HELP!! My Neighbours have complained twice now!

[WVduckchick]

Oh my goodness, those ducks have it made!
Honestly, I would try to work with the neighbor, but if that's unsuccessful, I would rehome the offensive one and hope another doesn't follow suit. I'd hate to see all your time, money, effort, and love go to waste by losing them all!

Best of luck to you!

 

[Lacrystol]

@CALLDUCKS29

you have the WRONG breed of ducks. Calls ducks were breed to BRING in the larger ducks, they were ment to "CALL" them in. Therefore they are VERY noisy, if you are NOT allowed to have noisy animals where you are then you have the wrong kind of animals. I have 46 calls and YES, they are VERY noisy expecially the females.

Mealworms should be giving once an while not every morning..

There home is like a LUXURY place. LOL I bet the only reason why the neighbors are complaining is because you have more. You said you started out with just a pair and now you have 9 HUGE difference in the sound. With a pair, they are still noisy but it's not as bad but when you have 7 Females going at it at once, OMG, the noise has just increase tremelously.

I have nor will I ever rehome a duck by itself. I have always offered them in pairs. My personal opinion ducks do not do well by themselves, unless they have a LOT of attention. They seem to need that companion... I did the mistake of selling a baby call by himself and the person brought it back saying it won't eat. The poor thing was very lonely.. So I would never take the chance of separating them.

 

[CALLDUCKS29]

Thanks for the advice so far,

As mentioned in my previous post though having the ducklings was a total accident I trusted what the breeder told me (My Male was too old to fertilise the eggs so no chance of ducklings)

Obviously when I found eggs pipping out I wasn't going to just let them die that would be so cruel.

If I end up having to rehome any they will be re homed with a lovely gentlemen who is now 85 and has had ducks for 70 years. This man is the man I originally got my Pair from 10 years ago and still have the male going strong now.

He has Call ducks, Runners, Mscovies, Chickens you name it he's got them. and lucky for him he has no neighbours.

Even when I got 2 females after my original female died, I had these 2 for a year before the ducklings came along they quacked a little but never like the one female is quacking now and there was never alpha female between them. I am saying this because the female I have quacking now is one of the two that I bought when my original female died not one of the ducklings that was born this year.

The Female that is doing all the quacking is one of the mother ducks. The other 6 Females are quiet 90% of the day.

Just out of curiosity why should I only give a handful of mealworms every now and then rather than everyday?

Again Thank you to everyone for advice and suggestions so far.

Lauren from UK

 

[Ravynscroft]

To Add to my last post here are some photos of the duck house which I have spent a lot of money on and me and my partner have spent hours and hours expanding. The duck in the middle of the photo is the culprit (Alpha Duck) She is a Blue Fawn Call. )

Absolutely gorgeous setup!! Well done!! If you don't care about having eggs, if the noise continues to be an issue maybe you could try an all drake flock? I've had 4 boys get along just fine when there weren't any girls around them... just an idea since they're a lot quieter than the girls... Mealworms are pure protein... too much protein can cause angel wing/twisted wing and it's just not good for a balanced diet for them...

 

[CALLDUCKS29]

Thanks for the compliments re the set up, It has taken a long time to build, dig out for ponds etc.

Yes I have thought about having an all male flock.

I think that really will be my last choice though.

two really lovely girls re homed 3 drakes for me in august this year and the drakes now live on a farm about 40 mins drive away, when I'm in the area I do stop by to see them. The girls run a dog rescue charity but also gave chickens, pigs, goats etc.

If I can't think of a way to compromise with the neighbours then I have thought about asking the girls If I could have my boys back and them taking the girls.

I really don't want this to happen on a selfish note though because I would be so upset. You probably know yourself about the cheeky little characters ducks have. Ive gotten to know them and their ways now. I would miss them terribly.

Lauren from UK

 

[Bridebeliever]

Beautiful, lovely ducks and set up! I would wait until threatened to rehome my duck. Has the neighbor ever threatened? You did a fabulous job with their home! Lucky ducks!

 

[Lacrystol]

Thanks for the advice so far,

As mentioned in my previous post though having the ducklings was a total accident I trusted what the breeder told me (My Male was too old to fertilise the eggs so no chance of ducklings)

Obviously when I found eggs pipping out I wasn't going to just let them die that would be so cruel.

If I end up having to rehome any they will be re homed with a lovely gentlemen who is now 85 and has had ducks for 70 years. This man is the man I originally got my Pair from 10 years ago and still have the male going strong now.

He has Call ducks, Runners, Mscovies, Chickens you name it he's got them. and lucky for him he has no neighbours.

Even when I got 2 females after my original female died, I had these 2 for a year before the ducklings came along they quacked a little but never like the one female is quacking now and there was never alpha female between them. I am saying this because the female I have quacking now is one of the two that I bought when my original female died not one of the ducklings that was born this year.

The Female that is doing all the quacking is one of the mother ducks. The other 6 Females are quiet 90% of the day.

Just out of curiosity why should I only give a handful of mealworms every now and then rather than everyday?

Again Thank you to everyone for advice and suggestions so far.

Lauren from UK

Mealworms have a lot of protein in them, can and WILL cause angel wing. I know, when I hatched out some babies, I thought OMG, they need there protein, so every day I gave mine all you can eat meal worms, SURE enough, as there wings came in, BOOOM angel wing. ALL OF them had it. Although it's an easy to fix it will stop them from being able to fly if untreated..

Did she start her quacking once she became a mommy?

 

[CALLDUCKS29]

Oh right thanks, best kill the frequency I give the ducks mealworms then, don't want to cause that.

She has started the quacking since being a mum but she's only started this really in the past 3-4 Months, She didn't start it straight away.

The ducklings hatched in March but they were hand raised by us and they were only mixed in with the adults when they were about 6 weeks old.

Ducklings - now ducks have been living with the 'parents' since Late april

Mother duck started kicking off 3-4 months ago

Lauren from UK

 

[Lacrystol]

Oh right thanks, best kill the frequency I give the ducks mealworms then, don't want to cause that.

She has started the quacking since being a mum but she's only started this really in the past 3-4 Months, She didn't start it straight away.

The ducklings hatched in March but they were hand raised by us and they were only mixed in with the adults when they were about 6 weeks old.

Ducklings - now ducks have been living with the 'parents' since Late april

Mother duck started kicking off 3-4 months ago

Lauren from UK

You can give them some mealworms each week, that won't hurt them, keep in mind mealworms should be giving as a treat not as an every day meal.

I have seen Female ducks get VERY noisy when they have babies, it's a protective thing, letting everyone in the flock know, I"M in charge NOW don't mess with me or my kids.. So it could be a form of warning to all of them because as Ravyenfallen stated, she's in the domineering stage.. They don't usually grow out of it.. She's the QUEEN of the flock. LOL

but the noisiness will not go away, it won't surprise me if you were to get rid of her, another takes over.

 

[revans2003]

Oh right thanks, best kill the frequency I give the ducks mealworms then, don't want to cause that.

She has started the quacking since being a mum but she's only started this really in the past 3-4 Months, She didn't start it straight away.

The ducklings hatched in March but they were hand raised by us and they were only mixed in with the adults when they were about 6 weeks old.

Ducklings - now ducks have been living with the 'parents' since Late april

Mother duck started kicking off 3-4 months ago

Lauren from UK

So now that we have established the ducks are not going to get any quieter and you do not want to rehome them, it is time to sit down with your neighbor. Invite them over for a meal or at least a snack and discuss the situation with him/her. Find out what exactly is the problem and do not settle for "the ducks are noisy". Is there a specific time where its a huge problem? Does he/she have young children napping etc. Until you determine the exact, specific issue it will be difficult to determine a course of action. Share with the neighbor how important ducks are to you and how they are such a big part of your lives. Show them the duck run and all the effort that went into it. Make them see that they are integral to your happiness, otherwise you become "that" neighbor who has a flock of annoying ducks.

Invite the neighbor over and find out if there is something in particular that is driving him/her nuts and help her understand how much the ducks mean to you. Most of the time there is a root cause that is then covered up by "your animal is noisy".