Do different colors of Indian runner behave differently?

[kunsangsean]

Yes! Mine are like Aunt Angus, mine only chatter louder when they think treats or food is coming. Otherwise it's lower volume wise chatter amongst themselves during the day. And super quiet at night

Cool! Do you have mostly runners? Or do I spy a welsh harlequin in your photo?

 

[NatJ]

The main reason I was thinking all drakes or to have even ratio is in case we have to get rid of the hens due to noise. Then we would still have more than 1 lonely drake.

The concerns I see are when you have some females and "too many" males.

Having just males, and no females at all, would probably be better.

Here is an older thread where people discuss drake-only flocks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/can-a-person-just-have-male-ducks.508046/

 

[Colley12]

Cool! Do you have mostly runners? Or do I spy a welsh harlequin in your photo?

Mine are all runners At least that is what I was told. My husband picked them up for me. The lady said she had black, fawn and white runners. So they are a mix of that. My light brown runner doesn't always stand up super straight. But they definitely show their runner qualities lol.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I don't find them to be as noisy as others, if that helps. They talk a lot, but rarely go into full blown hysterics like the Pekins.

Agree wholeheartedly. My Runners chatter quietly. My Pekins and Rouens shout and yell just because they can.

I personally wouldn’t have a drake if i had the option. I have 9 hens and one drake, he makes a royal ass of himself for 6 months, then one day the switch flips off and he's a perfect gentleman. If i had more than one i would have to cull them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Runner females can belt them out as good as my Buffs. It isn't constant but you sure know they are around. lol

 

[CoriM]

I have a little bit of experience with runners from Metzer because my neighbor has had large batches of them, 10-15 at a time, three different summers. One summer I cared for them for a week when they were about 4 weeks old. She had even numbers black, blue, and fawn and white. While caring for them we noticed that the fawn and white were the friendliest, they were much less skittish, gray were more skittish and black downright afraid of us. I just really noticed it because they weren't used to much handling and I had to pick them up and move them from the brooder to the tub to swim, so I noticed which ones ran and shrieked the most, plus when giving treats the fawn and whites were never afraid of me and always were at the front of the group. I have had two different fawn and white runners from Metzer and they both have been the sweetest, friendliest birds, liking to be held the most of each batch of ducklings they came in. I recently looked at that chart and was so surprised that they're rated more high strung than the other colors. I think their eyes look a little big bulging against the white feathers, and they run about quickly - maybe that makes them appear more nervous? Either way, I'm getting 4 ducklings this spring and choosing 2 fawn and white runners because I think they're so sweet. That said, I ended up adopting a blue runner from my neighbor when it was her last duck and she wasn't ever really handled, but she's adapted super well, she's got a nice personality and she's pretty - white with gray marks all over her - and she seems a lot smarter than my fawn and white girl. I just don't touch her, but she does come up for treats!

 

[CoriM]

I think the runners are way quieter than pekins or duclairs - which are super loud. They chatter, but even the female voice don't have that loud demanding nature that other ducks can have. They're really small ducks too, so if you have limited space it's a good choice.

 

[CoriM]

I also agree with the other commenters, yeah some breeds have different tendencies, but a lot just has to do with the individual personality combined with how you raise them and how much you handle them when they're young, plus what kind of environment you provide for them.

 

[Colley12]

For example: my daughter was talking to our neighbor across the street (we live in town on smaller lots) and she mentioned the ducks. The neighbor had no idea we had them

I thought for sure their treat QUACK would of for sure given us away