# Are Muscovy Ducks Loud?



## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

Hey Muscovy Duck owners. Just wondering how loud are muscovy ducks? Are they as loud as Indian Runners and Rouens?


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## wmsff (Jun 10, 2010)

I purchased some in June, I've barely heard a peep out of them.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Not at all. They make almost no sound at all.

They all, males and females, make a whisper-like hissing sound as their primary vocalization. Females can also make a very mute, musical trill when "talking" to each other or their young.

People often choose muscovy ducks in order to have "livestock" in non-livestock areas, because nobody would ever hear them.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Yep.. silent.
When they are young and up until their teens they peep..
but once they mature they can only whisper.
DH loves them more than anything else here on the farm...
they are the ONLY things that don't talk to him..including the people!


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## bonnie in indiana (May 10, 2002)

The loudness is not the deterent--------------they POOP ALOT.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

The adult females do make some noise, but not so loud that it can be heard more than a few hundred feet away. The only time they get really noisy is if someone or something has hold of one of their babies. And even then they aren't all that loud.


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

They used to be called "whispering ducks ".


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I have 47 of them in my yard right now.
They are free-range all day and night.
You would have no idea that they are there unless you saw them or heard the splash and flap of wings in the baby pool.
Or unless a human was walking towards the barn. They all come running for that in case someone has food out.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Mine make a bit of noise when they all get together.

But yup mostly quite.

Ducklings though can be a bit annoying....


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## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies, and sounds like I will try and get a few muscovies at the animal auction I am going to this weekend!


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

chickenista said:


> I have 47 of them in my yard right now.
> They are free-range all day and night.
> You would have no idea that they are there unless you saw them or heard the splash and flap of wings in the baby pool.
> Or unless a human was walking towards the barn. They all come running for that in case someone has food out.


FORTY SEVEN!!!???!!! ...and ya'll used to laugh at me every spring when WE had the muscovy explosion! 

To the OP - nope. No noise. They make up for it in excrement.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Just had a nest full hatch out last night.
So far the one hen has hatched and raised 35 this year. 
Don't know how many are in this bunch.
An explosion of ducks sounds like the best description about muscoveys.


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

I LOVE to listen to muscovies "talk" to each other. They have so many different sounds. But they are soft sounds that you can only hear if you are with in a few feet of them (or closer) to hear. None of that horrible sound people call a "quack" that domestic ducks make.


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## sunflower-n-ks (Aug 7, 2006)

Pheasant283 said:


> Thanks for all the replies, and sounds like I will try and get a few muscovies at the animal auction I am going to this weekend!


Ummm, did you get some muscovies? If so, and they are older than tiny ducklings, I hope you put them in a building or pen with a top. They FLY very well.....


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## Pheasant283 (Mar 24, 2010)

sunflower-n-ks said:


> Ummm, did you get some muscovies? If so, and they are older than tiny ducklings, I hope you put them in a building or pen with a top. They FLY very well.....


Yup, got a pair & in a pen with a top for now.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

The loudest they get is as babies. Little cute peepers. 

Oh, and when they do the 'Musky Dance" as we call it. A drake will stand in a circle with his girlfriends, all facing in. They'll wag their tails, females will make a pretty trill noise and males will hiss. They'll all be wagging tails and bobbing their heads.  It's super cute. A group of 6 doing the musky dance is quieter than ONE of my Welsh Harlequin hens. 

They CAN let out a quack/honk noise in times of extreme stress - like when you grab them or when they get in a fight. But it's about half the volume of a regular duck and is VERY rare.


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