Ducks in a small urban garden?

[Weeg]

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.

Chickens sing the egg song. That, is loud. Muscovy do only about 100-180 eggs a year, so they wont be sufficient egg layers. Any poultry will be somewhat loud, that is expected. If you want something quite, Quail would be a good option. They are little so you could fit more in there, they are adorable and wont be as hard on the ground because of their light weight.
They lay around 300 eggs a year, (according to google) so that may be a good option for you.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

My Khakis do make noise but so do my neighbors chickens. I have one Welsh Harlequin who likes to hear herself quack and is much louder than my Khakis. I have not had Call ducks or Muscovy but I thought Call ducks were originally bred to quack a lot and “call” the wild ducks to the pond for the hunters?! A friend calls them “Judas ducks”. And, I thought Muscovies are more tropical and less cold hardy?! I would get 3 Khakis, as already suggested. I would use a horse food dish (availability at feed stores) which only holds 3-4 gallons of water. Use the spent water in your raised beds. Ducks love rain and mud and will thrive in your climate. My ducks live in my garden with my raised beds. I fence off the beds when the plants are small and vulnerable. I have 4 pools for 6 ducks, two are larger, a water trough and a plastic pond liner 30-60 gallons. Two are small, 4-7 gallon horse feed dishes. My ducks spend way more time in the two small small dishes.

 

[Ratchnick]

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.

You can get feather sexable quail, also they are easy to vent sex (much easier then other poultry) they come in lots of nice colors or the jumbo varieties lay larger eggs. The eggs are great for pickling salads scrambled or just about any way you would use a chicken egg. You can build a hutch or a ground pen for them. I have a moveable ground pen that i set on my raised beds during the fall and winter. In addition you can sell the eggs and chicks easily enough to pay for your feed. 1 sqft per quail is the gold standard for spacing, a set of about 10 will give you as many eggs as you can possibly use.

 

[Ratchnick]

Here is some good quail info.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpKHTa21ardbnttZUZwKqMd2gKu-y_Yf9

 

[TeePants]

Thanks! Wow, I didn’t know what those buckets were called, we have one we use to throw the kids toys in (got it from a second hand store LOL). We used a big Rubbermaid tub when we had ducks and emptied it at the end of the day into the tomatoes and primroses - those flowers bloomed AGES thanks to that.

I have floated the idea of quail as well to the kids and they are receptive, so I will have to poke around that sub forum as well and make a pros/cons list for each. Quail seem easier but they’re so short lived and I don’t want to break the kids hearts.

Ultimately we would like birds good for egg production, easy to handle for the kids (I am the primary caregiver but the 9 year old is “responsible” for cleaning etc, I should really look into local 4H programs) and not so loud that the neighbors will bemoan our existence. We do have pigeons living on the roof of all our houses so constant bird noise is already something we live with, haha.

 

[SolarDuck]

I would say yes that chickens will likely be quieter than ducks. Muscovy hens aren't big, just the drakes. Drakes are 10-15lb but all of my hens are 5 lbs. They aren't great for eggs but they lay more than I can eat. If your primary thing you want is eggs, probably chickens are the better bet.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

Thanks! Wow, I didn’t know what those buckets were called, we have one we use to throw the kids toys in (got it from a second hand store LOL). We used a big Rubbermaid tub when we had ducks and emptied it at the end of the day into the tomatoes and primroses - those flowers bloomed AGES thanks to that.

I have floated the idea of quail as well to the kids and they are receptive, so I will have to poke around that sub forum as well and make a pros/cons list for each. Quail seem easier but they’re so short lived and I don’t want to break the kids hearts.

Ultimately we would like birds good for egg production, easy to handle for the kids (I am the primary caregiver but the 9 year old is “responsible” for cleaning etc, I should really look into local 4H programs) and not so loud that the neighbors will bemoan our existence. We do have pigeons living on the roof of all our houses so constant bird noise is already something we live with, haha.

I think having a frank conversation with your kids beforehand could help, and if they live good lives and die of old age, it wouldn’t be too traumatic. It would also be a good way to test your backyard without committing to the potential 10+ year lifespan of ducks.

 

[TeePants]

I suppose another upside to quail is that we can keep the boys and if we want to continue with quail, incubate some of the eggs ourselves. Thanks everyone! I will go look into the quail sub forum. I love ducks but I agree that it might be tricky with the proximity of the neighboring houses and the wastewater issue.

Here is some good quail info.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpKHTa21ardbnttZUZwKqMd2gKu-y_Yf9

Wow, this answers literally all of my questions! This is awesome. I’ll give it a listen while working on some commission work today. I wonder if the parrots will get jealous; they live in my studio

 

[KaleIAm]

Thanks! Wow, I didn’t know what those buckets were called, we have one we use to throw the kids toys in (got it from a second hand store LOL). We used a big Rubbermaid tub when we had ducks and emptied it at the end of the day into the tomatoes and primroses - those flowers bloomed AGES thanks to that.

I have floated the idea of quail as well to the kids and they are receptive, so I will have to poke around that sub forum as well and make a pros/cons list for each. Quail seem easier but they’re so short lived and I don’t want to break the kids hearts.

Ultimately we would like birds good for egg production, easy to handle for the kids (I am the primary caregiver but the 9 year old is “responsible” for cleaning etc, I should really look into local 4H programs) and not so loud that the neighbors will bemoan our existence. We do have pigeons living on the roof of all our houses so constant bird noise is already something we live with, haha.

One more thing to remember is that while some ducks imprint on their owners and enjoy being handled, most don't. Mine are very friendly, follow me around, come when called, eat from my hands, ect. But they DO NOT want to be handled.

Most people report that their ducks are less friendly than mine.