Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Hello,

I was all set to order 3 female Black East Indie ducklings from Performance Poultry but the more I read about ducks the more indecisive I'm becoming. I chose the BEIs because of their bantam size and it would be okay if I ended up with an accidental male. (And of course they are beautiful). I keep birds as pets for life so not particularly concerned about laying rates or meat production.

I'm mostly concerned about noise, skittishness and flying the coop ... from watching YouTube videos, I can't get an idea of how noisy ducks will be in an urban setting. I know large groups are quite loud and some breeds (call ducks) are louder than others. Can anyone share their experience? I haven't had any complaints about my chickens yet... and the odd time I can hear their egg-laying song way out in the street!

I currently have 6 hens of varying breeds and sizes. My enclosed coop and run is about 130 square feet of floor space plus I have a free-ranging yard approx. 50ft by 40ft. I think my closest neighbor's yard would be ~20-30 feet from the free range area (if they are outside trying to enjoy their deck!). The coop itself is more than 50 ft from their house so I'm not worried about night time noise. I have no houses behind me.

I'm adding two female chicks at the end of April that my ever-broody cochin will probably raise. I wanted ducklings then too and raise them together.

I'd be happy to hear suggestions...... and if anyone is selling nice ducklings I'd be interested.

Thank you

I keep a trio of grey calls just for fun. but ducks can be VERY messy... always fowling the water. mine can fly just like a wild duck but havent flown out of the massive run I built them... yet. i gave them a fairly large natural pond and I just LOVE seeing ducks be ducks while playing in the water. i dont think they are any noisier than my chickens but they are well out numbered. they are kept with 5 turkeys, 3 geese, and about 50 chickens in a 3000 square foot run. i also live in the country and dont worry about the noise...

but ducks will be ducks and they can be quite messy...

Jennbee, if you are worried about the noise, do not get any Call duck females!! They can drive you and your neighbours nuts with their squawking at times. Trust me, I know. Pete.

Yep them females Pete . On here Im called a Chatty Hen , Haheeee Go Figure .

Muscovies are almost completely silent, but they can fly unless you clip their wings. They're also quite large. But with any of the mallard-based ducks, the girls can be quite noisy, especially if you're late with dinner!

thegawd wrote:QR_BBPOST I keep a trio of grey calls just for fun. but ducks can be VERY messy... always fowling the water. mine can fly just like a wild duck but havent flown out of the massive run I built them... yet. i gave them a fairly large natural pond and I just LOVE seeing ducks be ducks while playing in the water. i dont think they are any noisier than my chickens but they are well out numbered. they are kept with 5 turkeys, 3 geese, and about 50 chickens in a 3000 square foot run. i also live in the country and dont worry about the noise...

but ducks will be ducks and they can be quite messy...

Really? Call ducks? Not any louder than chickens? Maybe a rooster, but what kind of chickenettes you keeping over there Al? Haha! When I was at the simcoe show I could not believe how loud these little ducks are. One starts and before u knew it 50 were going.

My recommendation. Muscovy. Quiet(er) and great fly hunters.

But Al is right. Ducks are a flipping sloppy muddy adorable mess. Ducks never have a bad day. They are the happiest critters around!

HAHAHA well im sure if I had 50 call ducks and 3 chickens the ducks would be loud... lol I just dont care so it dosent bother me. at the old place I had those 5 runner crosses not far from the back door and anytime they heard someone coming outside they started going crazy... anytime day or night... that drove me crazy because I was concerned that they would call in predators. I did not bring those ducks here because they wernt mine but man were those suckers ever loud... power in numbers eh. they would party all friggin night. my calls here at the new place actually use the coop and sleep all night. thankfully.

ya im not sure if ducks could be city dwellers or not. I guess it would depend on your neighbors. If they dont mind the chickens I would almost just leave it at that. do you live in a city that allows poultry? if yes get em... if not I wouldnt because you dont want to risk loosing your flock... and it happens all the time due to a frustrated neighbor, all it takes is a call to the bylaw office.

Maybe some guinea fowl is a good idea for her. I hear they are fairly quiet backyard'ers

I LOVE DUCKS!!

nope nope nope... guineas are one of the loudest birds going and they roam everywhere. heck at the old place while I was a rookie turkey hunter i stalked what I thought could have been turkeys a kilometer away IN the bush... oh I was pumped... I was getting closer and I was guna get one! nope it was the guineas. the last day of turkey season i told my cousin if those guineas are back there feel free to take one out.... they wernt back there LOL. and that is why guineas are great at tick control. I want to get some more but we are way to close to the road here I couldnt keep those ones off the road... 3 got hit in 2 years. but I was way more concerned about a driver swerving and getting into an accident.