Are drakes louder than hens?

[MomMommyMamma]

Quote:
I was looking into muscovies but it looks like you can't have them anymore (if you didn't already have them).
I have heard of hens crowing. Oy....I need my house in the country

 

[sheila3935]

I have a khaki campbell duck and a runner drake. My girl can get loud but doesnt very often. Most times is if she cant find Sammy,she will quack very loud for him and he comes running. Sammy is very quiet.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

It depends on the breed too. I raise Saxonies and you cannot tell they are there. They simply do not like to quack. I don't let them out until 7.30 at which point they will talk until I give them their food bowl. No loud quacking, however. Muscovies are also quiet, because females and males lack the voice box. Some breeds are very loud, like the call duck. In general only the female ducks are noisy, because they have the voice box to produce a quack. Males lack the voice box and only get a raspy sound out, which is about normal human talking noise level or less.

 

[Sundari]

This is all so incredibly helpful -- thanks to you all.

I'm feeling pretty embarrassed about my ignorance now. I had no idea that hen ducks could be so loud.

We want to provide balance with this ordinance -- to allow people to keep food-producing animals, but not to set them up so that they'll have problems with their neighbors. I know that each animal is an individual, but in general what are the "quiet" duck breeds? Just Muscovies, or is there another quiet breed?

We're limiting the breeds of goats (Nigerian Dwarf and African Pygmy only), so we can also limit the breeds of ducks that are allowed without a permit (if someone wants a different kind of duck, they can go through a permitting process). I'm definitely not trying to be a hard-aXX about it, but I want the new ordinance to succeed!

 

[Sundari]

Thanks, ABC's. Do you think that most Saxonies are quiet? Is it a physiological thing, like the lack of a voice box for the Muscovies? Or is it perhaps just your particular group of birds, but other Saxonies have a reputation for being noisy?

 

[MomMommyMamma]

The Duck ABC's :

It depends on the breed too. I raise Saxonies and you cannot tell they are there. They simply do not like to quack. I don't let them out until 7.30 at which point they will talk until I give them their food bowl. No loud quacking, however. Muscovies are also quiet, because females and males lack the voice box. Some breeds are very loud, like the call duck. In general only the female ducks are noisy, because they have the voice box to produce a quack. Males lack the voice box and only get a raspy sound out, which is about normal human talking noise level or less.

I'm curious now too about this breed. Are they available in the US?​

 

[The Duck ABC's]

It seems that some of the heavy duck breeds are more laid back and less likely to be noisy. It's not just my Saxonies that are on the quiet side. I now have 3 different Saxony groups. Non of them are related to each other and they are all on the quiet side. I've talked to other Saxony owners and they all confirmed that theirs are quiet compared to other breeds they have. The only problem is Saxonies are a very rare breed and really hard to find. Another aspect is how the duck live. They will be noisy if they get constantly stressed. That can be an aggressive dog going up and down the fence line, "pesky" children, or neighbors that are trying anything to get you in trouble so you have to remove the birds. I would suggest to contact Holderread Farms. Dave Holderread is the best information source when it comes to ducks. Not only has he written books, he also produces the best birds in this country. www.holderreadfarms.com is the website. I like to mention him, because he has bread any type of domestic duck in over 40 years. I'm a little bit limited when it comes to breeds, because I never owned all breeds that are out there, nor do I intend to. He has owned them all, and not just in small quantities. I think you can make a wiser decision for your community after you have talked to him. Phone for Holderread is:
541-929-5338

 

[MomMommyMamma]

The Duck ABC's :

It seems that some of the heavy duck breeds are more laid back and less likely to be noisy. It's not just my Saxonies that are on the quiet side. I now have 3 different Saxony groups. Non of them are related to each other and they are all on the quiet side. I've talked to other Saxony owners and they all confirmed that theirs are quiet compared to other breeds they have. The only problem is Saxonies are a very rare breed and really hard to find. Another aspect is how the duck live. They will be noisy if they get constantly stressed. That can be an aggressive dog going up and down the fence line, "pesky" children, or neighbors that are trying anything to get you in trouble so you have to remove the birds. I would suggest to contact Holderread Farms. Dave Holderread is the best information source when it comes to ducks. Not only has he written books, he also produces the best birds in this country. www.holderreadfarms.com is the website. I like to mention him, because he has bread any type of domestic duck in over 40 years. I'm a little bit limited when it comes to breeds, because I never owned all breeds that are out there, nor do I intend to. He has owned them all, and not just in small quantities. I think you can make a wiser decision for your community after you have talked to him. Phone for Holderread is:
541-929-5338

Correct link, http://holderreadfarm.com/​

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Sundari]

Quote:
Whoa -- wait. Why can't you have Muscovies anymore? Are we setting ourselves up for failure if we tell potential Denver duck owners that they should own Muscovies because they're quiet?