My Pekin ducks are too loud!!!

[ThatOneFarmGirl786]

I recently got pekins in I believe march 2019 or April not sure. They are male and female and I raised them in my city home with plans to move them to my homestead but with predators there and my chickens too cramped, I don't want to stress them more. Since I have a male and female, my female is so loud and she wakes up my parents at 3 am. We got a letter in the male from the home association and I don't know what to do. We were going to expand the chicken cage last weekend but the weather wasn't good and we had no time. I can't wait to the weekend because my parents are on my tail about them. The mail has a lame leg so that's obviously a pain and the female is sooo loud. I have 3 options. Number 1:slaughter which I am definitely not doing. Well... Actually I have thought of it since the male has trouble walking but the female is perfectly fine so I definitely would slaughter her. Number 2 is take them to a nearby park but, considering that the male can't walk properly and the female is very sassy with other animals especially ducks AND they are domesticated AND depend on me to feed them,etc. AND the male needs the female by his side since they help each other out PLUS they've been together so we birth, not sure I can do that either. So, Number 3 is keep them quiet until hopefully this weekend when we build the cage and move the. With the chickens. I hope for this option but considering that everybody is on my tail about these ducks and today is Tuesday, not sure if it can last. I need tips to keep them quiet for another 3 days. We have feral cats and opposums in our area(they don't attack the ducks) that eat the duck food if we leave it out so we can't leave the food out. I noticed that the female screams when she's hungry then goes quiet. But she does scream when she sees me and runs up to me sometimes so I have no idea what to do. Pleeeese help. I definitely don't want to get rid of them but I don't know what to do.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Don't dump them in the park!!! - Not only is that a terrible faith for your ducks as they rely on you giving them food, they have no protection against predators and most important: Dumping domesticated birds in public parks is illegal and if you get caught you will be in real trouble.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Calm down and don't panic!
What does the letter of the HOA says? They must give you time to take action, they cannot ask you to remove the birds basap. Usually you have 7-10 days and by that time you should have finished the duck-house in your homestead - problem solved.
Don't be scared of HOA's! In most cases they are weak and unable to enforce things quickly.

 

[ThatOneFarmGirl786]

@WannaBeHillBilly I'm not sure what it says. My parents told me they sent a letter and my dad isn't home yet. Will be sure to ask him though. Definitely going to tell them that it's illegal to dump them at a park.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And assure your parents you are going to get them moved as quick as you can. My ducks are always so quiet at night I don’t understand why your female would be loud unless something is scaring her or she is stressed. You might try playing the radio on s station that plays soft music and see if that helps?

 

[Runner duck mom]

Our ducks went through a loud phase at that age too but it only lasted a month or so and then they just stopped. Our neighbors never complained but I was worried they would.
Just putting out a few ideas...
We never had any issues with our ducks overnight but If the neighbors have a lot of exterior lights on it could be disturbing the ducks and keeping them awake. Do you have a garage you could possibly put them in at night and set up a pen for them? It would help keep it dark and quiet for them as well.
Keeping our ducks busy during the day really helped too. A small tupperware container with mixed greens/ veggies filled with water and frozen gives them something to play with for many hours. Our ducks like cabbage too, cut a head into halves or quarters for them to work on, it should last a while.
Do they have a pool or tub of water to play in?
Just a few things that worked for us, ducks can be so loud when they are scared/ stressed/ bored.
I hope all works out well for you and your ducks

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good point! - My wife insisted that i should sell off the Spring Ducklings while they were teenagers (~3 months old), they were really loud - teenagers. By now, at over five months they are almost grown up and have somewhat calmed down.

 

[PirateGirl]

It sound like you have a plan to give them some space and move them this weekend. If you think that will work long term then you just gotta get through a few more days. I find my ducks are quieter at night when they are locked in their house and cannot see people or predators or cars and cannot play in their pool. Are there are there any small steps you can take each day that will help prepare for the weekend plan. Do everything you can in advance and this can help things go more smoothly plus you can show the association you are working on solving the problem.

 

[ThatOneFarmGirl786]

Wow. Thank you guys for all the ideas. Today, I left the food out where she could see it the whole day and she has been quiet. Im gonna turn off the side lights and put them in a darker area to sleep. I'll also make sure to leave her food out. She usually screams for food. If she starts screaming and she doesn't want food, I pick her up and put her back with the Drake.(she hates being picked up). Keeps her quiet for a while. The female(left) and the male (right)

 

[ThatOneFarmGirl786]

I usually leave them out. They don't have a coop or anything but tonight, I think I'm gonna try putting them in a little area that they can get out of if they want so they don't get stressed but it doesn't hurt to try and assign them a little designated bed area.