Duck!! What ducks to keep.????

[smiths12]

I really wanted call ducks as i heard they are small and very friendly. But disadvantage have heard they are hard to incubated and hatch and also very loud and as my neighbours living fairly close. Thinking call ducks maybe not the right duck. What other ducks are fairly small friendly and easier to hatch. Someone suggested campbell ducks??? Any advise and names or ducks i can look up and research would be great. Thanks

 

[dotknott]

Before you go too crazy picking out a breed, Let's ask some other important questions.

How important to you is it that they be small?

Are you willing to hatch eggs?

Are you willing to have ducklings shipped to you?

If only willing/able to purchase locally, then what are the local laws on duckling minimum sales from feed shops and does that matter? (In my state, it's a dozen!)

How much coop/run space are you going to be able to provide, or is this intended to be a house duck?

If outdoor ducks what kind of job do you want them to preform? Meat? Eggs? Pest Control?

With neighbors being close have you checked local ordinances to be sure you are even allowed to keep ducks? If so is there a limit on flock size?



The answers to these questions should help us recommend a breed.

 

[smiths12]

Prefer a smaller breed, but not essential. Willing to hatch eggs and willing for ducklings to be shipped. Ducks are mainly just for pets.allowed to keeps ducks and only want a few ducks no more than 4-5.
Really just need a breed that are friendly and good family pets.obviously all ducks make noise but heard call ducks are the worst for they loud call.

 

[dotknott]

Khaki Campbells aren't a bad suggestion. They're generally pretty quiet and will definitely produce a lot of eggs. Rouens would be good too, as would a blue or black Swedish. The only problem is getting the right ratio of m:f. Ordering straight runs or eggs will be a gamble, and really for 4-5 birds in a flock you only want 1 drake, if any.

Personally, I think drakes are needed in a flock. Mine chase off wild suitors, and the ladies seem to argue less amongst each other when there's a male around. When I had all females, there was lots of climbing on top of each other trying to establish a pecking order. This stopped as soon as a male was introduced.

What you don't want is more than 2 males. Really 1 is perfect, 2 is okay, but not great. if you have a flock of 5. Any more than that and you'll have males fighting each other and fighting over females.

I'd start looking in your area for feed shops and local breeders, to see what they offer, and if no one locally has the breed you've decided on then look into mail order. Local breeders MAY be the better option as a feed shop is unlikely to offer sexed birds, and may not impose purchase minimums as a store or online hatchery might.

 

[The Duck Ladie]

Yeah, Calls are the noisiest duck, with Pekins taking second for the most talkative. Maybe you would be interested in Runner ducks. They are Common, and come in LOTS of different varieties (colors). They are a lightweight breed ( females weighing 4.0 and boys weighing 4.5) and are very entertaining, due to their posture, which is upright/ish. Runners are also VERY good foragers. I Love mine and find her the goofball of the flock. here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/indian-runner .