Call Ducks VS Regular Ducks Everything You Need to Know

In the world of duck breeds, there are a wide variety to choose from. There is, however, a very distinct difference between Call ducks ( a bantam breed of ducks) and every other full-sized duck breed. There are physical, production, and personality differences between Call ducks and regular sized ducks. If you’re interested in getting ducks for the first time, knowing the key differences between Call ducks vs regular ducks can help you decide which breed of duck its right for you. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclosure policy.

What Are Call Ducks? 

Over the years, I have owned many breeds of ducks. My favorite of which, is the Call duck. Whenever someone comes to our house, they are greeted by the loud cackling of the female call ducks running up to check out the intruders. People always comment on the “tiny ducks” and ask if they’re babies. I explain they’re not, they are actually fully grown bantam ducks! Let’s talk about those bantam ducks today, and discuss the differences between Call Ducks vs regular sized ducks. 

Call ducks are a bantam breed of duck with a loud, distinctive call and unique physical features. They are very petite in stature. Calls are the smallest breed of domestic duck on average weighing less than 2 pounds. Drakes weigh between 600 to 900 grams (21 to 31oz.), female ducks weigh between 500 to 700 grams (17 to 24oz.). This is very tiny in contrast to a wild mallard duck that can weight between 1.5 and 3.5 pounds.

Call ducks are some unique physical characteristics They are known for the compact size of their small body, short bills, puffed cheeks, short necks, and a rounded wide head. Call ducks also have the widest range of duck colors out of any domestic duck. 

Calls are amazing mothers, excellent pets, great at flying, and fun to have around the yard. They are however, not production birds. They do not product enough eggs or meat to be considered for production. 

For the history of Call ducks and more information on this petite breed check out my blog here.

What Are Full-Sized Domestic Ducks? 

There are many breed of domestic ducks varying greatly in size, color, and production purpose. I have personally owned several different domestic breeds, and love all of them for their unique characteristics. Let’s dig a little deeper into what full-sized domestic ducks are: 

Full-sized domestic ducks are different than Call ducks, and wild ducks, because they are much larger than both. They usually have a production purpose, and unlike wild ducks, can vary greatly in color pattern. Adult Domestic ducks size can range from 2.5 to 9 pounds. Which is very large in contrast to Call ducks which average 1 to 1 3/4-pounds. And wild mallard ducks that can weight between 1.5 and 3.5 pounds. Domestic ducks are usually raised for eggs or meat, but can also be just pets.

Now that we’ve discussed a few physical characteristic differences, let’s dive a bit deeper into the Call ducks vs regular ducks. 

Call Ducks Vs Regular Ducks Production Vs Pets:

Meat and eggs: If you’re wanting production birds, full-sized breeds are the way to go. There is a wide variety of production bird breeds available. Whether you’re looking for egg production birds (like Khaki Campbell) or meat production birds (like Pekin or Muscovy ducks). Call ducks on the other hand, are such a small size, they are not good for meat. They also are seasonal layers, meaning they only lay 25-75 duck eggs per year compared to larger breeds that usually lay between 150-300 eggs per year. Among large duck breeds, there are also hybrid ducks like Silver Appleyard ducks which are good layer ducks and also can be good for meat. 

Pest Control: We have found Call ducks to be quite good pest control in the garden. What I like about Call ducks, is that since they’re smaller, they don’t trample the plants as much. If I were to get a full-sized duck breed for pest control, I would get Indian runner ducks because they also tend to be less destructive. 

If you’re just wanting pet ducks,  the little duck breeds make more sense for multiple reasons including cleanliness, food consumption, and space needs. Let’s dive a bit deeper into those topics. 

Cleanliness: 

Ducks are messy birds. They love to muck up any puddle, pool, or pond on sight. Splashing water everywhere, and creating mud whenever possible. That being said, can be a challenge to maintain a clean coop. 

Even ducklings are quite messy. The nice thing about call ducklings, is that they grow less quickly and cause much less of a mess in their brooder (they also require a smaller brooder). 

Smaller ducks like exotic breeds and Call ducks tend to be much less messy. Mostly due to their small size, but in my personal experience they just make less of a mess of their living area in general. This is also one of the reasons why Call ducks make much easier in-home pets. They are much easier to clean up after. 

It’s important to note that maintaining clean water is much easier for Call ducks, even large flocks of Call ducks are easier to clean up after than smaller flocks of large breeds of ducks. 

Duck coop space: 

Large ducks need a larger coop. Smaller ducks, however can live in a much tighter space. Partially because they don’t make such a mess, but also because they physically don’t take up as much space. If you’re wanting to use a small chicken coop for your ducks, or to have ducks as an indoor pet, Call ducks might be a good choice for you. 

Call ducks also require a much smaller space to run around they tend to wander less, and like to stay in a smaller area. So if you have close neighbors, or are planning on using a mobile run, these little ducks are a great choice.

Food consumption:

If you’re concerned about the cost of feeding your ducks, smaller breeds make sense for you. There is a trade off, if you have production birds, you get a product to eat or sell which can help pay for your feed costs. You don’t get this benefit with Call ducks, unless you sell their ducklings.

Large duck breeds eat much more than smaller breeds. Large duck breeds are better at being free range for foraging for nutrition than smaller ducks, but this does not greatly affect how much you have to feed them, they still need supplemental feed.

Broodiness and health: 

As far as mothering instinct goes, I have found Call ducks to be one of the best duck breeds to be natural mothers. They tend to be more careful with their nests, and ducklings. Although Muscovy ducks which are a much larger breed may have them beat. They are excellent mothers who can hatch huge clutches of ducklings and are very attentive mothers. 

In terms of bird health, I haven’t noticed a difference between different duck breeds. Ducks in general have fairly little health issues if they have clean water and living space. 

Ducks generally seem to be more resilient to health issues than other domestic birds. Ducklings can develop respiratory issues if not kept in a well ventilated area, ducklings also need higher niacin and protein than other domestic birds. But those are the main health issues to note for ducks.

Personality:

Ducks are very docile birds. Unless it’s breeding season, they rarely if ever show aggression toward humans, or other pets (Muscovy ducks are the exception, they can be territorial and their large stature can be intimidating). There are differences between Call ducks vs regular ducks personality though. 

Call ducks aren’t the calmest ducks. Their small body size can be deceiving, they are quite spunky little ducks! They are very energetic, personable, and their loud call makes them hard to ignore. Call ducks are also good fliers, and of course swimmers making them a very active breed. They are very sweet, make great pets, companions, and fun additions to any yard. 

Large duck breeds look lazy next to call ducks. They are much more calm, slower, and get into less mischief. There are no quiet ducks. All domestic duck breeds can make a lot of noise, but their quacks are not as piercing as a female Call duck quack. Large ducks make great indoor, or outdoor pets and companions. They can be very personable and sweet.

Ducks are excellent birds to have as pets. They are very loving and loyal to each other, and their owners. They all have wonderful personality, and funny quirks making them very entertaining creatures. 

If I were to have a small flock of pet ducks, I would choose to have a flock of Call duck drakes (males). They have all of the benefits of call ducks, but are much quieter than female call ducks. Male ducks have less of a quack, and more of a deep raspy voice. If you hear a group of loud Call ducks giving you a hearty greeting call, you can be sure that there are some females mixed into that flock. 

Duck comparison table:

Here is a table highlighting the key differences between Call ducks vs full-sized ducks.

Can You Keep Calls And Regular Sized-Ducks Together?

Still can’t decide between all ducks or full-sized ducks? No problem! These two ducks can live peacefully together, and generally leave each other alone.

Conclusion: 

Hopefully this post explaining the differences between Call ducks vs regular ducks helped you narrow down what kind of duck breed to be researching before buying your new flock. All ducks are wonderful birds to have as companions and pets. If you’re interested in learning more about ducks before your purchase, this is a great blog post. If you’re wondering where to purchase your new ducks, the paragraph below will tell you where to start. May the fun begin! 

Where to buy:

Farm store: If you are hoping to buy week-old ducklings, you can buy them at your local farm store (like TSC) during the spring, sometimes through the fall. They usually have scheduled arrival days for the chicks and ducklings so ask a worker (if you are wanting first pick) so you know when to check for them! Farm stores typically get overstock ducklings from large hatcheries. Because of this, the duck breeds you get are much less predictable. Baby ducks are almost always sold straight run (not defined gender), and the store will sometimes mark the breeds wrong.

The benefits of buying ducks from a farm store is that you can get them same day. They’re also usually the cheapest option to buy. You can find stores frequently mark down chicks and ducklings to 1/2 price after a week of being at the store. 

Local breeder: Finding a local breeder to buy your ducklings from is a good option if you’re wanting to support local small businesses and also get specific breeds. There are Facebook groups for local areas where breeders advertise when they’re hatching, and what breeds. To find these groups, you simply look up “*your state* ducks”  and at least one group should come up. The cons to buying local are: more expensive, limited breeds, usually not sexed. 

The pros to buying local: supporting a family, not shipping the ducklings, potentially specialized breeds, someone to ask questions to if they come up. Local farms are also the best choice for you if you are wanting ready-to-lay young ducks which are often 6 months old, but they are much more expensive than ducklings. 

Online: If you are wanting specific or specialized breeds, guaranteed gender, and sometimes a limited warranty, buying online may be the way to go. You will find online hatcheries have the widest varieties of breeds, and guarantees in place. Buying online will be the most expensive option for buying ducklings. The ducklings are only available within a limited window, and must be shipped in the mail. I personally do not like shipping chicks or ducklings through the mail. It can be very hard on the young poultry. There isn’t guaranteed climate control, and you need to be able to get to the post office ASAP once you get the call that your ducklings have arrived. 

There is a convenience factor to ordering online, you can usually pre order, the exact breed and gender you want, within a certain time frame so if you’re a planner who likes to think ahead, this is a great perk.

Which team are you on team Call duck or Team Full-Sized Duck?

Let me know in the comments! 

Want to know more about me? Find my story here:

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclosure policy here.