Duck "laughing" quack...meaning?

[Wokawidget]

My 2 ducks quack like normal ducks...but they also do this "laughing" quack....very quick "hu-huh-hu-huh-hu-huh"...sometimes while bobbing their heads and sometimes should up straight with their beak on their chin.
They generally do this noise to each other, the alpha chicken or when they are excited and I chase them with worms in my hand.

I did think it was a happy laughing quack but recently my runner has started to come of age and is approaching egg laying for the 1st time...she does this laughing quack all the time. Sometimes she can seem overpowering and gets right in the face of my campbell when doing it so my campbell has to move away.

My ducks have never shown the slightest aggression towards each other and are best friends...is this laughing quack a happy quack and/or a "i'm alpha duck" quack?

cheers,

Woka

 

[crj]

I don't know either. I'm new to the duck world but my girl does it too. The other girl stays quiet. I have 4 drakes but it seems like the loud girl is the boss. I thought it had something to do with being excited. I'll also get a loud screech sometimes when they are in the grass. Almost like she found something good.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

That's their flirtatious quack. Most of them time you will see them doing that to a drake.

 

[crj]

Wow......... my one girl must be a hussy then. She doesn't pick any one particular drake. She serenades them all!!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
Yeah, and the drakes will do it back, but not as loudy and crazy. They will grunt and wonk at the hens, sometimes with their neck feathers standing out on end.

 

[desertdarlene]

If it's the call that I think you're talking about, then it sounds like it's the flirty quack to get the males' attention. I love to see the males respond back in the wild, it's fun, except when she gets too much attention, then it can turn ugly.

 

[Ondine]

Is this the same kind of sound you're hearing? My pekin females have been doing this non-stop lately and I need to know if it's a happy cry, a sad cry, or what!

I recorded a video of the sound I'm hearing--on the video it goes from 0:11-0:13 (and after). I have 3 drakes, two of whom have just gotten their drake feathers, and 7 females. The ducks came home with us April 23, 2010 and were maybe 1 week old (got them from the co-op here) so they're approximately four months old.

Here's the link for the video:

Can someone please tell me if I have happy ducks, flirtatious ducks, chatty ducks, or sad ducks (because they want peas, likely)?!

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
Sounds like the flirty call to me. And, it often gets a response, too. I've noticed that females tend to do this until they male they like responds.

 

[Born A Duck Lover]

I love it when ducks go a-courting. They're so cute to watch.

 

[mxer]

Quote:

A hussy????