To Duck or not to Duck - Nearby Neighbors

[AdventureChicken]

Good morning, everyone!

I live on a small lot (1/2 acre) and just checked and legally am allowed up to three POULTRY - which is "any domesticated fowl...etc etc." But it pretty clearly would allow for ducks, which I didn't realize until today. BUT there is a provision against roosters (if one keeps chickens) and a general noise/nuisance provision.

SO.

I would be interested in female ducks for eggs. In reading up a bit, it sounds like the females are the louder sex. Are they louder than hens? If so, is it a large difference? And are there quieter breeds (besides muscovy - wanting an egg-laying breed).

I am initially liking the idea of cayugas or runners. Pros/Cons/differences?

TIA for any and all help and education!!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Just my 2 cents:

My ducks are WAY louder than my chickens. WAAAAAY louder. And not just my Calls. My other breeds are louder, too (Welsh Harlequin, Runner, Saxony, Swedish, Hookbill - and the Pekin is the loudest BY FAR). They are super duper messy (what lawn? didn't I used to have a lawn?). They don't lay as often past their first and second years. I get maybe 6-8 duck eggs a week now from 8 ducks. But I LOVE them (Calls, in particular, are awesome little critters) and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

 

[Callender Girl]

My experience with runners is that the girls talk quite a bit, and the boys just mumble. I don't think the runners are loud; they are loose in the side yard all day, and I don't hear them through the closed windows in winter -- unless the goose girls decide to "herd" everybody and cause general chaos.

Although they take a winter egg break, my runners lay good-sized eggs and are fairly prolific layers.

One plus with runners is that they possess incredibly bad flying skills. My best "flyer" could get as high as a four-foot run -- for about two seconds. Another plus is that their strange physique makes them entertaining to watch when they walk/run.

Best wishes with whatever ducks you get. Ducks are great!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Just my 2 cents:

My ducks are WAY louder than my chickens. WAAAAAY louder. And not just my Calls. My other breeds are louder, too (Welsh Harlequin, Runner, Saxony, Swedish, Hookbill - and the Pekin is the loudest BY FAR). They are super duper messy (what lawn? didn't I used to have a lawn?). They don't lay as often past their first and second years. I get maybe 6-8 duck eggs a week now from 8 ducks. But I LOVE them (Calls, in particular, are awesome little critters) and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Hmmmm. How do I do that? Craigslist ad? (Serious question.)

If you’re serious about borrowing ducks you should check with rescues in your area. There are some here always looking for fosters for rehabbing pond rescues.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Also considering ducks. I don’t want to hijack the thread, so hopefully OP is okay with this, but do you have any pictures of your destroyed lawn? Just wondering since my mother in law’s idea of “destroyed” would include our current back yard, because we have dogs who dig some, etc. Like are free-ranging ducks (in a 1/4 acre fenced area) going to be worse than chickens and dogs?

Also, are there breeds that are happy with a kiddie pool? Or would all need to be on a lake or something? We would be converting a chicken setup if we decided on ducks.

If we weren't covered in snow I could share some pics! Our ducks free range majority of the time, and there’s a couple spots they’ve “destroyed” my grass. We’ve got a hole that needs filling, it’s probably 5” around and deep enough they can stick their whole heads down in there. Then there’s another patch that they’ve got little holes dug & removed grass. I’m very particular about our grass and their destruction isn’t bad enough for me to consider going duckless.

We’ve had a dog in the past that was a digger and her destruction was far worse than anything that my ducks have done/could do.

ALSO my kids decided to take the ranger and do donuts in the snow, which tore up the grass. So the ducks are least of my grass problems

As far as a pool no pond or lake needed. I agree with @Chipmunk Chicks that kiddie pools are hard to dump when full but that’s the route we’ve been going. I just get the smallest kiddie pool I can find which is easier to dump since we fill & dump almost everyday.

I’ve got 10 ducks right now and this tiny kiddie pool works great for them. I’ve seen up to 5 in there at once

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I was hoping to find a grass pic in my phone with no luck. Here’s them rooting around in my roses. You can see how deep they dig by the mud on their bills

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Also considering ducks. I don’t want to hijack the thread, so hopefully OP is okay with this, but do you have any pictures of your destroyed lawn? Just wondering since my mother in law’s idea of “destroyed” would include our current back yard, because we have dogs who dig some, etc. Like are free-ranging ducks (in a 1/4 acre fenced area) going to be worse than chickens and dogs?

Also, are there breeds that are happy with a kiddie pool? Or would all need to be on a lake or something? We would be converting a chicken setup if we decided on ducks.

I have a few fish ponds but also kid pools for my ducks
Mine love the kid pools
I have pekin , khaki Campbell
Offspring from them and Swedish
All of them use the kid pools
I found to save the lawn I keep the kid pools on my brick under my covered patio so the splashing water doesn’t get them digging the lawn
I also put fake grass around my pond to stop any digging and keeping mud out of it
That’s a few tricks that can help save the lawn
If there is water they will dig holes and I have had to run around filling them so they don’t get hurt

 

[3xhhheather]

I have some ducks I've never heard quack and then a few that love to RA RA RA so loud that I can hear them clear across the property. The quiet ones are Black Swedish, Anconas, and Silver Appleyard. With that though, it's nothing compared to the chickens' egg song which some days I feel like never stops, especially when it's contagious and alllllllll the ladies get going to celebrate the momentous occasion of laying an egg.

With property your size it'd be best to manage a pen for them (mulch, mulch, and more mulch to keep the mud away) and then let them free range supervised on none mud inducing days. I'm 100% team duck, while my husband is 100% team chicken, but they're all amazing so you can't really go wrong <3

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

What is your neighborhood like? It is like normal suburban style? More rural ish outskirts? Buttoned up community?

My experience is limited but I will tell you, birds are all different. My Welsummer chickens are considerably louder than my Australorps (which are pretty much The Perfect Chicken, j/s). Our Welsh Harlequin ducks are beautiful, but noticeably louder - when they want to be - which is not all the time, by any means. Mostly it's jusy cute little muted honks, unless they are displeased, in which case they Will let you know? Personally, I find their chatter to all be part of the appeal of having them around.

Moreso than noise, I would be concerned about logistics. Do you have perimeter fencing and a pond? That's ideal because ducks need their water to splash in, and they root around in the grass and make holes, and the mud spreads all over the pen and kills the grass. So you'd need to be constantly moving their enclosure and refilling water tubs which is all a big pain in the rumpus. I saw a cool pen design with a French drain and rock / gravel floor that could be hosed off, if you are interested in looking at a duck pen setup like that, might keep the mud and destruction down. I also saw a Carolina Coop design with a dug out drain for the duck dipper that you could drain like a bathtub and refill, but most people are probably not going that crazy with it. Ducks' needs are different than chickens, so that's something you would need to *seriously* consider, and set up ahead of their arrival, ideally.

I would ask why specifically you want ducks? I mean besides the obvious lol. As wonderful as they are, my experience has been that chickens are considerably easier to keep and maintain their living quarters, (depending how you do it.) There are lots of cute little coops that would accommodate 3 chickens that you could easily add a bump out for a run, or put a covered fence around it, and even potentially keep it all lightweight enough to move around your yard so it doesn't get too badly destroyed. Either way, you'll want to give some serious thought to what your setup will be.

IMHO, three is an annoying number - I don't know where someone starting out is just getting three chickens, unless you get started pullets, or buy from a local neighbor. As in, tractor supply has a four chick minimum, and almost anywhere that ships will require you to buy more, so If it were me, I would do a cute little chicken set up, and grab (four) little cuties from TSC once the chick days start up again, and leave it at that. I guess you could get six to split with a friend if you really want to follow the rules! Lol

But if you really have your heart set on ducks, I'm sure it can be done. I do recommend the Welsh Harlequin ducks, they are just gorgeous and lay a creamy white egg, or Magpies are supposed to be excellent layers of more colorful eggs, although Indian runners are supposed to be good layers, too. I think it all comes down to personal preference. There is no duck that is going to be quiet 100% of the time, and unfortunately, I think potentially tearing up the yard could present more of a problem with neighbors than noise.