A LOT of questions

[StarLover21]

I've been looking into ducks. But I can't really find the answers I need...so, here are my questions. I know they're stupid, but I know nothing.

Do they make alot of noise?
Do Males and Females act different?
Do Males and Females sound different?
Do you need a male duck to have eggs (I know it's stupid, but I really don't know)
Are they freindly?
What's the best/freindliest breed?
How much room?
Do they need a pond?

Okay, adding another question:

When do ducka lay? (pekins in particular)

Okay, thatls all!
Thanks!

 

[JulieNKC]

Quote:
Muscovies don't make much noise. Females of other breeds are pretty loud, the boys not so much. Males can be a little more nippy and aggressive than girls. Girls will have a loud quack, boys a raspy quiet quack. You don't need a boy duck for eggs. Mine are friendly enough to come eat out of my hand, but don't let me touch them. My ancona is the friendliest out of mine, my khaki lays the best. I had pekins that were pretty friendly, but loud. They don't need a pond, but will be happier with at least a tub of water big enough to get in. They are very messy, they get everything wet and get their water dirty within seconds of getting it. They dig little holes everywhere. Not sure about room, mine have 2 acres and roam over all of it, so the more the better. They are very fun, and I love watching my ducks. They might not like getting petted, but they know who brings food and will quack when they see me and come running when I call.

 

[Amiga]

Quote:
Welcome to the threshold of Duckdom!

Noise? Most can make alot of noise from time to time. Calls have the reputation for being loud, Muscovies are known to be quiet. Causes for "yelling" include lack of attention by ducksteward, empty feed pan, hormones, stress, reasons known only to the ducks. "Alot of noise" is relative. On our acre in the ruburbs, not so much. If the neighbors were 20 feet away, too much.

Males and Females do act different. But there's quite a bit of overlap in behavior. For example, ducks will display mating behaviors regardless of whether there are members of the opposite sex present or not.

They do sound different. I don't have Muscovies so I can't go into detail. Mallard-derived breeds have quiet boys and loud girls.

Not stupid. Female ducks lay eggs with or without a male to fertilize them.

Friendly is largely a function of how they are raised. But it seems to be influenced somewhat by breed. There are always counterexamples. I have a flock of Indian runners. Their reputation is "high strung." But these little cupcakes are sweet, friendly, and really, while energetic, I would not call them high strung. Of course, I have lavished them with attention their whole lives. Do a search of the forum on something like "duck breed friendly" and something should come up - I know we have discussed this more than once in the last couple of years. Fun to see everyone's opinions!

How much room? Depends. They need room in their safe place, where you keep them especially at night away from predators (and there are many). I have a 4'x8'x4' house with attached porch the same dimensions for nighttime in spring/summer/fall, and a 6.5'x10'x7' basement pen for winter. They have a lockable day pen that's 10'x16'x3.5' for daytime when I am away, and I take them for walks two or three times a day, so they have some sort of access to almost half an acre. They are an active breed, great foragers. So that's something to think about in a breed. Some breeds are more happy to loaf around all day (relatively speaking) compared to runners.

I think Holderread recommends 10 sf per duck if they have access to pasture, 25 sf per duck if not.

Domestic ducks do not need a pond. They must have clean water (okay, clean once or twice a day - they like to make it murky) deep enough at the very least to wash their entire heads, otherwise you risk serious sinus, ear, eye infections. Many have kiddie pools or concrete mixing pans, some have GORGEOUS mini ponds (take a look at Hattigun's and Wifezella's - there are others - didn't mean to leave anyone out - oh right, Priss has a nice one)

.

 

[agregg15]

Quote:
1.) Do they make a lot of noise? It all depends on the breed. You have mallards that are semi loud, but you also have Muscovys which are considered "silent" because they don't quack and then you have call ducks which are incredibly noisy (but the cuteness makes up for it.)

2.) Do males and females act different? Drakes tend to be more aggressive and protective of the flock than ducks and some people say that drakes have more personality (I haven't noticed this myself.)

3.)Do males and females sound different? Yes, drakes sound like they are trying to "quack with a cold" and make a "rhabb" noise. Ducks are the ones that make the loud "quack."

4.)Do you need a male duck to have eggs? No you don't, they'll lay without a drake.

5.) Are they friendly? It depends on the breed and how much they are handled. My mallards and WH (which I raised from ducklings) were handled a lot and will come over when I'm giving them more feed to nibble on my fingers, whereas my calls and khakis weren't handled that much by their previous owners and act semi-wild.

6.) What's the best/friendliest breed? It depends on what you want the breed to be doing. Are they going to be layers, pets, meat ducks, etc. The best layers that I have are my Khakis, but I've also heard that runners and WH (mine haven't started laying yet) are excellent layers. For pets WH and mallards are the calmest that I have. It, again, depends on how much they were handled. For meat people use Muscovys, Pekins, Rouens, and/or any other large breed.

7.) How much room do they need? They should have anywhere from 10-25 sq ft of pen space per duck depending on the size of the duck. They should anywhere from 2-6 sq ft of coop space depending on the size of the duck. 2 sq ft would work for bantam breeds like calls or mallards, where 6 sq ft would be used for Muscovy drakes.

8.) Do they need a pond? They don't need a pond. A kiddy pool will work fine as long as it is changed 1 to 2 times per day. If you have a pond on your property you are thinking of using make sure that there are no snapping turtles or large fish that may injure your ducks or eat ducklings and make sure it is fenced off.

 

[veronicasmom]

Just popped on for a sec.
My muscovies are super quiet. The sound they mostly make is a trilling noise. Adorable. They will hiss too. Funny (to me).
They are VERY different from my mutt duck, pekin, and runners in behavior. I only have girls, but they are very unique.
Ok, gotta run, hope this helped a tad.

 

[stargazingmommy]

My female Pekin is extremely loud, all the neighbors know she exists.
My male runner is a jerk that will attack your ankles given the chance.
My Pekin is a sweetheart that loves being held.
My Pekin started laying at about 5 months old and until recently was a 1-2 egg a day gal

 

[the duck whisperer]

The females are very noisy, let me warn you
Female are usually a bit snippy, especially when they are broody.
Females are all very noisy, except the muscovy, the cant really quack. Males only make a soft quiet noise.
No you do not need a drake to get eggs just if you want babe ducks
They have personalities as widly ranged as people and there is not really a breed that is nicer above the rest, but my cambells are probably the calmest.
10x10 per duck usually
They do not need a pond, however they need something deep enough so they can dunk there whole heads in the water.

Mine lay anywhere from every day to 3 times a week . Khaki cambel, Cuyuga, Buff Orpington, and magpie as well as welsh harliquine are all exceptional layers.

Pekins lay larger eggs but mine all developed health issues in the first 2 years so be watchful of them.

Hope I helped