There are many people who find ducks to be absolutely adorable. You might be interested in raising ducks on your property due to how fun they are and how cute they are.
The problem is that you have neighbors to consider, and you don’t want people to get annoyed because the ducks are too loud. Are ducks really that loud, though, or are they not that bad?
Keep reading to learn a bit about ducks and just how loud they can be. This will give you more to consider when you’re deciding whether or not to keep ducks on your property.
At the end of the day, the decision of whether or not ducks are right for your property will be up to you. There might be some things that you can do to keep ducks quiet, too.
Ducks Can Be a Little Loud
Yes, ducks can be a little loud, but they aren’t that bad in comparison to some other types of birds that people keep on their properties. For example, ducks are relatively quiet when compared to noisy birds such as chickens.
How noisy the ducks will be is really dependent on factors such as the breed of the ducks. Some ducks are going to be a lot noisier than others, but some will be kind of quiet.
One of the noisiest types of ducks that you can care for will be a call duck. Call ducks are pretty small, but they make a lot of noise overall.
They’re called call ducks because they call out and can make noticeable and significant noises. If you’re looking for ducks that won’t be noisy, then you’re probably going to want to avoid keeping call ducks on your property.
Some good options will be either light ducks or bantam ducks. These ducks will quack and make noises as ducks do, but the noises that they make are quiet enough that they shouldn’t bother anyone.
Female Ducks Are Normally the Loudest
Generally, female ducks are going to be the ones doing the quacking and making the noise. They’re a lot louder than male ducks, but that doesn’t mean that all types of female ducks are obnoxiously loud.
Male ducks will sometimes quack, but they’re more likely to make raspy sounds. The male ducks tend to be a lot quieter than the females, but sometimes you might encounter a male duck that appears to be a bit more vocal.
For the most part, males are only going to make noises sometimes, and they won’t call out as frequently as females. Most people who care for ducks will be caring for both male and female ducks, but it’s still worth noting that the females are the loudest.
Female ducks will call out and quack for various reasons. Quacking can be a standard communication method, but it can also be something that female ducks will do to try to warn other ducks of danger.
You might hear ducks quacking if they notice a predator animal lurking outside or if there is some other type of danger. Ducks will also quack when they’re happy, and this means that you might see ducks quacking when you’re having fun with them.
What If the Ducks Start Quacking During the Night?
It could be a bit problematic if the ducks start quacking during the night. This isn’t completely uncommon since ducks will feel safe enough to vocalize in their little environment.
Ducks in the wild will often be quiet at night so as not to alert any predators to their location. It’s different when ducks are being cared for on a property and housed in a pen.
They might feel like they can call out and quack more at night due to the overall feeling of safety. This could make it less practical to keep ducks on your property if you have neighbors close to your home.
Thankfully, not all ducks are going to be super loud. You could try raising a less noisy breed that won’t make quite so many noises if you’re worried about them quacking too much at night.
There are other things that you can try that might work well, too. You don’t have to give up on ducks just because they’re a little noisy right now.
Keep Ducks Shut in Their Pen at Night
It’s possible that your ducks might stay quiet if you keep them shut in their pen at night. They might feel less of a need to quack and communicate if they aren’t moving around.
Some ducks will find the safety of the pen to be calming and they will just relax and sleep. If you leave the pen open and the ducks are allowed to wander, then they’re likely going to be louder.
They’ll be more likely to be worried about potential threats, and this could cause the ducks to make noises. It’s probably best to shut your ducks in their pen once it reaches a certain point in the evening.
Doing this will allow you to mitigate the amount of noise that the ducks are making. It might not be a perfect method, but it’s something that should make a difference.
You Could Get Rid of Particularly Noisy Ducks
This might sound cruel to some, but certain duck owners have decided to get rid of the noisiest ducks that they have. The idea behind this is that getting rid of the noisier ducks might keep those ducks from influencing the rest of the ducks.
You could find these ducks new homes or you could choose to go the route of culling specific ducks. Most people who are keeping ducks as pets will not be fine with that, of course.
It’s true that noisy ducks could influence other ducks to be noisy as well. It might be a problem that you’ll have to figure out how to deal with.
Find a Good Spot for the Duck Pen
It’s a good idea to try to find an ideal location for the duck pen as well. If you put the duck pen somewhere that is a little away from the house and far enough away from neighbors, then you’ll get better results.
You might be able to make it so that the ducks aren’t noisy enough to really bother anyone. Depending on how large your property is, this might be a very good way to deal with the issue.
Consider what you can do to change the position of your duck pen if you’re already keeping ducks. It might be better to find an ideal location on the property than to just place the duck pen up against the house.
Of course, you do need to consider the safety of the ducks as well. You need to create an area for them where they will be safe from predators, and this means that you won’t want to put them too far away in all likelihood.
Final Thoughts
Ducks can be pretty loud sometimes, but they aren’t as loud as chickens. You should be able to keep ducks on your property if you want to without it being a huge deal.
If you take the right precautions, then you can have a relatively good experience. Some duck breeds aren’t that loud, and you could just try to raise ducks that are known to be somewhat quiet.
Hopefully, this information helps you to make up your mind about what you want to do. Now you’ll be able to figure out how best to proceed based on your situation.
I have a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When I’m not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, I’m at home with my wife, two daughters and a dog. Outside of family, I love grilling and barbequing on my Big Green Egg and working on projects around the house. Growing up, I had pet dogs, cats, deer, sugar gliders, chinchillas, a bird, chickens, fish, and a goat.