Newbie Duck Questions

[loofa]

Hi everyone,

We are looking into getting some ducks for pets and I have a few questions.

1. Breed advice - Two things I've been looking at is friendliness and noisiness. I would love recommendations for the more tamable quieter duck breeds (other than Muscovy - all searches for quiet duck breeds lead to Muscovies but I'm interested in who else is on the quieter end of the spectrum).
2. How early do ducks need to be released from the coop? Are they like chickens who rise with the sun and start making a right royal ruckus? Or might they let me sleep until 7:30?
3. I've read in some places that ducks are great because they will eat the snails and slugs out of your garden, and then in other places that ducks will destroy your garden - um,.... which is it? Great for gardens or need to be kept away from the garden?
4. When ducks go broody does this tend to be a difficult time for duck owners who don't want ducklings? I know that with chickens intensity of broodiness varies by breed - is it the same with ducks?

Thank you all SO MUCH for any input!

 

[sylviethecochin]

1. Breed advice - Two things I've been looking at is friendliness and noisiness. I would love recommendations for the more tamable quieter duck breeds (other than Muscovy - all searches for quiet duck breeds lead to Muscovies but I'm interested in who else is on the quieter end of the spectrum).

My cayuga girls are pretty quiet, and so are the Pekins. The Swedish are noisier, so were the Rouens, and the Khakis are noisier still. The Black East Indies duck is the loudest little thing I've ever heard, and Calls are supposed to be similar.

2. How early do ducks need to be released from the coop? Are they like chickens who rise with the sun and start making a right royal ruckus? Or might they let me sleep until 7:30?

Ducks have better night vision than chickens, so they're more... gradual? risers. On the other hand, my chickens don't make noise in the morning, even when locked in, so I think yours just have you trained. Ducks do not sing anything like an egg song, but they can get fairly loud when a drake's being a butt (which is throughout breeding season).

3. I've read in some places that ducks are great because they will eat the snails and slugs out of your garden, and then in other places that ducks will destroy your garden - um,.... which is it? Great for gardens or need to be kept away from the garden?

Depends on the garden. My ducks will devour beans, peas, and cucumbers (the little ones, anyway) whole. They pretty much leave the tomatoes and corn alone, are completely unable to access pumpkins unless the chickens have opened them up first, and aren't going to touch potatoes, radishes, turnips, beets, onions or carrots.

4. When ducks go broody does this tend to be a difficult time for duck owners who don't want ducklings? I know that with chickens intensity of broodiness varies by breed - is it the same with ducks?

Ducks vary by personality and breed. Cayugas are broody, Pekins and runners (supposed to be noisy) are not. Rouens can be broody, my Swedish are great brooders, and I've heard that Khakis are middling broody, but mine are only ten months old.

My experience is that broodiness has been bred out of chickens far better than it has out of ducks.

 

[loofa]

@sylviethecochin thank you so much! Do you find that the Pekins and Cayugas are friendly/easily tamed?

 

[sylviethecochin]

@sylviethecochin thank you so much! Do you find that the Pekins and Cayugas are friendly/easily tamed?

I'm afraid I don't raise/select for friendliness, but Gaston (my large Pekin drake) is by far my friendliest duck.

if you want friendly ducks, your best bet is to raise them from ducklings and spend a lot of time with them.

 

[DuckGirl77]

1 - My Cayugas and Welsh Harlequin are the quietest of my ducks. Welshies seem to tame easier, but my Cayugas have become very sweet, they just take a bit longer, in my experience. Spend plenty of time with them, and most (if not all) breeds will become very friendly
2 - I let all my chickens and ducks out around 7:00, and they don't start making a ruckus until they hear my voice outside.
3 - My ducks decimated the snail population here. I would be careful about letting them in the garden because they drill little holes in mud and would eat some plants, but it depends somewhat on what you have in the garden

 

[DaphneTheDuck]

Hi everyone,

We are looking into getting some ducks for pets and I have a few questions.

1. Breed advice - Two things I've been looking at is friendliness and noisiness. I would love recommendations for the more tamable quieter duck breeds (other than Muscovy - all searches for quiet duck breeds lead to Muscovies but I'm interested in who else is on the quieter end of the spectrum).
2. How early do ducks need to be released from the coop? Are they like chickens who rise with the sun and start making a right royal ruckus? Or might they let me sleep until 7:30?
3. I've read in some places that ducks are great because they will eat the snails and slugs out of your garden, and then in other places that ducks will destroy your garden - um,.... which is it? Great for gardens or need to be kept away from the garden?
4. When ducks go broody does this tend to be a difficult time for duck owners who don't want ducklings? I know that with chickens intensity of broodiness varies by breed - is it the same with ducks?

Thank you all SO MUCH for any input!
[/QUO

Hi everyone,

We are looking into getting some ducks for pets and I have a few questions.

1. Breed advice - Two things I've been looking at is friendliness and noisiness. I would love recommendations for the more tamable quieter duck breeds (other than Muscovy - all searches for quiet duck breeds lead to Muscovies but I'm interested in who else is on the quieter end of the spectrum).
2. How early do ducks need to be released from the coop? Are they like chickens who rise with the sun and start making a right royal ruckus? Or might they let me sleep until 7:30?
3. I've read in some places that ducks are great because they will eat the snails and slugs out of your garden, and then in other places that ducks will destroy your garden - um,.... which is it? Great for gardens or need to be kept away from the garden?
4. When ducks go broody does this tend to be a difficult time for duck owners who don't want ducklings? I know that with chickens intensity of broodiness varies by breed - is it the same with ducks?

Thank you all SO MUCH for any input!

Your best bet at friendly breeds are the heavier breeds like pekin Rouen or ayelsbury however my ayelsbury is very loud.