Editing Muscovy duck (section)

===Reproduction===
{{More citations|date=May 2025}}[[File:Cairina moschata MWNH 1056.JPG|thumb|Egg, collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
This species, like the [[mallard]], does not form stable pairs. They will mate on land or in water. The female lays a clutch of 8-15 white eggs, usually in a tree hole or hollow, which are [[Avian incubation|incubate]]d for 30-31 days.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muscovy Duck Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Muscovy_Duck/lifehistory |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref> The sitting hen will leave the nest once a day from 20 minutes to one and a half hours, and will then defecate, drink water, eat and sometimes bathe. Once the eggs begin to hatch, it may take 24 hours for all the chicks to break through their shells. When feral chicks are born, they usually stay with their mother for about 10–12 weeks. Their bodies cannot produce all the heat they need, especially in temperate regions, so they will stay close to the mother, especially at night.

Often, the drake will stay in close contact with the brood for several weeks. The male will walk with the young during their normal travels in search for food, providing protection. Anecdotal evidence from [[East Anglia]], U.K. suggests that, in response to different environmental conditions, other adults assist in protecting chicks and providing warmth at night. It has been suggested that this is in response to local efforts to cull this feral population, which has led to an atypical distribution of males and females, as well as young and mature birds.

For the first few weeks of their lives, Muscovy chicks feed on grain, corn, grass, insects, and almost anything that moves. Their mother shows them at an early age how to feed.