over the last 12 months i lost both of my drakes they both died one was
a fox attack and the other i wasn't really sure what happened to him he was just dead
and so we haven't had a drake here for a few months and today i just got a message
asking me if i wanted to drake so i raced down to their farm and i got a new boy,
he's beautiful and i would love to just let him out with the girls right now but i'm going to
pop him in a cage, feed him some water with apple cider vinegar in it and probably give
him some Diatomaceous Earth as well, in some food and i'm going to check his feathers and
see if he's got any parasites or anything, which i don't think he will, i've seen where he comes from
and it looks fine but i'm just going to check anyway because that's just what you should do.
He's really beautiful. Now when you're handling drakes they've got sharp claws so
it's probably a good idea to wear long sleeves if you are worried about that, i'm not really
fussed about any of that stuff so we'll see how we go. Are you gonna come out Darling?
Hello beautiful boy. Here's my new boy! Are you looking at the camera?
This is very different for you i know. He's not used to being on film.
All right he's beautiful isn't he? Aren't you lovely, we're just gonna have a look at you,
oh you're pooping all over me, that's okay, that's okay i don't mind
let me have a look at you, you're not going to want me to, i'm just going to have a look at you
yeah he looks fine there are no parasites under his wings or under that wing anyway, all right
hey you're looking pretty good aren't you. You've got nice clear eyes.
see these are the sharp claws and they can scratch but that's all right he's not trying to hurt me
or anything, they're very placid, that's what i find anyway. hey! Although they do poo on you,
so you have to watch out for that, if you don't want to be pooped on don't pick up a duck
when choosing a Muscovy duck for your flock select a healthy bird that interacts well with their
own flock, make sure it walks well and has strong legs with no deformities it has a healthy appetite
and you can tell by how healthy it looks, you know it's not too skinny or anything like that,
make sure it's got clear eyes so that they're not cloudy or sunken and no smeared poop around
their behind, make sure the wings are flat around the body and it has no sores or missing feathers,
of course if it's molting season that can be a reason for missing feathers
it's pretty warm here so i've got his cage in the shade. He's had some water with the apple cider
vinegar and he's even met some of the ladies, they're coming up and introducing themselves
so he's settling in quite well already. Oh he's so beautiful, now we just need to find a name
for him so if you've got any ideas leave them in the comments below. You are beautiful aren't you,
you're very handsome, i can't wait to let you out with the Ladies.
He's gonna be great! For a backyard drake it's important to choose a nice natured bird
and if he will be your breeding drake, make sure he's not related to any of your Ladies so you can
introduce new blood into your line. He's just come out of the cage now so he's meeting the Ladies
She's my best Mother, she's a dominant bird in the flock so she's
obviously going to be the one that's trying to make sure he's worthy to be in the flock
so it's going to take a little bit of time for him to settle in, but this is just part of the process
make sure they've got room to move around
the door is open on the coop so they can actually get out of here if they want to
it's a good idea to supervise the behavior at this point
and keep an eye on what's going on so you know which birds are doing what....
but it won't take long and they'll all calm down.
Being up on the straw bale in the corner here is a good way for him
to keep an eye on all of the Ladies and get to know his new environment and settle in
He's having some discussions with the head ducks
and they've got a lot to talk about
The last thing i consider when i'm choosing a new drake for my flock
is the color. All of my girls fathers were black and white mixers so a change
of color in my drake will produce a nice variety of any future ducklings
It's back to calm in the coop and he seems to be settling in quite nicely,
he just has to grow up a little bit so that he can become the head drake and do the deed
If you'd like to learn more about Muscovy ducks then check out my playlist and if you'd like to
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bell so that you don't miss any future videos,. Thanks for watching, i'll see you next time.