Ducks Cant decide.

[Ilovemychicks08]

I can only have 2 ducks because of town ordinance. But i cant decide between Welsh harlequin, blue swedish or orpington ducks. They wont be able to free range but will be in the run with the chickens about a 25 to 30 ft long by about 17 ft wide. I will be building a coop that will go in the corner of the run that will be 16 sq feet(is this to big or to small?). Also they cant be super loud, we have nieghbors about 5 houses up that have some i dont ever hear them. Also what brewers yeast would you reccomend? I will probably be using duckling starter and grower when they are ducklings then switch them to chicken layer feed, so i dont have to buy 2 seperate feeds. And i cant get all flock feed unless i order it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Quatie]

A 16 sqft coop is plenty big enough for 2 ducks. The ducks won't be able to have layer feed till they are of laying age which is 6 months old. However, it really is better for them to have all flock with layer feed on the side.

As for finding a quiet breed, the only quiet ducks breeds are muscovy. Unless, you want drakes, which I kind of doubt. I have Saxony, Swedes, welsh harlequin, Cayuga, runners, khaki Campbell, Pekin, and call ducks. My swedish are probably the most quiet, but they can be LOUD! My Welsh harlequin are very LOUD and chatty right now. I don't have buffs, but every breed I have is loud at one time or another. I don't have buffs, but you are going to find people saying they are loud. Also, every ducks is an individual. You will find some to be quiet and others to be loud in the same breed.

 

[CoriM]

I have welsh harlequin and they are pretty quiet. If you're only getting two you'll want to make sure both are female - you shouldn't have male ducks with your chickens anyway. Also consider the fact that ducks use water in a whole different way then chickens. They need deep waterers to dunk their heads in when they eat, and they're really happiest when they have a pool to swim in - it's in their nature!

 

[Canadian Wind]

I second what @Quatie said. Female ducks that are from the mallard-derived breeds will be LOUD no matter what. For a quiet female, go with Muscovy (no, that isn't me being biased, lol!). And the Muscovy hens are the same size (sometimes smaller!) that 'regular' ducks, as compared to the huge males.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

A 16 sqft coop is plenty big enough for 2 ducks. The ducks won't be able to have layer feed till they are of laying age which is 6 months old. However, it really is better for them to have all flock with layer feed on the side.

As for finding a quiet breed, the only quiet ducks breeds are muscovy. Unless, you want drakes, which I kind of doubt. I have Saxony, Swedes, welsh harlequin, Cayuga, runners, khaki Campbell, Pekin, and call ducks. My swedish are probably the most quiet, but they can be LOUD! My Welsh harlequin are very LOUD and chatty right now. I don't have buffs, but every breed I have is loud at one time or another. I don't have buffs, but you are going to find people saying they are loud. Also, every ducks is an individual. You will find some to be quiet and others to be loud in the same breed.

Ok thank you! I knew that i couldnt feed layer feed till 6 months. I dont want drakes. I know the people up the road from us has kakhis and cayugas i think. The loudness doesnt affect me its the neighbors, but whats the difference when there are dogs barking every second of the day. I figured ducks were about the same as chickens some are loud and some are quieter.

 

[Tasjo]

It can really depend on the parent duck and drakes and how they have been raised... we have 3 Swedish Blue ducks, 2 call ducks, a pekin and a Buff Orpington drake. The quietest and noisiest of the ducks are the 2 calls that we got when they were about a year old.

2nd loudest is one of the Swedish, she is also proving to be the worst for nesting/being broody but not looking after the ducklings once they hatch.

3rd loudest is the pekin, who also nests and is very protective of her eggs (and potentially steals eggs to nest on) then the other 2 Swedish.

The Buff drake is extremely laid back, quiet, and other than chasing one of the Swedish a bit too often I would have a bunch of them! They are such a lovely sensitive breed. If you don't particularly want duck eggs I would actually consider whether you can separate the ducks and chickens and maybe get a bonded pair of drakes.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I think with just two they won’t get overly noisy

I hope not. I know 4 of our neighbors like the eggs from our chickens we give them extra eggs that we cant eat. Usally when we have over 18 eggs we give them away. They wont mind at all.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

So i ended up having to order 2 Welsh Harlequins ! They will arrive on March 17th hopefully!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Good luck I have 2 Welshies. One doesn't hardly make a sound. The other is named Frank because that's what she scream s for hours every day.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

She can raise the undead!