Need your help for duck bylaw please! :D

[Binki]

Hello!

Long story short - we have a coop, looking for chickens, want ducks but called the city and they said no ducks allowed - well in fact, nobody has ever called and asked before, they said!!

He said that years ago chicken lovers convinced the city to allow up to ten hens in urban backyards and that I could do something similar to ask them to allow ducks!!!!!!!!!....!!!!!!

The first step is writing the city outlining what bylaw changes you would like and I will include all of the great things about ducks like their eggs (which are healthier and larger I believe?) as well as what breeds might be best or how quiet or loud they are or if they should require you to have a pond or duck pool on your property, etc?

No roosters allowed here because of noise and your chicken coops have to be a certain length away from your neighbours. So unless the ducks are as loud as roosters, there shouldn't be a problem???

They actually say they hardly have any complaints about chickens and that when they do it's usually the smell from someone who isn't keeping up with them.

Looking forward to your info and advice on how to bring ducks to Niagara Falls, Ontario!!!

 

[Amiga]

My first thought is there is a L.O.R.E. section here somewhere…. Local Ordinance something . . . .

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/37/local-chicken-laws-ordinances-and-how-to-change-them

this might help?

Glad you are given the opportunity! I will say that ducks here have greatly reduced the slug population, they eat grubs and other garden pests, and weeds, and while they can make some noise, my neighbors say they are quiet until they hear my car approaching. Mine call out when the food bowl is too close to empty, too.

And drakes are really quiet.

 

[needlessjunk]

Have you actually read the city ordnance? That would be a good place to start. My just says fowl not chickens. So depending on how it is written would depend on what is actually allowed.

My ducks can be loud. One of my neighbors has said something but he didn't have a problem with them. I noticed when they were between 10-20 weeks old they would just yell all day and I was getting worried that they were too loud for being in the suburbs. After they started to lay they have chilled way down but one is rather vocal and talk whenever we go outside. I do give eggs to my neighbors so that helps keep the peace. Compared to my chickens though the ducks are loud, but a rooster has them beat hands down.

 

[Binki]

Thank you both

Good information and suggestions, yes I have read and spoke to bylaw and they don't have anything one way or another regarding other backyard poultry so I'm researching all of them and seeing if any species/breeds are suitable for city life following along the already accepted chicken by laws such as noise and distance coop is from neighbours, etcetera and hopefully that will sway them, the bylaw man at city hall that I spoke to suggested I try

I'm thinking drakes are good for flock protection and are quiet, I have some questions though if some people could give their experiences

- are there any kinds of ducks, male or female, that are known to be especially aggressive or especially calm?

- would a drake of any breed be okay with living with several hens or would he need at least one female? If so, would he stress out the female?

- I know the Muscovey is considered the quietest duck, are there any that are much louder than chicken hens? I don't want to suggest a breed that would be complained about

- I'm really new and was wondering if ducks have any particular odor worse than chicken poo? Lol smell is one of the few complaints for chicken bylaws.

- would female ducks of any kind be able to be happy and quietish without a male?

Thanks and I really appreciate your help because I am not experienced and want to present the city am informative and honest presentation of the pros and cons of the different kinds of backyard poultry

 

[seashoreduck]

Don't focus on breed too much--or you'll lock everyone into Muscovies or other ducks known to be quiet. Honestly, my ducks aren't as noisy as my neighbor's hens when they laid their eggs. I swear they were as loud as roosters. Even Muscovies can be loud. I have had mallards (LOUD when they wanted food, even the males) Welsh harlequins (decent) Crested peking male (you would never know he's there) black swedish (LOUD) cayuga (occasionally riots but mostly quiet and timid) and Buff (LOUD!!!!!!!). My buff, as the other poster stated above, certainly went through an EXTRA LOUD phaze between 10-20 weeks. She wanted the world to know she existed.

However, now that my ducks are used to being outdoors they yap a bit in the morning, they yap around 7 when I need to feed them, they yap if a big desil truck or other disturbance happens and they yap around 5 for dinner or if I am doing something they feel is inappropriate. They also go absolutely ballistic when I yell for my dog to come in, but then again, I'm yelling for my dog so my neighbors would also need to complain about that.

I have 10--and am near a nature preserve and a major highway--so animal noise as well human noise happens.

If you do choose to go down the breed route, I'd encourage you to "ban" breeds that appear like the natural wildlife in the area--mallard, rouen, wood in most of north America. This will prevent people from accidentally being irresponsible.

Ducks are notoriously hard to sex as babies--most feed stores, including Tractor supply, do not do this. So gender limitations can be silly. Also you can have one aggressive male who needs to have 10 females and no other males, or you can have the odd situation where two males just happily get along with a female. I've seen both. It's not fair to create laws that may cause more problems.

You should check ordances for area towns...its will be much simpler to copy some of their rules. In my area it's a 1/2 acre minimum for no more than 2 and they must be penned in a secure pen with a top, bottom and sides and at 2 acres min you must be more than 20ft from a neighbor and can have as many as you want, fenced. 3+ acres and above there are no real rules and true free-ranging is allowed

Odor---my ducks have no smell, and if their pond (an inground baby pool) starts to smell I clean it. To me, chicken coops always were kind of smelly...then again I am on 3 acres and my ducks free-range. Right now they live in an area thats about 10 yards by 10 yards, wooded and come out to free range for ticks.

Speaking of ponds....for the sake of animal protection ducks need water, if you're going to write a law, write a good one. Ducks NEED water up to their nares to live and ducks are waterfowl...they should be able to have something to swim in.

I would also think that other limits like flightless ducks (metzer highlights these) would be beneficial to protect natural wildlife.

 

[Amiga]

Wow, drafting laws - I have come across so many that are so poorly worded. And I learned, taking an environmental law class that it is not the intent of the law that matters - it is the technical details.

seashore duck makes some very good points. Thinking about it, though, I would not have a restriction on breed of domestic duck. Rather than say "flightless breeds," I would write that the ducks would be kept in such a way that they do not leave the premises. That could be an aviary with netting, flightless domestic ducks, a day pen like mine with fence across the top, wing clipping . . . . let people choose which responsible management method suits them.

As for odors, I would not want anything really draconian, and this is a real sticky one - some folks gag when they smell dirty socks. Some barely notice. Sense of smell is so subjective . . . at the same time, a well managed duck pen only occasionally has any aroma other than earthy.

What would be really dandy is for the municipality to have a brochure on good waterfowl husbandry practices, available for a nominal charge.

Back to your questions - ducks are like other domestic animals - treated well, aggressiveness is generally not an issue. Some will tell you Runners are skittery. Not in my experience.

I would hesitate to dictate how many drakes, how many female ducks. What if someone hatches several ducklings, and then it takes a while to rehome the drakes? I try to imagine what if the town hired a real piece of work to enforce this ordinance? I would not want anything in there that would give a mean-spirited person (or neighbor) any ammunition to make a person (who is trying their best) miserable.

Chattiness depends on the individual duck, the particular flock. Mine tend to chatter more when they are hungry, but they will answer crows and jays when they are mobbing. My ducks also greet visitors.

Ducks need water, and if the water is not managed well, there can be some swampy odors. This is resolved by having the duck pen on about a 2% slope, draining into a channel that leads to a garden or mulch pile, ideally. There are a number of materials that work well to keep a pen in decent shape.

My Runners' motto is, "A duck needs a drake like a fish needs a bicycle."

 

[Binki]

Seashoreduck - great response and some really good points, I have "should ducks have access to some sort of water" in my bylaw notes, I knew they go hand in hand but now it's a justified reason to get that pond I've wanted lol and excellent suggestion to look up and maybe go by neighbouring bylaws, I have been reading on some about chickens and the main concerns like disease and noise, thanks for letting me know the breeds and that all of them CAN be loud especially at certain times - louder than chickens at times but quieter as well.

Amiga - super points as well! Great tips about the water source smell, I was thinking of getting a pond filter and I do have experience with natural aquariums and aquascaping (yes that's a real thing LOL) so I would have as much fun making a beautiful pond for them with plants as they would have splashing around in it !

Interesting about how ducks are so individual when it comes to their needs of companionship, I had no idea

Yes the wording will have to be exact to protect the birds, the caregivers and the city as well as limit potential issues, I won't attempt it without being comfortable with all of the aspects so I can present a solid case where I have a valid argument for every point

Okay so I'm at:

- ducks must have water (recommended minimum size?)

- do not necessarily require male/female combos

- are comparable to chicken noise at similar provocation like hunger, owner, scared/lost, etc.

- have an odor comparable to chickens

- can be contained to the yard like chickens using same methods

- males should be allowed because they are actually quieter than the females, and nowhere near the level of a rooster

- some breeds are just as good of layers as chickens

- size is comparable to that of roaster chicken

- taller sizes and especially males help provide daytime predator deterrent/protection?

- ducks can be herded around whereas chickens tend to scatter more

- ducks don't have as "springy" legs as chickens making them less likely to get over low barriers with or without annual wing clippings

- fertilizer (is it easier to pick up than chicken poop? Is it like mini dog poop? Lol!)

- ducks are better than chickens at natural pest control for ticks, slugs, snails, japanese beetle larvae, Mosquitos and their larvae, etc.

- ducks even eat some rodents and their young like mice

Duck and chicken egg comparison -

Duck eggs have more nutrition and energy and have been said to taste better and be better for things like baking because they make the cake rise higher, lol

They are also larger than chicken eggs and people with chicken egg allergies are often able to consume duck eggs which can be cooked/baked without hardly a difference.

Other than the pond requirement, what are other cons of ducks?

 

[Amiga]

Hmmm - quick thought on size - size ranges from Calls (1.5 pounds or so) to Muscovies (more like, 10 to 15 pounds, if I recall). I think range of size might be a better way to express it than average.

For example, if someone has 5 Calls, that's much less body mass than 5 Muscovies…… And recommended shelter area depends on the number - and size - of the ducks.

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I don't think the drakes provide that much predator protection - often I have read that they die trying to protect the others. So they may buy the other ducks some time to escape, but . . . it's more of a sacrificial role when it comes to predators.

Again, egg sizes vary. My Runner eggs are about the size of jumbo chicken eggs.

…..

Ponds are not required for ducks (did I misread that last part?) - but enough decent water to bathe in is a need for optimal health.