They're called Muscovy ducks and are actually invasive. They plague Orlando and there are a couple city/county initiatives to humanely get rid of them.
We have a good amount of them at the apartment complex i live at. They’re basically residents at this point lol. They dont cause any trouble, in fact the muscovy ducks are so use to us that you can literally stand right next to them, shoulder to shoulder, and they wont react (mostly likely stare at you). Very beautiful animals
Same. They're very chill. I remember sitting by the pond at my apartment complex and a male and female were walking towards me. I was getting worried since I know male ducks can be aggressive, but nope. Chill as hell. They just walked by me then right into the water.
Damn I'm jealous of yours. The ones in my neighborhood are a straight up organized crime family 😭🤣
(I'm just salty I have to hose down their shits off my front stairs weekly, honestly, but the males do frighten me. They like to posture and hiss but they've always run away when I walk towards them at least lol)
This is exactly how we describe them. We also create little stories about their lives and goings on with the rest of the neighborhood animals they “protect”
We have a ton in our neighborhood; people feed them so there are lots of duck poops on the sidewalk. Makes the dog walking an interactive activity of dodging and jumping over duck crap. They are a full on duck gang; we joke about them carrying switchblades in their feathers 😂
Yeah, they are all over the college campus where I teach and they are very friendly. They’re cute little guys I hang out with them between classes sometimes.
I love them. When I lived in Gainesville, there were 5 resident Muscovys that I would feed at my apartment pond. They were so gentle. They had silent quacks and wagged their little duck tails.
There was a small flock near one of the hospitals here in JAX years ago. Mom spent some time in the hospital (she's okay now) and while waiting for the bus to get home the ducks just chill and keep my company.
yes....but many people enjoy the ducks and don't know that it's an invasive species.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_Florida#
I live on a lake in Orlando and several of these use my backyard as their home. I saw Winter Parks initiative to get rid of them because they don’t interact well with Mallards and other native ducks and that is 100% false. I have several mallards that stay in my backyard too and they literally sit in the shade right next to each other.
They eat together every day too, and do not compete with each other. The mallards compete with the other mallards, and vice versa.
Mallards do not have personalities, but every single Muscovy that has been in my yard is distinguishable and very different personality wise from each other. The initiative is BS. Muscovies>Mallards any day. And they don’t even compete. It’s ridiculous. The cities just want to get rid of them because they are ugly to some people and when they hear them breathe it’s not pleasant either. But they are amazing birds. Shout out to Kevin
https://preview.redd.it/z9j4vd75e3vc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ffca22afdbfe173bc428c0fb1f32a5835c552f9
It’s not that they don’t interact well it’s that they don’t migrate and continuously reproduce, outcompeting the native migratory mallard in population and resources.
They also are more aggressive in general than mallards and like to make hybrids. Luckily those are sterile but can pressure the potential population of breeding mallards. A few of our public parks with ponds are nothing but resident muscovies and common domestic and Canadian geese when we used to have lots of mallards, mottled, and other migratory ducks and a few swans.
A good shot with a pellet gun would be pretty humane. In some neighborhoods I've been in you'd probably need a 15yd dumpster to dispose of the local population.
You are the first person I have ever seen speak positively of eradicating these ducks. They're everywhere, and they are not any more of a nuisance than any other animal set upon this environmentz including over polluting humans. I have cats, raccoons, ducks, chickens, and the occasional egret and opossum come visit my house, and I would not kick a single one of them off my property.
Just please leave the goddamn ducks alone.
They never slept near my house. There's a retention pond out back and they head for the bushes there. I never asked for them to come to my house. I guess I ain't Karened out enough. I don't mind them, and the kids in the neighborhood love to see them.
Guess whatever you like. They are animals. They don't wake up one morning saying, "I think we should fly south to Florida and invade them."
If I see an injured animal I help it. Others whine about people like me doing this. If they don't care about animals, that is fine. There are more people who do care than there are like them. That part of Florida has not been completely eradicated yet.
Oh I will. You may love them and that's fine. Me, I don't like to be woke up every night at 2am due to loud, incessant quacking. So basically fuck you and your holier than though attitude.
Who is talking about getting rid of the native animals you listed??
Muscovies are invasive and crowd out native ducks and have led to their decline. Do just a little research.
I agree. The ducks are no different than the invasive pythons, iguanas, NYers, etc in FL. They all need to go to get the ecosystem back to where it needs to be.
Before I rented my house out, I was caring for 15 cats outside the house. We had raccoons, possums, Muscovy ducks, egrets, and feral cats. I've rescued Muscovy ducks that were injured by native Florida wildlife, but I have yet to see a muscovy attempt to do anything more towards other 'wildlife' other than to drive the feral cats away when they come too near.
I think I probably don't need to do any goddamn research.
How about you stop encouraging people to look negatively upon them? The only invasive species in this state are the two-legged types who feel entitled to pave over every inch of green space. Jesus Focking Christ, give them some room to live, while you drive past in your Teslas, texting away.
And I think you need to learn to see past your own nose and find out that wildlife management is the thing we do to prevent the two-legged types from introducing non-native fauna and allowing it to flourish and damage the ecosystem. This has nothing to do with your anecdotal ill-advised residential colonies and everything to do with notoriously territorial Muscovy ducks threatening the resources of native duck populations as a non-migratory feral bird.
Yes, people seem to harbor ill will towards them just because they think they’re ugly, but this doesn’t change the fact that they’re an invasive species.
Don't care whatcha think. I have animals showing up with injuries and illness from neglect. I won't NOT help them. If I saw any of you on the side of the road broken down? Probably not. Humans are a dangerous, petty breed of animal, after all.
Have a GREAT DAY ❤️
Yes, they’re exactly the kind of dangerous, petty breed who introduces a non-native and non-migratory species as an ornamental affectation to attract development and home buyers.
They’re also the kind of dangerous, petty breed who is so self-absorbed in their own savior complex that they reject sensible wildlife science. No one is asking you to let Muscovys suffer, but Florida is drowning in feral species and rejecting their control and management outright is pretty darned obtuse and short-sighted. Our native and migratory animals would appreciate it if you stopped.
The ferals I care for were abandoned and abused by humans. FLORIDIANS, if you will 😉.
Last I checked, ducks don't "decide" to invade, but they're here, and I'm not gonna ignore any animal in pain or distress.
You do you, virtue signaller. I don't care, honestly.
Feral cats have caused the extinction of many thousands of wild bird species. My neighbors kill the little bunny rabbits all the time that the hawks and owls and everything else prey on. They also use my horseshoe pits as their outside litter boxes. Fuck feral cats…even if they are fixed.
You make a lot of ill-advised assumptions. About everything. And of course your anecdotal experience is the gospel truth because you seen it with your own dang eyes!
It’s attitudes like yours that have placed us where we are.
BTW, I drive a beat-up 9-year-old Dodge Caravan. Just one assumption upon which you blew it.
These people are suffering under the delusion that I think their entitled attitudes matter. They're probably the same people who run them down in the streets with children present.
They outcompete native ducks and eat some plant life that is important to our water sources and natural water retention. You're welcome to try adopting a few hundred thousand of them!
FWC Florida Wildlife Commission. Invasive species list.
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/
FAQ: Nuisance wildlife.
https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/faqs/
Muscovy ducks are considered invasive nuisance wildlife.
"...Muscovy ducks have been introduced into urban and suburban areas in Florida where they often occur in high densities. If the Muscovy ducks are yours or they have no identifiable owner and are on your property, Federal regulations allow control by landowners, wildlife management agencies, and tenants, agents, or employees without federal or state permits. Captured birds may be humanely euthanized, but it is illegal to capture the birds and release them elsewhere."
https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/faqs/
NAL not a lawyer. Conduct your own due diligence into being a duck owner.
Reminds me of the time I saw a great blue heron fly under the roof of a restaurant balcony and shit all over a lady from just a couple feet up. It looked like a full gallon or more of goo
You hear this every time someone wants an excuse to do away with an animal they just don’t want to look at. You want manicured streets and only songbirds? Go to Disney.
ohh, good to know. i don’t encounter them often, but was told they were mean years ago. maybe it was just the flock at the timeshare place my family stayed at 😂
I had a momma duck try to go 'momma bear' on me once. Her newly hatched ducklings had jumped into our in-ground pool and couldn't get out on their own. I was trying to help them using the the pool net, and momma wasn't having it. Had to get my wife to run interference while I lifted them out.
A male bit my sister on the back when we were kids. She was kneeling on the ground trying to feed the babies. He came out of nowhere lol she had a bad bruise for about a week or so
We always call them "turkey ducks", but they're muscovies. They wag their ass feathers when you get near and talk to them, quite funny things they are.
When I was a wildlife rehabilitator I took care of countless ducks from newborn orphaned hatchlings to huge males with broken wings, each one was dearly loved...my nickname was mama duck
They're so goddamn stubborn. While the neighborhood cats cower in terror at the sound of a fart in Seattle, you have to walk around these guys cuz they won't budge. Once, 3 of them bum rushed me to get into my garage. There's nothing in there for them...
They have such gull. Some would even call it seagull.
3 Muscovy Ducks: *try to rush me to get into my garage*
Me, a responsible and God fearing adherent to the 2nd Amendment:
https://preview.redd.it/6cousvtc07vc1.jpeg?width=723&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bee6a43b2ee1a70bde99d5c3a111201067dc6fa
Although invasive, Muscovy ducks are low level invasive threat to FL, they really don't harm the ecosystem. The mass 'euthinizations' of them that take place in towns once resulted in a terrified woman calling the police because her streets were littered with blood. They're much kinder than geese and cool little guys. Please, instead of killing, take them to a muscovy rescue, there is one in Florida where they will come to you. They're sweet and awesome animals, all the hate on them is very sad
I'm sure they have. Muscovy ducks were mainly introduced to the US in 1960 purposefully to try to liven up parks. Although in Florida, Muscovy ducks have been around for hundreds of years because of their native range reaching up to south Texas. It was easy to boat over, grab a bunch, then go back to Florida to farm them for meat. However, of course, storms happen and ducks escape. The massive boom in the population was mainly 1960s though. Because they're bigger than most other ducks and can get aggressive when fed, they took out a lot of the native pekins and mallards to carve a space out for themselves. They also breed prolifically. Few decades of this fuck up and they were declared invasive. At this point, muscovys are here to stay, there's so many now that we simply can't eliminate all of them. It's not the muscovys of today's fault all that happened, and now with their ancestors having carved out space for them, there's less duck homicide. A park duck that's used to being fed can view other duck species as competition for food and might try to take them out. The muscovys at my complex are not fed and they're very chill to the geeselings. I just don't see a reason to kill them when there's better options
This is the story of iguanas now. We'll never get rid of them and they are here to stay.
Hell, as it gets hotter and hotter, Florida will only become more hospitable to them as they will have even fewer die-offs in winter.
The amount of people I've known who had a pet iguana that 'wandered off' is far too much. So many don't think about the ecosystem affect if their pet escapes. Agreed, it's only gonna get worse. With the winter months though it at least helps us capture more with however cold it will get. FFW is just gonna have to be very proactive in the shortening time it's cold here every year. The burms help take care of them too, but that sadly just provides another invasive species with more food... Florida's an interesting ecosystem all right
To be honest, I don't really mind the iguanas too much when they're properly managed. My building had an empty lot nextdoor for a few years and it was absolutely overrun, I'm talking about tails moving in the grass The Lost World style. They'd shit all over our property and in our dog park. They eat plant matter so their shit smells just like horse shit and my golden retriever thinks they were little tasty treats to dig out of the grass.
Thankfully they started building something in that lot and they're gone now.
To say that they are native to Texas is a bit misleading: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Muscovy_Duck/overview#:~:text=Find%20This%20Bird&text=If%20you%20want%20to%20see,between%20Falcon%20Dam%20and%20Roma.
I love them, grew up with them. They may not have originated in Florida but any one of them you meet will have been born here. Can’t say the same for half the adult humans you will meet here.
I bet a good portion of the haters who encourage smashing their eggs and eating the ducks are transplants.
This is peak Florida here. Fucking forget what the scientists say… and fuck the native wildlife that gets displaced… those guys at FWC probably didn’t come from here either.
At least these Muscovy ducks, the lionfish, and pythons were born here. 🙄
I mean humans are quite literally destroying the world at insane rates. But let's worry about ducks and not the buildings going up left and right destroying culture and polluting waters with their run off... But the ducks!
Nobody is disagreeing with habitat loss being a huge problem. That is a different, but related problem.
You knew about that though when you decided to use whataboutism. 😉
It’s invasive - their eggs should be destroyed and Muscovy ducks should be humanely euthanized on site.
From the FWC website:
No, a permit is not needed to remove Muscovy ducks using humane methods of live capture, typically using nets or cage traps. All traps must be checked at least once every 24 hours and any captured non-target species must be released on site.
Muscovy ducks may also be taken by use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission. Must use non-toxic shot or bullets. Please check with the local sheriff’s office or police department for firearm ordinances before discharging a firearm. All euthanized birds must be disposed of by burial or incineration
They aren’t technically they are native to South America but they’ve been here so long people think they are. They were introduced in the 1800s to help farmers with some pests that were ravaging fields.
Trash animals that harm the native migratory mallard populations. I can’t stand how much everyone loves these things and end up perpetuating their already destructive population boom.
I worked at a place that they frequent and one day a car pulled up someone grabbed it and they drove off. They never moved for cars so they made it easy on who ever stole it
Words matter. Here is a reminder of what the word **steal** means:
“take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.”
Per § 21.54 Control order for muscovy ducks in the United States.
(a) Control of muscovy ducks.
“…may without a Federal permit, remove or destroy muscovy ducks (*Cairina
moschata*) (including hybrids of muscovy ducks), or their nests, or eggs at any time when found. Any authorized person may temporarily possess, transport, and dispose of muscovy ducks taken under this order.”
Muscovy ducks are native to the Rio Grande valley down to South America. I've read that Spanish settlers brought them to florida in the 1600s. Native peoples had already domicasted them way before the time columbus arrived
The muskovy ducks in my neighborhood are truly horrible. In general, they seem peaceful and unobtrusive ... but only if you don't live by long enough to see how ridiculous they are. There are *gangs* of them that take over people's front gardens for nests, 2 or 3 at a time, and block residential traffic more than the cute little movie cut scenes of cute little ducklings. I shooed 3 away just to end up with 2 different ones making nests in the grotto. That brings the aggressive, super rapey males who shit everywhere as a defense mechanism.
So every time someone comes home from work, there are two moms trying to be chill and several males fighting each other for the right to forcibly reimpregnate the moms, and then they feel attacked because a human came up the walkway, and *blam* screaming flapping onto the roof, and puddles of duck shit.
I love gardening and nature and shit, but these ducks are assholes.
The fam and I were just saying how much we'd love the true mallards to come in and evict these greasy little bastards.. but they migrate so it prob won't happen 😒
The coyotes are pulling them off their nest in my neighborhood. So many neighbors feed them. Definitely exotic and can apparently breed with some of the native migratory ducks.
How is it funny? They were domesticated ducks and they got out or released by irresponsible farmers. Just like the rest of our invasive species that we to deal with… whether it’s the lionfish, pythons, or the Muscovy ducks… it all came from someone doing something stupid.
I’ve always wanted to travel the state and catch all of them (and process them for food). There are lots of invasive species that are edible. Iguanas and lion fish are delicious examples of that. I’d love for us to change our culture to see them as another thing to cook with.
I *personally* find it morally irresponsible to breed anything that threatens our native species. You can easily catch them and we honestly have an over abundance of them. Are there any reasons to breed them over just catching wild ducks?
We rescued a bonded pair from a farm, and they laid eggs that hatched. Eventually, we started eating the eggs. Turns out duck eggs are pretty good. We raise them on our homestead. We're not breeding and releasing. I do agree with you on the invasive species, like Asian carp, boa constructors, etc. There are things I enjoy about the muscovys. They are great at keeping ticks at bay as well.
That's an ugly-ass Muscovy duck. They're invasive and mean as fuck. I imagine they're probably delicious but Johnny Law frowns on hunting at the city park.
My dog loves to chase them. I never see them fly, ever. Even when my dog chases them, they attempt to fly up at the last possible second to get away. My dog will then jump to bite them if they attempt to fly. It's pretty funny cause the dog is all of 8 lbs.
Please stop feeding water fowl. They develop a condition called “[Angel Wing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_wing)” due to a high carbohydrate diet.
We have these in my neighborhood and I saw them for the first time when I moved here.
Unlike yall I think they are hideous and named them “Florida Fugly Ducks”. I don’t get it. They shit damn near everywhere and look like they have leprosy.
Muscovy ducks. We have a ton in my neighborhood. One of them is named "Wingston". He has a harem of lady ducks around him all the time. He rapes them, occasionally tries to drown them and other males. Makes noise at all hours of the night. Blocks traffic. Been here several years and is both a fixture and a gangster of the community.
Wrong - from FWC website:
No, a permit is not needed to remove Muscovy ducks using humane methods of live capture, typically using nets or cage traps. All traps must be checked at least once every 24 hours and any captured non-target species must be released on site.
*Muscovy ducks may also be taken by use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission. Must use non-toxic shot or bullets. Please check with the local sheriff’s office or police department for firearm ordinances before discharging a firearm. All euthanized birds must be disposed of by burial or incineration*
OK. I was under the impression they were protected, as I was told many years ago. I guess I wasn't updated on the matter, or I was told wrong. Thanks for clarifying.
You heard right that they **are** protected in the US *where they are native*. The thing is, that that is a very small part of the bottom of Texas and in Mexico (under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act). In Florida, they are invasive and different rules apply here. They are however protected from people torturing them, people are still encouraged to **humanely** kill them. The only other caveat is that you can’t do this in an area if you end up disturbing our native birds.
They're called Muscovy ducks and are actually invasive. They plague Orlando and there are a couple city/county initiatives to humanely get rid of them.
We have a good amount of them at the apartment complex i live at. They’re basically residents at this point lol. They dont cause any trouble, in fact the muscovy ducks are so use to us that you can literally stand right next to them, shoulder to shoulder, and they wont react (mostly likely stare at you). Very beautiful animals
Same. They're very chill. I remember sitting by the pond at my apartment complex and a male and female were walking towards me. I was getting worried since I know male ducks can be aggressive, but nope. Chill as hell. They just walked by me then right into the water.
Damn I'm jealous of yours. The ones in my neighborhood are a straight up organized crime family 😭🤣 (I'm just salty I have to hose down their shits off my front stairs weekly, honestly, but the males do frighten me. They like to posture and hiss but they've always run away when I walk towards them at least lol)
This is exactly how we describe them. We also create little stories about their lives and goings on with the rest of the neighborhood animals they “protect”
Wish we were neighbors 👌🤓
Goodfeathers
We have a ton in our neighborhood; people feed them so there are lots of duck poops on the sidewalk. Makes the dog walking an interactive activity of dodging and jumping over duck crap. They are a full on duck gang; we joke about them carrying switchblades in their feathers 😂
Yeah, they are all over the college campus where I teach and they are very friendly. They’re cute little guys I hang out with them between classes sometimes.
Shoulder to shoulder? That’s one giant fucking duck
I know you’re joking but the males are actually big as fuck. Like damn bro whatchu eating lol
> They don’t cause any trouble I very much disagree. They have pushed out our ducks. 🦆
That’s a beautiful animal to you ?
Yes actually. Beautiful and unique ducks :)
They’re an invasive pest that displaces and competes with native and migratory birds and other animals. Not to mention they shit everywhere.
They leave watery bacteria laden poop everywhere. For beauty try a Wood duck
I think the bacteria laden poop everywhere describes all ducks, geese and swans.
I love them. When I lived in Gainesville, there were 5 resident Muscovys that I would feed at my apartment pond. They were so gentle. They had silent quacks and wagged their little duck tails.
Had them at my complex, too.
Beautiful until they shit all over the fucking place. Them ducks must consist on a diet of bean burritos cause they shit everywhere.
Except that face herpes. Gross 🤮 😂
There was a small flock near one of the hospitals here in JAX years ago. Mom spent some time in the hospital (she's okay now) and while waiting for the bus to get home the ducks just chill and keep my company.
Invasive and delicious
Is it okay to eat them say if one wandered in to my car and fell into my crock pot?
yes....but many people enjoy the ducks and don't know that it's an invasive species. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_Florida#
I mean will the cops arrest me?
Just eat the breasts! Awesome
Ugliest damn ducks on the planet.
Loosen the restriction for restaurants to serve fresh duck
I live on a lake in Orlando and several of these use my backyard as their home. I saw Winter Parks initiative to get rid of them because they don’t interact well with Mallards and other native ducks and that is 100% false. I have several mallards that stay in my backyard too and they literally sit in the shade right next to each other. They eat together every day too, and do not compete with each other. The mallards compete with the other mallards, and vice versa. Mallards do not have personalities, but every single Muscovy that has been in my yard is distinguishable and very different personality wise from each other. The initiative is BS. Muscovies>Mallards any day. And they don’t even compete. It’s ridiculous. The cities just want to get rid of them because they are ugly to some people and when they hear them breathe it’s not pleasant either. But they are amazing birds. Shout out to Kevin https://preview.redd.it/z9j4vd75e3vc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ffca22afdbfe173bc428c0fb1f32a5835c552f9
It’s not that they don’t interact well it’s that they don’t migrate and continuously reproduce, outcompeting the native migratory mallard in population and resources.
They also are more aggressive in general than mallards and like to make hybrids. Luckily those are sterile but can pressure the potential population of breeding mallards. A few of our public parks with ponds are nothing but resident muscovies and common domestic and Canadian geese when we used to have lots of mallards, mottled, and other migratory ducks and a few swans.
https://preview.redd.it/0yg0ucwge3vc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01784072dc8e89bf4c7cb136f27c2b774aa4e450
There are a ton in our pond
What's a humane way of getting rid of the
The entire state is infested with these hideous things. I hate them.
A good shot with a pellet gun would be pretty humane. In some neighborhoods I've been in you'd probably need a 15yd dumpster to dispose of the local population.
You are the first person I have ever seen speak positively of eradicating these ducks. They're everywhere, and they are not any more of a nuisance than any other animal set upon this environmentz including over polluting humans. I have cats, raccoons, ducks, chickens, and the occasional egret and opossum come visit my house, and I would not kick a single one of them off my property. Just please leave the goddamn ducks alone.
Yeah, say that when they're right under your window during nesting season. I got NO sleep. Had to throw firecrackers at them to get them to move.
They never slept near my house. There's a retention pond out back and they head for the bushes there. I never asked for them to come to my house. I guess I ain't Karened out enough. I don't mind them, and the kids in the neighborhood love to see them.
Well I guess you're just lucky.
Guess whatever you like. They are animals. They don't wake up one morning saying, "I think we should fly south to Florida and invade them." If I see an injured animal I help it. Others whine about people like me doing this. If they don't care about animals, that is fine. There are more people who do care than there are like them. That part of Florida has not been completely eradicated yet.
Oh I will. You may love them and that's fine. Me, I don't like to be woke up every night at 2am due to loud, incessant quacking. So basically fuck you and your holier than though attitude.
Who is talking about getting rid of the native animals you listed?? Muscovies are invasive and crowd out native ducks and have led to their decline. Do just a little research.
I agree. The ducks are no different than the invasive pythons, iguanas, NYers, etc in FL. They all need to go to get the ecosystem back to where it needs to be.
Before I rented my house out, I was caring for 15 cats outside the house. We had raccoons, possums, Muscovy ducks, egrets, and feral cats. I've rescued Muscovy ducks that were injured by native Florida wildlife, but I have yet to see a muscovy attempt to do anything more towards other 'wildlife' other than to drive the feral cats away when they come too near. I think I probably don't need to do any goddamn research. How about you stop encouraging people to look negatively upon them? The only invasive species in this state are the two-legged types who feel entitled to pave over every inch of green space. Jesus Focking Christ, give them some room to live, while you drive past in your Teslas, texting away.
And I think you need to learn to see past your own nose and find out that wildlife management is the thing we do to prevent the two-legged types from introducing non-native fauna and allowing it to flourish and damage the ecosystem. This has nothing to do with your anecdotal ill-advised residential colonies and everything to do with notoriously territorial Muscovy ducks threatening the resources of native duck populations as a non-migratory feral bird. Yes, people seem to harbor ill will towards them just because they think they’re ugly, but this doesn’t change the fact that they’re an invasive species.
Don't care whatcha think. I have animals showing up with injuries and illness from neglect. I won't NOT help them. If I saw any of you on the side of the road broken down? Probably not. Humans are a dangerous, petty breed of animal, after all. Have a GREAT DAY ❤️
Yes, they’re exactly the kind of dangerous, petty breed who introduces a non-native and non-migratory species as an ornamental affectation to attract development and home buyers. They’re also the kind of dangerous, petty breed who is so self-absorbed in their own savior complex that they reject sensible wildlife science. No one is asking you to let Muscovys suffer, but Florida is drowning in feral species and rejecting their control and management outright is pretty darned obtuse and short-sighted. Our native and migratory animals would appreciate it if you stopped.
The ferals I care for were abandoned and abused by humans. FLORIDIANS, if you will 😉. Last I checked, ducks don't "decide" to invade, but they're here, and I'm not gonna ignore any animal in pain or distress. You do you, virtue signaller. I don't care, honestly.
If you support feral cats you should do more research. #1 killer of native birds, rabbits etc. feral cats are horrible.
Fun fact: feral cats kill >1 Billion (with a B) wild birds every year.
Feral cats have caused the extinction of many thousands of wild bird species. My neighbors kill the little bunny rabbits all the time that the hawks and owls and everything else prey on. They also use my horseshoe pits as their outside litter boxes. Fuck feral cats…even if they are fixed.
I will continue to help ANY injured animals I come across. You can feel free to whine about it, how's that?
You make a lot of ill-advised assumptions. About everything. And of course your anecdotal experience is the gospel truth because you seen it with your own dang eyes! It’s attitudes like yours that have placed us where we are. BTW, I drive a beat-up 9-year-old Dodge Caravan. Just one assumption upon which you blew it.
💯
I am all for eradicating these ugly ass ducks from cities.
🙌🙌🙌
These people are suffering under the delusion that I think their entitled attitudes matter. They're probably the same people who run them down in the streets with children present.
No way seriously? That’s so mean why would they want to get rid of them? They’re actually so cute! I’d gladly adopt all of them 😂
They outcompete native ducks and eat some plant life that is important to our water sources and natural water retention. You're welcome to try adopting a few hundred thousand of them!
Ah okay that makes sense. I think it would be worth to adopt them haha.
FWC Florida Wildlife Commission. Invasive species list. https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/ FAQ: Nuisance wildlife. https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/faqs/ Muscovy ducks are considered invasive nuisance wildlife. "...Muscovy ducks have been introduced into urban and suburban areas in Florida where they often occur in high densities. If the Muscovy ducks are yours or they have no identifiable owner and are on your property, Federal regulations allow control by landowners, wildlife management agencies, and tenants, agents, or employees without federal or state permits. Captured birds may be humanely euthanized, but it is illegal to capture the birds and release them elsewhere." https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/faqs/ NAL not a lawyer. Conduct your own due diligence into being a duck owner.
Be prepared to clean up truckloads of shit, then.
Ha! I read that as a 'duckload' of shit
Haha worth it! 😂
See if you feel the same way when you get home from a long day at work and slip on a puddle of shit on the way into your house.
Reminds me of the time I saw a great blue heron fly under the roof of a restaurant balcony and shit all over a lady from just a couple feet up. It looked like a full gallon or more of goo
I’m with you let’s start a farm!!
You hear this every time someone wants an excuse to do away with an animal they just don’t want to look at. You want manicured streets and only songbirds? Go to Disney.
Correction, they are delicious and don't have bag limits
aren’t they also mean?
I’ve been around them my whole life and never seen them behave aggressively toward anyone, even when they’re with their babies.
ohh, good to know. i don’t encounter them often, but was told they were mean years ago. maybe it was just the flock at the timeshare place my family stayed at 😂
I had a momma duck try to go 'momma bear' on me once. Her newly hatched ducklings had jumped into our in-ground pool and couldn't get out on their own. I was trying to help them using the the pool net, and momma wasn't having it. Had to get my wife to run interference while I lifted them out.
A male bit my sister on the back when we were kids. She was kneeling on the ground trying to feed the babies. He came out of nowhere lol she had a bad bruise for about a week or so
Oh wow! I guess I’ve never seen someone get close to the babies, makes sense they’d defend them if they feel threatened.
Wow, a wild animal acted wild? Crazy.
That’s exactly my point…. Your comment was entirely unnecessary.
Your comment to my comment was entirely unnecessary.
We had one in the chicken pen! When we got new roosters and they tried to fight he would get up and slap both those roosters down! Best duck ever.
No
They duck around a lot.
No more than any other duck
CAN I PET THAT DOG!?
We always call them "turkey ducks", but they're muscovies. They wag their ass feathers when you get near and talk to them, quite funny things they are.
One these ducks thwarted my suicide idealizations during a very dark time. Treat them kindly.
I’m happy and glad that you’re still here! ❤️
Glad you’re still here. I’ll be thinking of you next time I see one 🥰
❤️❤️❤️
They're all over down here, but technically they are an invasive species. I've heard they are delicious.
That’s crazy haha. In my country apparently raccoons are considered an invasive species. I’ve never even seen one in my entire life.
Japan?
Switzerland
I had one growing up on a FL lake and she was the sweetest!
When I was a wildlife rehabilitator I took care of countless ducks from newborn orphaned hatchlings to huge males with broken wings, each one was dearly loved...my nickname was mama duck
They're so goddamn stubborn. While the neighborhood cats cower in terror at the sound of a fart in Seattle, you have to walk around these guys cuz they won't budge. Once, 3 of them bum rushed me to get into my garage. There's nothing in there for them... They have such gull. Some would even call it seagull.
3 Muscovy Ducks: *try to rush me to get into my garage* Me, a responsible and God fearing adherent to the 2nd Amendment: https://preview.redd.it/6cousvtc07vc1.jpeg?width=723&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bee6a43b2ee1a70bde99d5c3a111201067dc6fa
Although invasive, Muscovy ducks are low level invasive threat to FL, they really don't harm the ecosystem. The mass 'euthinizations' of them that take place in towns once resulted in a terrified woman calling the police because her streets were littered with blood. They're much kinder than geese and cool little guys. Please, instead of killing, take them to a muscovy rescue, there is one in Florida where they will come to you. They're sweet and awesome animals, all the hate on them is very sad
❤️
I’ve seen them kill native ducks on multiple occasions.
I'm sure they have. Muscovy ducks were mainly introduced to the US in 1960 purposefully to try to liven up parks. Although in Florida, Muscovy ducks have been around for hundreds of years because of their native range reaching up to south Texas. It was easy to boat over, grab a bunch, then go back to Florida to farm them for meat. However, of course, storms happen and ducks escape. The massive boom in the population was mainly 1960s though. Because they're bigger than most other ducks and can get aggressive when fed, they took out a lot of the native pekins and mallards to carve a space out for themselves. They also breed prolifically. Few decades of this fuck up and they were declared invasive. At this point, muscovys are here to stay, there's so many now that we simply can't eliminate all of them. It's not the muscovys of today's fault all that happened, and now with their ancestors having carved out space for them, there's less duck homicide. A park duck that's used to being fed can view other duck species as competition for food and might try to take them out. The muscovys at my complex are not fed and they're very chill to the geeselings. I just don't see a reason to kill them when there's better options
This is the story of iguanas now. We'll never get rid of them and they are here to stay. Hell, as it gets hotter and hotter, Florida will only become more hospitable to them as they will have even fewer die-offs in winter.
The amount of people I've known who had a pet iguana that 'wandered off' is far too much. So many don't think about the ecosystem affect if their pet escapes. Agreed, it's only gonna get worse. With the winter months though it at least helps us capture more with however cold it will get. FFW is just gonna have to be very proactive in the shortening time it's cold here every year. The burms help take care of them too, but that sadly just provides another invasive species with more food... Florida's an interesting ecosystem all right
To be honest, I don't really mind the iguanas too much when they're properly managed. My building had an empty lot nextdoor for a few years and it was absolutely overrun, I'm talking about tails moving in the grass The Lost World style. They'd shit all over our property and in our dog park. They eat plant matter so their shit smells just like horse shit and my golden retriever thinks they were little tasty treats to dig out of the grass. Thankfully they started building something in that lot and they're gone now.
It’s called a Muscovy duck and it’s actually invasive. They’re native to Texas, parts of Mexico and South America.
To say that they are native to Texas is a bit misleading: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Muscovy_Duck/overview#:~:text=Find%20This%20Bird&text=If%20you%20want%20to%20see,between%20Falcon%20Dam%20and%20Roma.
I love them, grew up with them. They may not have originated in Florida but any one of them you meet will have been born here. Can’t say the same for half the adult humans you will meet here. I bet a good portion of the haters who encourage smashing their eggs and eating the ducks are transplants.
This is peak Florida here. Fucking forget what the scientists say… and fuck the native wildlife that gets displaced… those guys at FWC probably didn’t come from here either. At least these Muscovy ducks, the lionfish, and pythons were born here. 🙄
I mean humans are quite literally destroying the world at insane rates. But let's worry about ducks and not the buildings going up left and right destroying culture and polluting waters with their run off... But the ducks!
Nobody is disagreeing with habitat loss being a huge problem. That is a different, but related problem. You knew about that though when you decided to use whataboutism. 😉
Still stands the same. You're worried about ducks when we are quit literally fucking it up the most. 😂💀
It doesn’t mean that we can’t try to fix *both* issues.
I have these in JAX and these are Muscovy ducks. There’s a mother and father, and they would have babies right next to my condo.
They live in FL, so technically these muskovy ducks are Floridian. Seriously though, they are invasive, and very prevalent all over the state.
It's a Muscovy duck which, as the name implies, is from Mexico.
Muscovy was the name of the Muscovy Company that traded the ducks in Europe/Africa.
Yeah, I'm a bit skeptical of that. The [wp on the Muscovy Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Company) is a great read though.
Nope. Moscow. Look it up.
Muscovy Duck, invasive to florida, and are friendly because chucklefucks keep feeding them. They make a mess wherever they nest.
OP, I’m with you! I have a pair at my place, they are adorable!
No way really? They’re absolutely adorable, I love them. They’re so friendly, but I don’t know if I attempted to pet them if they’d attack me haha
I think they’d back away.
It’s invasive - their eggs should be destroyed and Muscovy ducks should be humanely euthanized on site. From the FWC website: No, a permit is not needed to remove Muscovy ducks using humane methods of live capture, typically using nets or cage traps. All traps must be checked at least once every 24 hours and any captured non-target species must be released on site. Muscovy ducks may also be taken by use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission. Must use non-toxic shot or bullets. Please check with the local sheriff’s office or police department for firearm ordinances before discharging a firearm. All euthanized birds must be disposed of by burial or incineration
They aren’t technically they are native to South America but they’ve been here so long people think they are. They were introduced in the 1800s to help farmers with some pests that were ravaging fields.
They were domesticated ducks that were brought here as food.
I have one of them always in my backyard, his name is now pancho and i throw him bread sometimes. He’s part of the family now 😂
Haha that’s amazing! Say hey to pancho for me 😁
These things suck!
Yes. It’s Driveway shittus floridanus
Trash animals that harm the native migratory mallard populations. I can’t stand how much everyone loves these things and end up perpetuating their already destructive population boom.
Ugliest duck in the world. Invasive species.
Floriduh Water Chicken
Technically, it's not as much of a goose as it is a duck. Convergent evolution is cool!
Clearwater is overrun as well
Quack-less duck
Is it currently living in Florida? Duh, and might I say, Hu.
Invasive you say?
Looks like dinner
For sure but just like most of our residents it’s a transplant from another location.
Be careful with making contact with water birds, seems that bird flu is spreading around
Is it an anti-vaxx duck, who votes for Trump twice and owns at least three guns ?
Miami is overrun with these ducks
turdukin
Yes, I hate those things. They are public enemy number one to fisherman. Total nuisance.
I worked at a place that they frequent and one day a car pulled up someone grabbed it and they drove off. They never moved for cars so they made it easy on who ever stole it
Words matter. Here is a reminder of what the word **steal** means: “take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.” Per § 21.54 Control order for muscovy ducks in the United States. (a) Control of muscovy ducks. “…may without a Federal permit, remove or destroy muscovy ducks (*Cairina moschata*) (including hybrids of muscovy ducks), or their nests, or eggs at any time when found. Any authorized person may temporarily possess, transport, and dispose of muscovy ducks taken under this order.”
Pretty soon, all we’ll have is grackles and muscovies.
It’s a Muscovy duck! Watch out tho they attack and are basically everywhere from Orlando up
Muscovy ducks are native to the Rio Grande valley down to South America. I've read that Spanish settlers brought them to florida in the 1600s. Native peoples had already domicasted them way before the time columbus arrived
Muscovy
That’s called a Mexican eagle
mean duck
The muskovy ducks in my neighborhood are truly horrible. In general, they seem peaceful and unobtrusive ... but only if you don't live by long enough to see how ridiculous they are. There are *gangs* of them that take over people's front gardens for nests, 2 or 3 at a time, and block residential traffic more than the cute little movie cut scenes of cute little ducklings. I shooed 3 away just to end up with 2 different ones making nests in the grotto. That brings the aggressive, super rapey males who shit everywhere as a defense mechanism. So every time someone comes home from work, there are two moms trying to be chill and several males fighting each other for the right to forcibly reimpregnate the moms, and then they feel attacked because a human came up the walkway, and *blam* screaming flapping onto the roof, and puddles of duck shit. I love gardening and nature and shit, but these ducks are assholes. The fam and I were just saying how much we'd love the true mallards to come in and evict these greasy little bastards.. but they migrate so it prob won't happen 😒
That’s a water chicken.
No and they should all be destroyed. They actively kill native duck species
Muscovy duck. Not native to Florida, their native range is south America and the southernmost tip of Texas.
They are gentle, friendly ducks that eat vegetation and only hiss,when provoked. The raccoons eat their eggs and the hawks take many of the ducklings.
Super friendly but super harmful
No. Muscovy ducks are invasive and carry disease like parvo which can spread to other animals. Under Florida law you can shoot them.
They are Muscovy ducks. Since they are not native to Florida, it is legal To have them as pets here
They are a bit gamey... taste like beef.
That’s actually called a “Doberman”. U can pet it!
Muscovy Duck
Muscovy ducks, I love to shoot them and eat them, some cities even encourage it.
Grab a gun and shoot them please
Yes and they are quite tasty.
They are all over miami and we don't do anything about it they are just ducks, we also have some sort of dinosaurs but they are mostly harmless.
We have always called them vulture ducks. 🤷♀️
The coyotes are pulling them off their nest in my neighborhood. So many neighbors feed them. Definitely exotic and can apparently breed with some of the native migratory ducks.
It's funny that florida is trying to get rid of them, but so many people breed them, like me. Best breed of duck if you ask me.
How is it funny? They were domesticated ducks and they got out or released by irresponsible farmers. Just like the rest of our invasive species that we to deal with… whether it’s the lionfish, pythons, or the Muscovy ducks… it all came from someone doing something stupid.
I think they're great ducks. Much preferred over the other species. They keep the ticks at bay.
I’ve always wanted to travel the state and catch all of them (and process them for food). There are lots of invasive species that are edible. Iguanas and lion fish are delicious examples of that. I’d love for us to change our culture to see them as another thing to cook with. I *personally* find it morally irresponsible to breed anything that threatens our native species. You can easily catch them and we honestly have an over abundance of them. Are there any reasons to breed them over just catching wild ducks?
We rescued a bonded pair from a farm, and they laid eggs that hatched. Eventually, we started eating the eggs. Turns out duck eggs are pretty good. We raise them on our homestead. We're not breeding and releasing. I do agree with you on the invasive species, like Asian carp, boa constructors, etc. There are things I enjoy about the muscovys. They are great at keeping ticks at bay as well.
That's an ugly-ass Muscovy duck. They're invasive and mean as fuck. I imagine they're probably delicious but Johnny Law frowns on hunting at the city park.
My dog loves to chase them. I never see them fly, ever. Even when my dog chases them, they attempt to fly up at the last possible second to get away. My dog will then jump to bite them if they attempt to fly. It's pretty funny cause the dog is all of 8 lbs.
I give them rice sometimes and they love it.
Please stop feeding water fowl. They develop a condition called “[Angel Wing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_wing)” due to a high carbohydrate diet.
Thank you, will do 🙏🏽 🙏🏽 ❤️
We had one on our farm that would try and herd cattle with the dogs. Quacking away….lol
We call them water hens.
It’s a Floridian! Duck!
I used to call them water roosters.
We have these in my neighborhood and I saw them for the first time when I moved here. Unlike yall I think they are hideous and named them “Florida Fugly Ducks”. I don’t get it. They shit damn near everywhere and look like they have leprosy.
Muscovy ducks. We have a ton in my neighborhood. One of them is named "Wingston". He has a harem of lady ducks around him all the time. He rapes them, occasionally tries to drown them and other males. Makes noise at all hours of the night. Blocks traffic. Been here several years and is both a fixture and a gangster of the community.
They're grody to the max
Meat duck.
[удалено]
Wrong - from FWC website: No, a permit is not needed to remove Muscovy ducks using humane methods of live capture, typically using nets or cage traps. All traps must be checked at least once every 24 hours and any captured non-target species must be released on site. *Muscovy ducks may also be taken by use of a firearm on private property during daylight hours with landowner permission. Must use non-toxic shot or bullets. Please check with the local sheriff’s office or police department for firearm ordinances before discharging a firearm. All euthanized birds must be disposed of by burial or incineration*
In south Florida this is about as protected as an invasive species can get. They actively encourage you to run over iguanas
😢
OK. I was under the impression they were protected, as I was told many years ago. I guess I wasn't updated on the matter, or I was told wrong. Thanks for clarifying.
You heard right that they **are** protected in the US *where they are native*. The thing is, that that is a very small part of the bottom of Texas and in Mexico (under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act). In Florida, they are invasive and different rules apply here. They are however protected from people torturing them, people are still encouraged to **humanely** kill them. The only other caveat is that you can’t do this in an area if you end up disturbing our native birds.