Noisy Runner Duck

[Tretinker]

This was meant to be a question about do teenage runner girls quieten down and instead a vent. I hope it's okay, you can all ignore but I need to get it off my chest.

We have the most beautiful runner ducks with the sweetest characters but one of the girls is very loud when she sees us she honks her head off excitedly.

We have their door set for them to come out at 7:30am and they have a little quack with the excitement.

Custard then as I say quacks when she sees us and I work from home. I have a medical condition that means I need to take regular breaks from my desk and so I love to go and visit the ducks and chickens so around once an hour from 8am.

On Sunday my neighbour saw me and started to complain about the ducks annoying is menopausal wife and could we let them out later like 11am or later! Umm no, the wife then comes charging out yelling that she's not closing her windows (I hadn't suggested she should!) And how the noise was getting to her that she can't hear on the phone etc. Her house is the same distance as ours from them and I have great hearing but custard really isn't that loud! She kept ranting as I tried to explain it's just one and she's a teenager we hope will settle down, the neighbour is yelling at me that it sounds like the duck is mocking her (to be fair it does!). She says she has to sleep during the day because she's menopausal and can't sleep at night, she doesn't seem to do much which of course means she's now hyper focused on the duck!

Now I'm avoiding going in the garden. Charlie our rooster has been good so far but he's banished to the garage till 8am now and he hasn't been a loud boy it's Custard that is her main issue so I'm only going once # day to collect eggs.

I'm so sad and it's only been two days. Custard is loud I don't deny it but she's saying it's constant, it isn't. We've been keeping a record and she has quacked 3 times without seeing us and has quacked about 5 times when she's caught sight of me. This is in two days and it's a couple of quacks lasting less than a minute.

I'm so upset, I don't want to make someone's life difficult but at the same time I've worked nights and I wouldn't have dreamed of expecting my neighbours to adapt their lives because I had to sleep in the day. I wore eat plugs and an eye mask. I miss my babies though especially as now it's deal so earlier they are in bed before I finish work. I'm not even sure if we are going to be able to enjoy are garden again, I am not someone that can brush it off, I feel like they are watching me when I go outside.

We've only been her a year but I want to move, this neighbours is not a nice person and her husband is super weird. She says she sleeps in the day but runs a doggy day care, what do the dogs she takes care of do...it's so strange.

Is there any hope that custard will settle down as she gets older?

They don't like us having the chickens and ducks so I think she's going to find whatever she can to complain about them. I've tried giving her eggs. She's a beige person (I used to say vanilla but my husband says this is too good) and I'm just sad we finally have the land big enough to do chickens like I've always wanted but now our neighbour is horrible. We had wonder neighbours before but the garden was about 20ft, not nearly big enough but those neighbours would not have fussed at all menopausal or not they just weren't those types of people.

 

[ruthhope]

This was meant to be a question about do teenage runner girls quieten down and instead a vent. I hope it's okay, you can all ignore but I need to get it off my chest.

We have the most beautiful runner ducks with the sweetest characters but one of the girls is very loud when she sees us she honks her head off excitedly.

We have their door set for them to come out at 7:30am and they have a little quack with the excitement.

Custard then as I say quacks when she sees us and I work from home. I have a medical condition that means I need to take regular breaks from my desk and so I love to go and visit the ducks and chickens so around once an hour from 8am.

On Sunday my neighbour saw me and started to complain about the ducks annoying is menopausal wife and could we let them out later like 11am or later! Umm no, the wife then comes charging out yelling that she's not closing her windows (I hadn't suggested she should!) And how the noise was getting to her that she can't hear on the phone etc. Her house is the same distance as ours from them and I have great hearing but custard really isn't that loud! She kept ranting as I tried to explain it's just one and she's a teenager we hope will settle down, the neighbour is yelling at me that it sounds like the duck is mocking her (to be fair it does!). She says she has to sleep during the day because she's menopausal and can't sleep at night, she doesn't seem to do much which of course means she's now hyper focused on the duck!

Now I'm avoiding going in the garden. Charlie our rooster has been good so far but he's banished to the garage till 8am now and he hasn't been a loud boy it's Custard that is her main issue so I'm only going once # day to collect eggs.

I'm so sad and it's only been two days. Custard is loud I don't deny it but she's saying it's constant, it isn't. We've been keeping a record and she has quacked 3 times without seeing us and has quacked about 5 times when she's caught sight of me. This is in two days and it's a couple of quacks lasting less than a minute.

I'm so upset, I don't want to make someone's life difficult but at the same time I've worked nights and I wouldn't have dreamed of expecting my neighbours to adapt their lives because I had to sleep in the day. I wore eat plugs and an eye mask. I miss my babies though especially as now it's deal so earlier they are in bed before I finish work. I'm not even sure if we are going to be able to enjoy are garden again, I am not someone that can brush it off, I feel like they are watching me when I go outside.

We've only been her a year but I want to move, this neighbours is not a nice person and her husband is super weird. She says she sleeps in the day but runs a doggy day care, what do the dogs she takes care of do...it's so strange.

Is there any hope that custard will settle down as she gets older?

They don't like us having the chickens and ducks so I think she's going to find whatever she can to complain about them. I've tried giving her eggs. She's a beige person (I used to say vanilla but my husband says this is too good) and I'm just sad we finally have the land big enough to do chickens like I've always wanted but now our neighbour is horrible. We had wonder neighbours before but the garden was about 20ft, not nearly big enough but those neighbours would not have fussed at all menopausal or not they just weren't those types of people.

So sad that you are having this neighbour problem. As I expect you know, it is not your duck that is the issue. You have a neighbour with problems, and she has just latched onto your loud duck because she can. You cannot expect your noisy girl to quieten down -- my son has the noisiest little pekin female in the world. She is no quieter this year than last. She makes more noise than you describe your duck doing and sometimes awakens in the night and shouts -- because she can.

In the USA, in many urban/suburban communities ducks are banned and I suspet it is becuase of the noise. In my own neighbourhood, we can get permits for upto 5 hen chickens but no roosters, and no ducks. My ducks are under the radar -- which is OK because they are drakes, and much quieter than females.

My son also lives in a no ducks no rooster community. He had to rehome a ferral rooster that moved into his back garden because the rooster was disturbing his neighbour's sleep -- even when housed in a coop that restricted him from extending his neck, in the dark in my son's shed. That rooster had already developed the habit of crowing at 5am and nothing was going to stop him!!

My son's very noisy female pekin doesn't disturb the neighbour, even when the duck wakes at night and shouts loudly. Duck shouting doesn't seem to be as annoying to people as roosters cockadoodledooing.

Once your neighbour has latched onto your noisy duck as a problem to her, she is going to have her annoyance reinforced everytime she hears your duck shouting. Only your neighbour can address that. She might try noise cancelling headphones, or a white noise player or even ear plugs. I wonder if you can, kindly, makes these suggestions to her?

Perhaps open the conversation by acknowledging that your neighbour is getting frustrated by having her sleep disturbed and asking if you can try and work with her to reduce the sleep disturbance. You might find that if you can get her talking about her problem -- her issues underlying the need to complain -- that she will have the wind taken out of her sails. Of course, you might have to listen to hours of self-absorbed moaning and you might have to do so regularly "just checking in" on how she is getting on. If you get her to talk, rather than shout her complaints about your duck, you might be able to offer to give her some decent earplugs. Noise cancelling headphones and white noise players are rather expensive if bought new, but perhaps you can find second hand ones -- certainly of a white noise player -- on line or in a charity shop.

Sending sincerest sympathies and cyber hugs

 

[Tretinker]

@ruthhope thank you so much for your reply

Yes I suspect Custard isn't the true problem, yes she might be a little annoying but to this obsessed degree no there's more to it or she's more shallow than I thought.

She was deranged when she was yelling at me 'QUACK, QUACK, QUACK' I really hope the menopause doesn't last long...

Her windows were closed yesterday for the first time, I am hope that means the hot flushes have passed.

I wonder how the US laws about ducks and Chickens came about. I feel like there were a bunch of husbands (that just happened to be in law or politics or both!) exhausted at their menopausal wives raging that they decided to make these rules to make their lives more peaceful!

To all the menopausal women, I know it's not your fault and I will be there sooner than I care to think but there are a large group that suffer badly and unfortunately people around them sometimes suffer too. My mum was evil though she'll say she wasn't my good friend is menopausal and she throws the windows opening apologising that we are going to freeze to death because she feels like she my combust (I'm okay with that can't be helped just put another layer on) she'll bite your head off for things she wouldn't dream of before but I know it's not her really she's a sweetheart and we'll ride it out with her but it's just the way it goes.

They don't like us as it is because we have moved to an affluent are and aren't that type. We got chickens and then ducks and have completely freaked them all out! There used to be a TV show in the UK called the Good Life and this neighbour said you are like Barbara and I feel like Margot this comparison couldn't be more accurate! https://www.google.com/search?q=the...ndroid-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Thank you @ruthhope I will try because Custard is not going.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I am so far very lucky my neighbours are all fine with my ducks
But the birds around the neighbourhood make more noise then my ducks do
I have 11 girls and 6 of them are very loud and get each other going for short periods of time. Usually when they see me too
My other 5 girls are quiet and hardly ever make any noise other then when they are laying an egg
I would say the neighbour is the problem and you should not have to cut your time short enjoying your babies

 

[Aunt Angus]

You really are so kind! In my area, I can literally have as many birds as I want, and no one can complain. If it were my neighbor, I'd ignore them because the law is on my side. If the law is in your side, you can ignore your Margot neighbor (Good Life is one of my fave TV shows ever - just rewatched the whole series a few weeks ago - haha!). Remember that Margot came around eventually!

But @ruthhope offers kinder advice. I suggest starting there. Free eggs might help win her over, too.

I am post menopausal. Menopause was one if the best things that ever happened to me, and I am the happiest ever. Your neighbor sounds kind of... delicate if hot flashes and restless sleep are causing her to become such an awful neighbor. Just sayin'... Her hormones will level out in time. You could always name a duck after her or make her some homemade wine.

 

[ruthhope]

@ruthhope thank you so much for your reply

Yes I suspect Custard isn't the true problem, yes she might be a little annoying but to this obsessed degree no there's more to it or she's more shallow than I thought.

She was deranged when she was yelling at me 'QUACK, QUACK, QUACK' I really hope the menopause doesn't last long...

Her windows were closed yesterday for the first time, I am hope that means the hot flushes have passed.

I wonder how the US laws about ducks and Chickens came about. I feel like there were a bunch of husbands (that just happened to be in law or politics or both!) exhausted at their menopausal wives raging that they decided to make these rules to make their lives more peaceful!

To all the menopausal women, I know it's not your fault and I will be there sooner than I care to think but there are a large group that suffer badly and unfortunately people around them sometimes suffer too. My mum was evil though she'll say she wasn't my good friend is menopausal and she throws the windows opening apologising that we are going to freeze to death because she feels like she my combust (I'm okay with that can't be helped just put another layer on) she'll bite your head off for things she wouldn't dream of before but I know it's not her really she's a sweetheart and we'll ride it out with her but it's just the way it goes.

They don't like us as it is because we have moved to an affluent are and aren't that type. We got chickens and then ducks and have completely freaked them all out! There used to be a TV show in the UK called the Good Life and this neighbour said you are like Barbara and I feel like Margot this comparison couldn't be more accurate! https://www.google.com/search?q=the...ndroid-google&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Thank you @ruthhope I will try because Custard is not going.

I remember The Good Life with Felicity Kendall and Penelope Keith!! It was fun and Margo was a complete snob. Good luck with your Margo!!

 

[BelovedBirds]

This was meant to be a question about do teenage runner girls quieten down and instead a vent. I hope it's okay, you can all ignore but I need to get it off my chest.

We have the most beautiful runner ducks with the sweetest characters but one of the girls is very loud when she sees us she honks her head off excitedly.

We have their door set for them to come out at 7:30am and they have a little quack with the excitement.

Custard then as I say quacks when she sees us and I work from home. I have a medical condition that means I need to take regular breaks from my desk and so I love to go and visit the ducks and chickens so around once an hour from 8am.

On Sunday my neighbour saw me and started to complain about the ducks annoying is menopausal wife and could we let them out later like 11am or later! Umm no, the wife then comes charging out yelling that she's not closing her windows (I hadn't suggested she should!) And how the noise was getting to her that she can't hear on the phone etc. Her house is the same distance as ours from them and I have great hearing but custard really isn't that loud! She kept ranting as I tried to explain it's just one and she's a teenager we hope will settle down, the neighbour is yelling at me that it sounds like the duck is mocking her (to be fair it does!). She says she has to sleep during the day because she's menopausal and can't sleep at night, she doesn't seem to do much which of course means she's now hyper focused on the duck!

Now I'm avoiding going in the garden. Charlie our rooster has been good so far but he's banished to the garage till 8am now and he hasn't been a loud boy it's Custard that is her main issue so I'm only going once # day to collect eggs.

I'm so sad and it's only been two days. Custard is loud I don't deny it but she's saying it's constant, it isn't. We've been keeping a record and she has quacked 3 times without seeing us and has quacked about 5 times when she's caught sight of me. This is in two days and it's a couple of quacks lasting less than a minute.

I'm so upset, I don't want to make someone's life difficult but at the same time I've worked nights and I wouldn't have dreamed of expecting my neighbours to adapt their lives because I had to sleep in the day. I wore eat plugs and an eye mask. I miss my babies though especially as now it's deal so earlier they are in bed before I finish work. I'm not even sure if we are going to be able to enjoy are garden again, I am not someone that can brush it off, I feel like they are watching me when I go outside.

We've only been her a year but I want to move, this neighbours is not a nice person and her husband is super weird. She says she sleeps in the day but runs a doggy day care, what do the dogs she takes care of do...it's so strange.

Is there any hope that custard will settle down as she gets older?

They don't like us having the chickens and ducks so I think she's going to find whatever she can to complain about them. I've tried giving her eggs. She's a beige person (I used to say vanilla but my husband says this is too good) and I'm just sad we finally have the land big enough to do chickens like I've always wanted but now our neighbour is horrible. We had wonder neighbours before but the garden was about 20ft, not nearly big enough but those neighbours would not have fussed at all menopausal or not they just weren't those types of people.

Sounds like my aunt.



I agree with the others, and I don't think your duck is the problem. I'm sure the menopause is extremely unpleasant, and that sucks-- but theres nothing justified about taking it out on your neighbour and their pet.
I mean what if you have kids that play in the garden and laugh and make noise? Rehome the kids? Because your neighbour wants to sleep during the day?
If the noise isnt constant, I think your neighbour is simply unfair. Even if she needs to sleep during the day, that doesnt mean the world is going to suddenly decide to be quiet for her. The rest of us aren't sleeping during the day just because she is.

Maybe I sound unfair, I dont know. But to me, yelling at your neighbour and being that level of awful over a temporary problem, of which isn't their fault. Really bad move. By the time she's feeling better, she'll have tension with you that she cant take back.

The fact that you've tried being nice with them and even offer her eggs etc- really shows your character. I sure hope she calms down soon. (the neighbour, I mean)

 

[BelovedBirds]

I am so far very lucky my neighbours are all fine with my ducks
But the birds around the neighbourhood make more noise then my ducks do
I have 11 girls and 6 of them are very loud and get each other going for short periods of time. Usually when they see me too
My other 5 girls are quiet and hardly ever make any noise other then when they are laying an egg
I would say the neighbour is the problem and you should not have to cut your time short enjoying your babies

Same here! My neighbours only very recently realised we had ducks. And that was because Dougie was broody at the time and yelling at everything constantly.

No complaints though, even then.
She's calmed down now thankfully.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

While menopause can cause someone to be uncomfortable it doesn't cause them to completely lose their marbles. This woman was always a nut and a miserable soul. If ducks are perfectly legal where you are at I would do the following:

1. Go to Sam's club and pick up some Night Owl security cameras.

2. Document every time you hear one of her doggy daycare dogs bark.

3. Document every confrontation in a word document. Date, time and what was said. Make sure you include her comments such as her feeling like the ducks are mocking her. If she takes legal documented comments like that will reflect on her mental state.

4. Post your property as private and if she or her husband crosses the property line call the cops.

 

[Tretinker]

Thank you all so much!

I was really worried I was being completely unreasonable thinking she was suffering and I'm making it worse.

I work from home so I have my windows open to listen out for them.

They have quacked 7 times today no more than a couple of quacks each time but the crows, magpies and seagulls have been significantly louder!

I have PTSD from being stalked for 7 years and I struggle with this kind of thing and feeling like I'm being watched by her when I'm in the garden.

I will definitely make a note of any interactions with her from here on out.

Thank you so much all of you xx