Support Group for Abused Duck Keepers

[New duck mommy 2021]

I ordered one just now because of all of the flies outside the pen by our back door. My Ducks will love having them in their water.

You want to keep it lower like in my picture
People that have had it high haven’t had success
I clean the bait tray 24-48 hours
I have used feed that I got damp , duck or dog poo
My review with my video on how I empty it I’ll post the link
Many struggle on how to get the flies out but it’s really easy

 

[ruthhope]

My boys are really playing me up at the moment and this resulted in big drama in my backyard this evening. Daffy was unwell two weeks ago, and still has mouth breathing. But he has had 6 doses of antibiotics, and is eating and holding his own with the other muscovy. But he is no longer coming to me demanding attention, in fact he is avoiding me. I am sure its because he is angry that I am giving him the antibiotics as he consented to being cuddled by our roommate this evening. Before he was ill, Daffy used to follow me around and at bed time follow me down to the shed and be first inside. The other two muscovy always followed on in, once Daffy had gone in. It was so easy. Now Daffy will not go into the shed.

Tonight, I had to get them in to bed at 7.45pm as I had to go to Aldi. Absolutely had to go to Aldi. Daffy not only wouldn't go into the shed, he took himself up the side of the shed by the fence where he knows I can't easily follow him [and if I did go after him I would not be able to get him out.] The other two obliged by going into the shed but they came out again once they realised that Daffy was not coming. So I left them out with my puppy on a tie out "guarding" them and dashed off to Aldi. I was back in 30 minutes. I went back to the garden to see what was happening and found puppy barking, something making a very strange noise, two muscovy up near the house and Daffy, out from his hidyhole standing in front of the shed. The strange noise was a very angry raccoon mother with 3 almost fully grown kits, on the fence near my shed. I think she was trying to get her kits to safety because my puppy was barking and them. They were facing the garden behind not my garden and went over there. The neighbor behind has an aviary by the fence with a mynah bird and I don't know what else in it.

I dashed down the garden shouting to Daffy to go in to bed -- but he was having none of it. I was able to put a piece of hardboard to block the gap between the shed and the fence so he couldn't go back up there. It took me 20 minutes to get the boys into the shed -- and all three ended up in Daffy's compartment. So I had to close the door behind me, so none could escape, and then get the two others out of Daffy's compartment. They did then all settle down. but my nerves were frayed and my puppy was frustrated that she had been on the tie out for an hour. She normally only goes out there for about 15 minutes, which she likes to do. An hour was too much for her, although she was the hero barking and frigthening off the raccoons. I do hope that the barking is enough to keep the raccoons away permanently. They didn't show any indication that they knew there were ducks in the back garden. I'll be really glad when we can all go back to Florida and my safe back yard! But that won't be until the end of August.

 

[Sequestered Ridge Ranch]

Ducks with geese with ducklings with keets all 54 birds under one roof... this is going to be fun starting tomorrow. I am building a brooder inside the Waddle Inn and will separate the ducklings from the keets with hardware cloth. Wonder if they will still imprint.
Wouldn't make sense to call it Waddle Inn if you don't have rooms inside the structure.
As is I got 19 ducks and 5 geese with 10 more ducklings and 20 keets on the way

 

[sheenersb]

I feel so abused… my neighbors probably do too.

I have 10 ducks, 4 Cayugas (including two drakes), and 6 welsh harlequins. This is my first year having ducks.

One of the welsh harlequins basically yells as loud as possible, all day everyday. All of her needs are met and a vet says she’s in perfect health. She has great food, fresh clean water to drink and play in, 1/4 acre to forage, sunshine, soft grass… plenty of bugs to eat, and her friends.

But she yells 24/7. Yes, all night long. All day even. Every 2 minutes or less she does her set of six “screams”. It is extremely loud, like alarmingly loud. I am not sure how she hasn’t lost her voice yet, if that even happens in ducks. After a little while her sister harlequins also start doing this quack scream, and after a few hours 1 or 2 of them will do it with her for a while. Yesterday I had enough and went out and picked her up, carried her all around the garden area while I moved the hose to water plants and she was calm and content most of the time, but then started calling for her sisters after a while. It was the first moment of peace we’ve had in weeks.

It’s interesting though as she has acted terrified of me since the moment we got her and never warmed up to me or my husband. Actually her first week with us we didn’t think she would make it. She was lethargic, would fall asleep the second you picked her up, and would NOT run around and play with her sisters in the brooder. She just laid there with her head propped up on the side and was still. She was so scared of the Cayugas when first introduced, we used to separate them in their house with fencing for the night and separated them all day.

Yesterday I did notice she appears to be trying to dominate over the older Cayugas, dipping her head and kind of charging at them, but as soon as they notice and turn toward her she jumps/hops and screams and runs away. She will do this for an hour or more.

She just screams all the time and I don’t know what to do. Did I get a defective duck? My husband asked at 2 AM if we can take the batteries out of her and if we can “return her for a new one”. It’s so so bad! I’m trying to think of ways I can sound proof their night time enclosure but that isn’t going to help for daytime noise.

Help! Any advice? Thoughts on how I can get her to be quiet? She’s going to get me in trouble with all this noise she makes.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I feel so abused… my neighbors probably do too.

I have 10 ducks, 4 Cayugas (including two drakes), and 6 welsh harlequins. This is my first year having ducks.

One of the welsh harlequins basically yells as loud as possible, all day everyday. All of her needs are met and a vet says she’s in perfect health. She has great food, fresh clean water to drink and play in, 1/4 acre to forage, sunshine, soft grass… plenty of bugs to eat, and her friends.

But she yells 24/7. Yes, all night long. All day even. Every 2 minutes or less she does her set of six “screams”. It is extremely loud, like alarmingly loud. I am not sure how she hasn’t lost her voice yet, if that even happens in ducks. After a little while her sister harlequins also start doing this quack scream, and after a few hours 1 or 2 of them will do it with her for a while. Yesterday I had enough and went out and picked her up, carried her all around the garden area while I moved the hose to water plants and she was calm and content most of the time, but then started calling for her sisters after a while. It was the first moment of peace we’ve had in weeks.

It’s interesting though as she has acted terrified of me since the moment we got her and never warmed up to me or my husband. Actually her first week with us we didn’t think she would make it. She was lethargic, would fall asleep the second you picked her up, and would NOT run around and play with her sisters in the brooder. She just laid there with her head propped up on the side and was still. She was so scared of the Cayugas when first introduced, we used to separate them in their house with fencing for the night and separated them all day.

Yesterday I did notice she appears to be trying to dominate over the older Cayugas, dipping her head and kind of charging at them, but as soon as they notice and turn toward her she jumps/hops and screams and runs away. She will do this for an hour or more.

She just screams all the time and I don’t know what to do. Did I get a defective duck? My husband asked at 2 AM if we can take the batteries out of her and if we can “return her for a new one”. It’s so so bad! I’m trying to think of ways I can sound proof their night time enclosure but that isn’t going to help for daytime noise.

Help! Any advice? Thoughts on how I can get her to be quiet? She’s going to get me in trouble with all this noise she makes.

Last Summer my Drakes were harassing my Hens so much that I knew I had to get rid of some of them. I found a guy on CL and traded my Drakes and got a Khaki Campbell Hen and a Muscovy Hen. We went multiple times to his place to do the trading. Once we got in the vehicle with just the Khaki Campbell Hen we knew why someone had rehomed her. She quacked all the way home, over an hour away and was sooooooo loud. Once at our place she quacked constantly and I knew then why he got rid of her. We put up with it, yes even at night and I have close by neighbors but no one complained. This year being a year and 3 months old she is finally quiet!!! I don't know if she had been imprinted on someone and they gave her up and she wanted them back or what her problem was. I totally understand your problem but time solved ours. We have our mature remaining drakes away from her in drake jail and that seemed to help also as they were being over mated. I never knew a duck could be so loud until we got her. Good luck with yours. I wasn't sure how old yours was.

 

[sheenersb]

Last Summer my Drakes were harassing my Hens so much that I knew I had to get rid of some of them. I found a guy on CL and traded my Drakes and got a Khaki Campbell Hen and a Muscovy Hen. We went multiple times to his place to do the trading. Once we got in the vehicle with just the Khaki Campbell Hen we knew why someone had rehomed her. She quacked all the way home, over an hour away and was sooooooo loud. Once at our place she quacked constantly and I knew then why he got rid of her. We put up with it, yes even at night and I have close by neighbors but no one complained. This year being a year and 3 months old she is finally quiet!!! I don't know if she had been imprinted on someone and they gave her up and she wanted them back or what her problem was. I totally understand your problem but time solved ours. We have our mature remaining drakes away from her in drake jail and that seemed to help also as they were being over mated. I never knew a duck could be so loud until we got her. Good luck with yours. I wasn't sure how old yours was.

My Cayugas are just three weeks older than the harlequins, we got them the first week of April and the harlequins 3 weeks later. So they are still young. I ordered the harlequins from the hatchery so I have been their only human outside the shell.

I am hopeful she could settle down with age and did wonder if she’ll kind of chill out once she starts laying.

My drakes are completely uninterested and don’t even try to defend their girls. It’s more the female Cayugas that will occasionally remind the littles that they aren’t top duck. But this little stink… she is just nuts. She wants to be number 1!

 

[Luv Ducks]

When did you duck start this screaming? I know you say your Cayugas are not interested in mating but they are old enough. That was the age one of my Khaki Campbell Drakes started to chase my Hens. Sometimes we don't always see their behavior. I was just curious.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

My boys are really playing me up at the moment and this resulted in big drama in my backyard this evening. Daffy was unwell two weeks ago, and still has mouth breathing. But he has had 6 doses of antibiotics, and is eating and holding his own with the other muscovy. But he is no longer coming to me demanding attention, in fact he is avoiding me. I am sure its because he is angry that I am giving him the antibiotics as he consented to being cuddled by our roommate this evening. Before he was ill, Daffy used to follow me around and at bed time follow me down to the shed and be first inside. The other two muscovy always followed on in, once Daffy had gone in. It was so easy. Now Daffy will not go into the shed.

Tonight, I had to get them in to bed at 7.45pm as I had to go to Aldi. Absolutely had to go to Aldi. Daffy not only wouldn't go into the shed, he took himself up the side of the shed by the fence where he knows I can't easily follow him [and if I did go after him I would not be able to get him out.] The other two obliged by going into the shed but they came out again once they realised that Daffy was not coming. So I left them out with my puppy on a tie out "guarding" them and dashed off to Aldi. I was back in 30 minutes. I went back to the garden to see what was happening and found puppy barking, something making a very strange noise, two muscovy up near the house and Daffy, out from his hidyhole standing in front of the shed. The strange noise was a very angry raccoon mother with 3 almost fully grown kits, on the fence near my shed. I think she was trying to get her kits to safety because my puppy was barking and them. They were facing the garden behind not my garden and went over there. The neighbor behind has an aviary by the fence with a mynah bird and I don't know what else in it.

I dashed down the garden shouting to Daffy to go in to bed -- but he was having none of it. I was able to put a piece of hardboard to block the gap between the shed and the fence so he couldn't go back up there. It took me 20 minutes to get the boys into the shed -- and all three ended up in Daffy's compartment. So I had to close the door behind me, so none could escape, and then get the two others out of Daffy's compartment. They did then all settle down. but my nerves were frayed and my puppy was frustrated that she had been on the tie out for an hour. She normally only goes out there for about 15 minutes, which she likes to do. An hour was too much for her, although she was the hero barking and frigthening off the raccoons. I do hope that the barking is enough to keep the raccoons away permanently. They didn't show any indication that they knew there were ducks in the back garden. I'll be really glad when we can all go back to Florida and my safe back yard! But that won't be until the end of August.

I hope the racoons stay away.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I feel so abused… my neighbors probably do too.

I have 10 ducks, 4 Cayugas (including two drakes), and 6 welsh harlequins. This is my first year having ducks.

One of the welsh harlequins basically yells as loud as possible, all day everyday. All of her needs are met and a vet says she’s in perfect health. She has great food, fresh clean water to drink and play in, 1/4 acre to forage, sunshine, soft grass… plenty of bugs to eat, and her friends.

But she yells 24/7. Yes, all night long. All day even. Every 2 minutes or less she does her set of six “screams”. It is extremely loud, like alarmingly loud. I am not sure how she hasn’t lost her voice yet, if that even happens in ducks. After a little while her sister harlequins also start doing this quack scream, and after a few hours 1 or 2 of them will do it with her for a while. Yesterday I had enough and went out and picked her up, carried her all around the garden area while I moved the hose to water plants and she was calm and content most of the time, but then started calling for her sisters after a while. It was the first moment of peace we’ve had in weeks.

It’s interesting though as she has acted terrified of me since the moment we got her and never warmed up to me or my husband. Actually her first week with us we didn’t think she would make it. She was lethargic, would fall asleep the second you picked her up, and would NOT run around and play with her sisters in the brooder. She just laid there with her head propped up on the side and was still. She was so scared of the Cayugas when first introduced, we used to separate them in their house with fencing for the night and separated them all day.

Yesterday I did notice she appears to be trying to dominate over the older Cayugas, dipping her head and kind of charging at them, but as soon as they notice and turn toward her she jumps/hops and screams and runs away. She will do this for an hour or more.

She just screams all the time and I don’t know what to do. Did I get a defective duck? My husband asked at 2 AM if we can take the batteries out of her and if we can “return her for a new one”. It’s so so bad! I’m trying to think of ways I can sound proof their night time enclosure but that isn’t going to help for daytime noise.

Help! Any advice? Thoughts on how I can get her to be quiet? She’s going to get me in trouble with all this noise she makes.

I would definitely not be happy with a screaming duck. I hope she eventually stops screaming so loud!

 

[Lor]

I feel so abused… my neighbors probably do too.

Oh goodness! That would drive me crazy.