Ducks in a small urban garden?

[SolarDuck]

Just get a kiddie pool, a tiny pond won't be worth the effort.

 

[Weeg]

Aren't call ducks very loud (our neighbors, as you can see, are VERY CLOSE, so that makes them kind of a big no-go)?

I honestly don't know. I have never owned them, so wouldn't have experience with their noise level. Google seems to agree with you though.

 

[Ratchnick]

I think with the proximity of your neighbors any ducks will probably be to noisy.

 

[Weeg]

I think with the proximity of your neighbors any ducks will probably be to noisy.

I have to agree. My Mallards love to scream lol! (its sounds like, " WACK WACK WACK WACK WACK WACK....!) They will repeat this at the top of they're lungs for a few minutes lol!

 

[Ratchnick]

I have quail as well as ducks. Quail chicks are adorable. They would fit just right in your yard. If you keep only one male they are almost completely silent. Plus you wont have water issues.

 

[KaleIAm]

Thanks for the tag @JustAChickenLoverOverHere

I think you can fit 2 ducks in that space, but I would make it three in case something happens to one of the ducks. I would get all females to avoid overmating issues.

Regarding water, I keep a very large dog water dish for my ducks to splash and play in. It is about 4 gallons. I agree that a kid pool will just make your yard a muddy mucky mess, especially with all the rainy days we get. We have 5 acres so my ducks also have a pool and a pond, but in their aviary when I can't pipe the water far away they just just get a bowl to play in. They also get a water bucket to drink from that they can't poop in.

I agree, calls will drive your neighbors bonkers. Just look up call ducks on YouTube. My own ducks even shout quack all day long. Only muscovies are guaranteed not to be loud and there are a few for adoption at local rescues.

We do have predators in Seattle. Even during the day racoons will happily climb over your fence and take your ducks. That's another thing to think about.

 

[SolarDuck]

If you want to get ducks on a plot like that, the only logical option is Muscovy. All female mallard-derived ducks will quack loudly, while Muscovy have more of a chirp that is very quiet and will not bother your neighbors. Make sure you only get females as you do not have enough space for enough ducks to get a proper male to female ratio.
https://youtube.com/shorts/z_rh12VrPgA?feature=share
These are my Muscovy girls being as loud as they get.

 

[Ratchnick]

A few scovy hens would work!

 

[TeePants]

Thanks for the info everyone!

I don’t remember my Ancona being super loud (in comparison to the chickens) but it has been ages. In your collective opinions, would hens be quieter than ducks?

Like I said before, we want chickens or ducks for eggs (obviously we will still spend time with them, but we already have parrots, I don’t need to be bossed about by another bird who just poops on me and eats all the veg ), so Muscovy ducks wouldn’t work out, as if I recall they are awful layers. Aren’t they also rather large? I feel like they’d be pretty cramped. We used to have wild ones that lived near my old house, they ranged the whole neighborhood.

I was also definitely concerned about flooding the yard! It rains most of the year here so it’s usually pretty shot as it is.

edited to add: I had forgotten about quail! I know Japanese quail are prolific layers, but I don’t know anything about sexing them; I know they require significantly less space and are ground birds, but they can fly if startled. Closest thing I have ever tried to hatch compared to itty bitty quail was seramas.

 

[Isadora]

I have to agree. My Mallards love to scream lol! (its sounds like, " WACK WACK WACK WACK WACK WACK....!) They will repeat this at the top of they're lungs for a few minutes lol!

My ducks do this whenever anyone walks remotely near their fence. I think it translates to "There's the food bringer! Food! Food! Food!"