Are drakes louder than hens?

[Sundari]

Terrific -- thank you. I'll get in touch with Dave.

 

[MomMommyMamma]

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?

Muscovie regulation info stickie, https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=304055

 

[Sundari]

Ok... sent an email and left a phone message for Dave at Holderread Farms, but his website makes it pretty clear that he's not able to devote lots of time to giving advice (since he's busy running his farm, which I completely understand).

Anyone who can recommend quiet duck breeds that can be purchases commercially as duckling -- I'd really appreciate it.

 

[The Duck ABC's]

Dave doesn't have much time during hatching season, but he will make time when needed. I'm sure he will help you.

 

[DuckyMom]

Male Ducks don't quack. Thus Females are MUCH louder!
Duck quacking doesn't carry much but they are still pretty loud.
They quack when hungry, bored, when seperated from their flock, when they are happy, scared, and sometimes just to talk with eachother.
When they are contained at night they are much quieter but will still make alittle noise for one of these reasons.
Emily

 

[DuckyMom]

I also should mention that very few duck breeds are "quiet".
Calls are alot louder than most obviously and I have heard Muscovies are quieter than most (they don't quack).
Other than that I don't believe breed has anything to do with quacking.
The best way to quiet a duck has to do with housing, feeding, and preventing any of the above causes.
(e.g.: Free feeding them so that they can eat when they want to, or preventing boredom with toys or large ammounts of space to forage, and preventing them from seeing dogs or other threats with simple changes in housing)
Emily

 

[70%cocoa]

I've recently got ducks (4 Swedish and 4 more next week) and they live in a pen right outside my bedroom window. During the night they chatter quietly but after getting use to it over the first week I now sleep through it. The only time they quack loudly is when they hear me come out the door in the morning and when I come through the driveway gate after work - one duck in the group will quack at the top of her voice a few times because they want to be let out. Those few quacks, while loud, are still no louder than a chicken hen. I would defintely not describe my ducks as loud animals. The drake is very quiet, as others have said.

MUCH quieter than a dog (I assume that people will be allowed to keep dogs).

 

[Mom 2em All]

My male runner duck quacked all day long- not a "KA WAAACK" but a "wak wak wak wak wak" the whole time he was chasing chickens to mate with, or the ducks..non-stop.

The runner female and the muscovies I have now are silent in comparison. An occasional kerfluffle out there when I first walk out, or have cherry tomatoes to hand out- other than that, no audible sounds.

 

[Quacking]

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,

Neither sex of duck, and in fact all birds do not have a voice box as such, or vocal chords. They have whats called a Syrinx. It is located in the area where the windpipe branches, which is much lower than where the larynx is in humans. Membranes inside the Syrinx vibrate when air passes making the various different sounds.
The Turkey Vulture is one of the few birds that do not even have a syrinx and therefore are voiceless.

This doesnt explain as to why the duck is noisier than the drake of course, but in many birds,the song of the female is very different to the male even though they both have the same vocal organ.

I also should mention that very few duck breeds are "quiet".
Calls are alot louder than most obviously and I have heard Muscovies are quieter than most (they don't quack).
Other than that I don't believe breed has anything to do with quacking.

I also think that individual personality of a duck has a lot do do with how loud it is rather than strictly just what breed. I used to have one pekin in a flock of ten that was louder than all of the other nine collectively. And also the opposite with one Runner in particular that virtually never quacked at all.​

 

[pdsavage]

Mac_
Registered: 11/03/2009
Posts: 76
PMRe: Muscovies in US - REGULATION CHANGES OPEN FOR COMMENTS - 10/1 update
To the best of my knowledge the prohibitions against raising Muscovies is not being enforced pending final revisions to the regs.
The public comment for the 2nd round of proposed regs ended Dec 30.

FWS received enough adverse public comments that they are considering revising the proposed regs a third time, but this time it sounds like they are inclined to exclude domestic Muscovies from any regulation other than a prohibition against the intentional release to the wild on land that you do not own.

Letters or e-mails to senators and congresspersons at this time may help to ensure this outcome.