duck research

[frankensusan]

Well I'm hooked on fowl!

I'm going to get a couple of bantams and quail. But I had so much fun with my duckling snail hunter that I must replace him/her. I think I'd like another buff duckling as it was rather small and so darned smart (for a duck!). I didn't have a choice last time as I fostered a dumped duckling and chick. This time I get to choose! While I'm building and reinforcing the outdoors fowl run I thought I'd do some research...

So for all you fowl fanatics!

1. What's the quietest duck (breed, and male or female does it matter?)
2. What's the smallest of the quiet

ducks?
3. Are any chickens quieter than others? of the bantams?

I'm really not concerned about eggs other than I can't handle a huge flock of ducks. I would like 2 though so they could be buddies in the water without the chicken friends freaking out! Will 2 male ducks get along or just beat each other up?

I can handle quite a few quail and about 2 or 3 chickens.

Thanks for any advice! I haven't found a backyard ducks forum with so many helpful people yet.

Susan
p.s. stay tuned for when I finally convince my hubby that he married a repressed farm girl!!

p.p.s. if you have fertile eggs or chicks near So Cal, I'm interested! Otherwise it's online I go.

 

[Chickenlover88]

1. The quietest of the two sexes is definatly a male.
2. Call ducks are very small so are black cayuga ducks indian runner ducks are also pretty small and neat looking. Pekin ducks are definatly the largest
3. All breeds of chicken are pretty much the same noise wise.

You cannot keep male ducks with chickens. The male ducks will rape your chickens and could injure them. If you are going to have chickens with them either get a pair of ducks or all females.

Good luck!

 

[Chelly]

I've heard though, call ducks are LOUD! might be small but make more noise than a regular duck.

Another small duck is a Black East Indies (I think thats what they're called)

 

[Weewanona]

Suan wrote:

So for all you fowl fanatics!

1. What's the quietest duck (breed, and male or female does it matter?) Muscovy

2. What's the smallest of the quiet ducks? I don't know

3. Are any chickens quieter than others? of the bantams? Unless you get a Rooster - your chickens are going to be pretty much the same noise wise.

I would like 2 though so they could be buddies in the water without the chicken friends freaking out! Will 2 male ducks get along or just beat each other up? 2 Drakes will most certainly argue & fight once they reach breeding age. And what's worse - they will fight over your hens because they are the only 'females' around. With 2 Drakes you risk serious injury (if not outright death) to any hens penned with them. Get 2 Hens or a Drake/Hen combo.

 

[Judymae]

I have a female mallard that goes broody every spring. She hatched out 4 babies this time and they are sweeeet. She is very loud! Greets my truck everytime I pull up in the driveway with her loud quacks. She can also hear anything! When I let the dog out at 3am to do his thing she hears and greets us with her loud quacks. They seem so much louder when it's 3am and everything and everyone is asleep!

 

[Menagerie]

Muscovy ducks don't make more than a hiss sound, very quiet, but not very small.

 

[aran]

i have the opportunity to get some free ducks...are they going to be ok in my flock of chickens ( we have a roo also)...24 birds in the flock so far...Someone in town here has white crested pair 2 months old they are giving away as well as ruens...any thoughts.

aran

 

[GoodEgg]

Speaking of noise, I wish I had gotten muscovies! (Couldn't find any though, we looked.) I hear they will kill snakes too.

I have two ducks and two drakes. Baka (female), who I think is a buff cross, is the LOUDEST thing going. Definitely the females are much louder than the males, but it varies among ducks too. Kuro (female, maybe black swedish?) rarely ever makes much noise. Baka quacks LOUD if she's hungry, or if she sees me drive up or walk outside, or if there's a dog or cat around, or if it rains, or if she wants to go someplace different in the yard, or pretty much just for no reason at all I think. (Though the "there's a dog or cat!" quack is different and lets me know, so I'm glad for that.)

The drakes quack all day, but they kinda lost their voices so you can only hear if you are nearby, and it isn't annoying at all.

I'm afraid a neighbor may loose patience because of Baka though (I have talked to them about the ducks and they are ok so far, but she's LOUD). I had considered making other plans for her, but it would leave me with one duck and two drakes and I don't want my hens getting hurt. I have threatened her with duck-taping her bill shut, but she doesn't believe me.

trish

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
I have four mallard ducklings who are now five or six weeks old. I kept them in a large caged area inside the coop with the chickens for a couple weeks before turning them loose. The chickens pecked at them at first but not enough to deter the ducks. The four ducks can now be seen following the grown chickens around the yard. They also nap with the 12 week old chicks under the bushes. so far, everyone is getting along fine. The ducks seem to be the only ones who intermingle with both sets of chickens.

 

[aran]

sorry to take over the thread for a moment...ozark...do you think I should get the white pair? i really dont want a lot of ducks...mainly just wanted chickens but my son wants a couple of ducks..is 2 enough to keep the ducks happy?