Quacking Up Some Controversy in Fair Haven

Dawn Stover did not realize what she was in for when she bought 10 domestic duck eggs for her daughter Nicole to care for and hatch. Although the online instructions said only about 2 ducks would hatch, they ended up raising 6 ducklings and gave 2 males away.

That was 6 months ago. Dawn and Nicole came before the Fair Haven Borough Council last night to ask the council to for an exception to the non-domestic animals ordinance. They want the council to allow them to keep 6 ducks in a shed and pen in their backyard. 

"Nikki's ducks are a big part of her life. They are like family," said Dawn. "She takes care of them, feeds them, collects their eggs every morning. They are a big part of our daily life and we hope they will not get taken away."

The borough has a non-domestic animals ordinance allows the council to make judgement calls on whether or not residents should be allowed to keep wild animals on their property. In the past, the council has sided with the animal owners with council members mentioning a goat, llama and a pony which was kept temporarily in Fair Haven.

Dawn explained that the ducks are considered domestic ducks which means they are very tame and do not fly. "They are like puppies," said Nicole.

However, the council first became aware of the ducks through multiple complaints from neighbors surrounding the Stover's home. The letters bring three main concerns to the council: the structure which the ducks live in, the disposal of concentrated duck feces and the biggest concern of quacking.

As for the structure, the Stovers are in the process of working with the zoning board on coming up with a structure to house the ducks that meets borough codes. Currently there is a shed that they re-utilized for the ducks and a 5-foot-tall pen made out of 2x4's and hardware cloth. "We are willing to do whatever it takes: take it down, make it smaller," Dawn said. They also offered to put up fences or bushes around the structures.

As for issues surrounding sanitation, Mayor Halfacre said that the borough code enforcement officer has been in touch with the State Environmental Department to discuss issues surrounding the removal of duck feces and other issues that come with housing 6 ducks. "We have gotten some feedback and we will continue to talk to the state about that," said the mayor.

As for the quacking, Dawn and Nicole say the ducks quack about as much as the neighborhood dog barks, but neighbors beg to differ. “The noise is considerable,” said Eileen Bass who lives on Rustic Terrace with the Stovers. “It's annoying. When the ducks start quacking then the neighborhood dogs start barking. And it’s not just a couple of quacks.”

Councilman Koch asked neighbors to allow council members into their homes and back yards within the next months “so we can really ascertain the noise generated by the ducks,” he said. 

Faced with a difficult decision, the council chose to table the decision for a month. "For us up here, this is a lose-lose situation. If we ask you to get rid of the ducks, you are going to be devestated. But if we let you keep the ducks, you are going to have some very unhappy neighbors," said Mayor Halfacre. 

"We want to make sure there is a method for addressing the concerns before we make any decisions," added the mayor.

The council will revisit the issue at a meeting on April 11 at 7:00 p.m. after observing the noise level and getting more information from the state about the issue. The mayor asked the Stovers to come back with a detailed mitigation plan on how they plan to address each of the issues discussed.