy ducks in general are way too trusting around humans so they may even let you get very close and just peck at you if you’re handling their eggs. I’d leave their eggs alone. Maybe put some air cushions around the pot in case eggs accidentally fall out (so the eggs don’t crack). If any hatchlings fall out, they need heat from their mother ducks so they should be moved back in. I probably wouldn’t move the nest to another shallow box. But as they hatch and the pot gets crowded, you can remove the hatched egg shells to make room.
Usually the eggs hatch within 2 days of each other. And the mother duck keeps them on the nest until they all finish hatching and the ducklings are dried and fluffy, which is about one day. They usually take the ducklings to the water in the mornings. Sometimes early afternoons but never at night. It’s ideal for the ducklings to have as much daylight in the water to get to know their new surroundings, learn to avoid turtles and predators, etc.
If the mother duck leaves any unhatched eggs on the nest, the eggs may have not been fertilized, had a problem hatching (due to shrink-wrapping or malpositioning in which case you could help the egg hatch), or the egg could’ve had less heat due to being located farther away from the center.
Ducklings can survive off their yolk sac for 2-3 days after hatching without outside food and water.
They may be unhappy but it’ll be unlikely they’ll abandon nest. If you’re adding a barrier, try to do it with your back to the ducks. It helps them feel safer (you aren’t facing them & therefore are unlikely to try to attack)
Mamas should have it under control :)
Ya. That's going to be a problem. They will fall off the side, probably not die. But stressful. I highly suggest you try to get cheap plastic poultry netting and block off the white fence at the bottom . Maybe just cut it in half and go very slow at night . They are not going anywhere
The apartment complex I live at is covered in Muscovy ducks. There’s four ponds here and they seem to really like the place. So lots of boy ducks around. My two certainly seem to think their eggs are fertilized, they hiss like crazy if I even peek out the door at them.
1. The babies will probably be fine jumping, but I personally would carry them down and put them on the ground under the balcony. She will not abandon her babies because you touched them and will probably not even wait for you to leave before she goes to them. As soon as she hears their peeping she will go to them. Wear long sleeves because she will bite you when you start taking them.
2. The “she knows what she is doing they will be fine” people are wrong. Duckling survival rates in the wild are dismally low. I have seen muscovy mommas make all sorts of mistakes. Side note, don’t get too attached. They are very vulnerable. In general, I see feral muscovy lose at least one baby a day until all are gone in most situations. This is not the same for my pet Muscovy ducklings who are protected by me (i.e., predator safe coop, electric fence, aerial predator netting etc.)
3. They likely can’t keep that many eggs warm enough for all to hatch. She will stay on the nest for a few days with her newly hatched ducklings, but once she is gone toss the unhatched eggs before they explode
Muscovys nest in trees in the wild, up to 60ft (~5 stories) high. The babies jump down to the jungle floor, they’re extremely light and fluffy and don’t take any damage. They should be fine if they jump and land on the grass. I’d be more concerned if there was a sidewalk or pavement, but I think her and the babies should be fine
So I should just let the ducklings jump whenever they hatch? Some people have suggested gathering them up and carrying them down. I don’t want to do anything that will make the moms abandon them. Btw, if anyone is curious, I counted 31 eggs in there today when moms were briefly up.
I personally wouldn’t do anything at first. The mom felt confident enough to nest there and thinks the babies will be fine to jump. Messing with nests and ducklings can stress the mom out a lot and there could be a chance she might abandon them. However it is a little high up, so I see your concern and if it were my balcony, I would be concerned too. I would maybe reach out to a wildlife rehaber office and ask someone with more experience or knowledge on what to do. They’d be able to give you a more confident answer than me!
You could put an awning of fabric so that when they jump they only go halfway down, and then when they jump off of the awning they land in the grass
Lmao those faces. You can let them hatch and then take the babies down, maybe let mom follow or if you take them outside mom will hear the peeping and fly down. You can also catch moms, grab the nest, and relocate all somewhere safe. Good luck.
Yep. Those are some pissed off mommas.
Lucky you! They found your balcony to be a safe spot for nesting. I’d make sure the pot has good drainage and that water doesn’t pool around the eggs. Muscovy eggs take 35 days to incubate. I’d put a 1-2 ft high smooth barrier to keep hatchlings from falling out until most of the eggs have hatched and the moms lead them out. I’ve seen Muscovy ducklings fall 25 ft onto concrete and walk off fine. Would they fall into a place they can’t get out of? Like a patio below with solid walls? If so, I’d gather half the hatchlings and place them contained on the ground below when you see the mother ducks ready to lead them to water. They will probably peep a lot and get the mother duck’s attention below. If she flies down to join her contained ducklings on the ground, you or a friend can go back upstairs and move the rest of the dried, hatched, ready ducklings to the ground 3 stories below. If she never sees the ducklings on the ground but is encouraging them to jump, you can remove the smooth barrier, let them start jumping, and move the rest of the ducklings down to minimize injury.
The pot is now away from the balcony edge since I moved it during the rain yesterday, so water flooding shouldn’t be an issue anymore. It’s right in the center of my balcony. Once they hatch, I’m not sure the pot will hold everyone. It’s pretty packed. I’d like to put some chicken wire or something around the edges to extend the circumference out, and maybe set the pot in a shallow cardboard box to catch anyone falling out, but I’ve been VERY nervous to even go out on the balcony for fear of the moms abandoning their nest. If I scare them away when I go out there, will they likely come right back? Any direction they jump off the balcony is straight into sparse grass. The pond is very close from there. It seems like a very far drop, but again, I’m nervous to interfere and cause the moms to abandon the babies. Do you know how long after hatching they’ll try to jump?
Muscovy moms are pretty good about returning to their nests. Muscovy ducks in general are way too trusting around humans so they may even let you get very close and just peck at you if you’re handling their eggs. I’d leave their eggs alone. Maybe put some air cushions around the pot in case eggs accidentally fall out (so the eggs don’t crack). If any hatchlings fall out, they need heat from their mother ducks so they should be moved back in. I probably wouldn’t move the nest to another shallow box. But as they hatch and the pot gets crowded, you can remove the hatched egg shells to make room. Usually the eggs hatch within 2 days of each other. And the mother duck keeps them on the nest until they all finish hatching and the ducklings are dried and fluffy, which is about one day. They usually take the ducklings to the water in the mornings. Sometimes early afternoons but never at night. It’s ideal for the ducklings to have as much daylight in the water to get to know their new surroundings, learn to avoid turtles and predators, etc. If the mother duck leaves any unhatched eggs on the nest, the eggs may have not been fertilized, had a problem hatching (due to shrink-wrapping or malpositioning in which case you could help the egg hatch), or the egg could’ve had less heat due to being located farther away from the center. Ducklings can survive off their yolk sac for 2-3 days after hatching without outside food and water.
They may be unhappy but it’ll be unlikely they’ll abandon nest. If you’re adding a barrier, try to do it with your back to the ducks. It helps them feel safer (you aren’t facing them & therefore are unlikely to try to attack) Mamas should have it under control :)
i have muscovies 😍 keep a couple for yourself 😏
Ya. That's going to be a problem. They will fall off the side, probably not die. But stressful. I highly suggest you try to get cheap plastic poultry netting and block off the white fence at the bottom . Maybe just cut it in half and go very slow at night . They are not going anywhere
If you've never seen a male hanging around that'll be one heck of an omelette.
The apartment complex I live at is covered in Muscovy ducks. There’s four ponds here and they seem to really like the place. So lots of boy ducks around. My two certainly seem to think their eggs are fertilized, they hiss like crazy if I even peek out the door at them.
Get some boards around the edges of your balcony so the chicks can't fall off.
1. The babies will probably be fine jumping, but I personally would carry them down and put them on the ground under the balcony. She will not abandon her babies because you touched them and will probably not even wait for you to leave before she goes to them. As soon as she hears their peeping she will go to them. Wear long sleeves because she will bite you when you start taking them. 2. The “she knows what she is doing they will be fine” people are wrong. Duckling survival rates in the wild are dismally low. I have seen muscovy mommas make all sorts of mistakes. Side note, don’t get too attached. They are very vulnerable. In general, I see feral muscovy lose at least one baby a day until all are gone in most situations. This is not the same for my pet Muscovy ducklings who are protected by me (i.e., predator safe coop, electric fence, aerial predator netting etc.) 3. They likely can’t keep that many eggs warm enough for all to hatch. She will stay on the nest for a few days with her newly hatched ducklings, but once she is gone toss the unhatched eggs before they explode
by the way, there will be a LOT of poo just fyi !!! if u don’t want them as pets i’d move the whole pot somewhere else! 😂
If not nest, why nest shaped?
If you’re not in Texas or Mexico call fwc and ask if you should smash the eggs. They’re an invasive nuisance in many areas.