I'm looking into getting some ducks,But do they make obnoxious sounds?

[marathonhounds]

As long as we are discussing things obnoxious, we might as well bring up the mess that ducks make. They slop and play with their water, put water in the food and food in the water, drill holes in the mud, make big messy poo into everything, and are thrilled about all of this. When we say, "waterfowl," this is not a joke.

A dog kennel is fine, but there will not be a hint of grass left in there in short order, and if you move the kennel around, you will have bare rectangles all over the place.

I love ducks and we have about 12 of them who wander freely around our farm and pond, so don't get me wrong. I just like people to know what they're getting into.

 

[xke4]

My ducks are both male and they just mutter. C

 

[Kitsune]

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I agree wholeheartedly with this, I would love to have some ducks again, but not until I have much more space and a pond (lake) big enough that I don't have to clean it out every day!

 

[SandraChick]

I'm glad marathonhounds brought it up. As far as upkeep--they are easily 4x the work of chickens. They need clean deep water at all times (they have to be able to dip their whole bill in water, so they don't choke on their food). Every bit of standing water will be muddy- including the dog water bowl. They make a huge muddy mess around their pool, etc.

They are however wonderful at eating all the slugs, and are absoluely hilarious! I have 3 runners (1drake and 2 hens). I do have the loudest most talkative hen ever! One only quacks when she's upset, but the other quacks all day and she's particularly loud (her name is blue, but we call her loudmouth). The drake is well, a soft raspy quack that's barely heard as you can't hear him over loud mouth.

My chickens on the other hand, are easy, almost carefree, and the only loud one is the roo---and the occasional "I've laid an egg seranade". You don't NEED a roo, so your hen flock can be very quiet.

Good luck with your decision
Sandra

 

[chickenhawk]

One thing you guys didn not mention is that ducks dont get sick nearly as much as chickens.
I have a bunch of muscovies running loose and some calls I keep penned up.
I have a pond. The muscovies dont swim as much as normal ducks but they hatch tons of babies on their own.
The calls are so tiny everything wants to eat them or I would let them out. This summer I plan on fencing in the pond and I might let a few out. They are just a blast to watch.
Female calls are LOUD and the muscovies are almost silent

 

[renae]

i have 5 pekins and the males are quiet and the females loud(very loud) the males are far from obnoxious sounding but the females are rigth in that category.they do make good visitor alarms the quack real loud when someone gets close and the mess oh my gosh what a mess.i love my babies and plan to keep them to me they are worth it.but for someone who doesnt want an animal that requires alot of upkeep ducks are really not a good choice but if you dont mind water changing every day and mud holes everywhere then go for it they sure are alot of fun.

 

[loopy]

I have 5 call ducks and the females are the noisy ones. The drakes just make a putttering muck sound. I live in an area that does not mind their noise. My neighbors love them and will chat with us over the fence. I don't have chickens so I can't compare the work involved. Call ducks were bred for their "call" originally so I think that explains why they are so loud. They have a whole vocabulary of other sounds too. They squeak and whine when mucking in the mud and are just so entertaining. You can be with them for hours working side by side in the garden and it is just the best. They want to see what you've dug up and if it's fenced off you can just throw them weeds and they will work them for slugs. Good luck with your quest.

 

[charlindabob]

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If you are worried about the noise ducks make, definitely go with Muscovies. There are several colors, they are very quiet, wag their tail, fun to be around, great mothers, fairly good egg layers and delicious to eat, so I've heard !

 

[Lady_Cluck]

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This is perfectly said!!!

My female Pekin ducks are incredibly noisy. They always have a lot to say!

 

[barredrockmama]

I love the way they sound. They always seem so happy. That being said, if you have too many female ducks, they can get annoying. I have 4 Indian Runner females and 1 Indian Runner male. They don't bother me at all.