jason_loxton
Hatching
- Sep 6, 2019
- 1
- 3
- 4
We've got runner ducks. Raised from eggs. They're now about 3 months old. 5 ducks, 4 drakes (drakes are going soon, but my partner can't bear to part with them yet.) They are still in a temporary enclosure on porch while we finish off their proper coop and run. It's about 8'x3'. It's definitely a bit crowded, which could be part of the problem, but it's hosed down daily, with a separate bedding area (shavings), little bath, etc.
At least three of the ducks have developed a worsening habit of screaming in the morning. And I mean a full open mouthed, SCREAM (MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH!!!). They start at about sunrise (around 6:20 am). That gets me up, and I change out their wading pool, change they bedding etc. They used to sort of calm down then, but now they continue periodically screaming for a couple of hours after. They are mostly quiet through the afternoon and don't make any noise at night, but the screaming in the first few hours of the days is getting so bad that if it doesn't not ease up, we'll have to get rid of them (we're in an urban setting in Canada, and the neighbors have not complained so far, but they have to be angry).
Anyone comment on this behaviour? Is it something they are likely to grow out of? Or something that likely related to the lack of space? Or is this just a breed/individual thing that we're stuck with? (My partner is convinced they're talking to the crows, who do sometimes crow at the same time, but the correlation is pretty tenuous.)
At least three of the ducks have developed a worsening habit of screaming in the morning. And I mean a full open mouthed, SCREAM (MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH, MAH!!!). They start at about sunrise (around 6:20 am). That gets me up, and I change out their wading pool, change they bedding etc. They used to sort of calm down then, but now they continue periodically screaming for a couple of hours after. They are mostly quiet through the afternoon and don't make any noise at night, but the screaming in the first few hours of the days is getting so bad that if it doesn't not ease up, we'll have to get rid of them (we're in an urban setting in Canada, and the neighbors have not complained so far, but they have to be angry).
Anyone comment on this behaviour? Is it something they are likely to grow out of? Or something that likely related to the lack of space? Or is this just a breed/individual thing that we're stuck with? (My partner is convinced they're talking to the crows, who do sometimes crow at the same time, but the correlation is pretty tenuous.)