Quiet duck breeds?

[Fluffles1]

Alrighty... We were looking to purchase ducks, but we live in a close neighborhood in Maine, which can be very brutal in the winters. We need a quiet, hardy duck that isn't skittish. Anything helps, thanks!

 

[quackingdom]

Muscovies are pretty much the only breed that is really quiet. All the other breeds quack a lot, except for the males. They are hardy, but they are better suited for tropical climates – they can get frostbite in winter. However, I don't live where it snows, so I have no experience with preventing frostbite. They aren't skittish if you tame them well.

The noisiest breed is probably the Call duck.

 

[Fluffles1]

Thanks... I've heard Cayugas and Welsh Harlequins are quiet and calm, but hard to find. I fell in love with Cayugas (the green sheen!) and Harlequins are just adorable... I also looked into Blue Swedish but heard they could be kind of loud...

 

[quackingdom]

Cayugas and WHs might well be quieter than other breeds, and they would probably suit you fine! But they'll all quack. I consider any quacking a lot of noise.

 

[Fluffles1]

Great... Thanks!

 

[needlessjunk]

Ducks are such individuals. My Cayuga is a non stop talker and for the last 2 weeks has not shut up! I was waiting for my neighbors to complain but now she has calmed back down and is her normal talkitave self but isn't super loud. My WH is on the quieter side. My runners were very, very loud as teenagers and would sounds off for any reason. I found that all my ducks were very loud from 12-20 weeks. Then they all settled down and aren't usually loud. I live in a subdivision and I'm on good terms with my neighbors. I have a WH, blue runner, fawn and white runner, white layer and Cayuga. I also have 3 chickens and the ducks are by far louder.

 

[seashoreduck]

My welsh harlequin males--atleast 2 of the 4 were obnoxiously vocal

My females are buff, black swedish, cayuga and 2 welsh harlequins. None of them are really loud unless they want food, maybe the buff? My crested peaking male is really quiet. I don't think he ever makes a peep.

But others are right, it's all personality. I had 3 ducks at the place before this and one of the males was soooo noisy as well as the female. The other male was quiet.

 

[Lozuufy]

I have 8 young girl Welsh Harlequins and 2 boys (plus 1 boy Khaki Campbell), they are usually pretty quiet but if they see something interesting the girls will quack pretty loud. They can also be pretty loud in the morning when they want to be let out of the coop. But they are very cute.

 

[TLWR]

My runners were loud mouths for the first year or so.
My welsh harlequin hardly ever makes a peep.

 

[jducour]

I don't think you can count on breed characteristics for any behavior. For example - runners are usually skittish, but my male runner is so calm and tame. I had a cayuga, and the breed characteristic is calm and quiet, and he was the biggest spaz in the bunch. He would panic and run around, and he was raised exactly the same as all the others. Right now I have 3 runners, two Welsh Harlequins, and a Khaki Campbell. I think they are all mostly quiet. Sometimes one of the runners will honk all day, and I have no idea why. The Welsh Harlequins are usually quiet, but will have their noisy days as well. I adopted all of these females as adults, so I don't know if they were noisier as adolescents. I think every duck is beautiful, and I think their personalities depend a lot on how they were raised, and the environment they live in.