Ducks won’t get out of pond at night

[Brooke_R]

My ducks normally would go to their coup in the evening on their own however lately since they’ve been hanging out in the pond all day, they refuse to go to bed. I try to coax them out of the pond but the won’t get out and I swear they even mess with me by swimming up like they will and then very quickly swimming away. I’ve tried throwing rocks behind them to scare them out but that no longer works. I just stood outside for like 15 minutes in the rain while it’s near freezing. They absolutely will not get out for treats or food. I even tried not putting food out since this morning and coaxing them out with food now and they still won’t. I’m about to give up because it doesn’t seem there’s anything else I can do but it still worries me so much that something will get them at night even though they stay in the pond for the most part. Is there anything I’m not doing that I can? Or should I just leave them be and hope nothing gets them?

 

[SolarDuck]

You could try getting a long rope, and have you and another person hold each side of the rope from different sides of the pond and use it to round them back towards their coop.

 

[Brooke_R]

You could try getting a long rope, and have you and another person hold each side of the rope from different sides of the pond and use it to round them back towards their coop.

Oh okay thank you! I’ll try that when they come closer to the shore

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How old are they? Many of us that have ducks that free range on a pond, will often go through this. I found that my ducks do best if they have a bright flashlight to guide them. They go up easier if I lure them up before it gets dark but not too early. It's a very fine line where they come up. It's just one of those things that you have to see what works best for your flock. Some will chase a red pointer light anywhere. Sometimes they need a little break as I honestly believe they can sense our frustration with it all, but you're right in worrying about predators, so I certainly wouldn't leave them unless all else fails and you need a break to regroup. @Isaac 0 has advised to have a partner and use a long rope that will go all the way across the pond and one of you stays on one side while the other walks along the other with the other end of the rope.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Oh okay thank you! I’ll try that when they come closer to the shore

This works wherever they are. You just need a rope that will go all the way across the pond. You should be able to corral them where you want them, if I'm understanding this correctly.

I say this because I know how it is to work at trying to convince them to come up for hours in the freezing rain. I hope something works to get them up soon. Be sure to take care of you

 

[Brooke_R]

How old are they? Many of us that have ducks that free range on a pond, will often go through this. I found that my ducks do best if they have a bright flashlight to guide them. They go up easier if I lure them up before it gets dark but not too early. It's a very fine line where they come up. It's just one of those things that you have to see what works best for your flock. Some will chase a red pointer light anywhere. Sometimes they need a little break as I honestly believe they can sense our frustration with it all, but you're right in worrying about predators, so I certainly wouldn't leave them unless all else fails and you need a break to regroup. @Isaac 0 has advised to have a partner and use a long rope that will go all the way across the pond and one of you stays on one side while the other walks along the other with the other end of the rope.

The older ones are about 5 months old and the younger ones are about 3-4 months old. I’ll try with the flashlight as well as the rope. Thank you!

 

[Brooke_R]

This works wherever they are. You just need a rope that will go all the way across the pond. You should be able to corral them where you want them, if I'm understanding this correctly.

I say this because I know how it is to work at trying to convince them to come up for hours in the freezing rain. I hope something works to get them up soon. Be sure to take care of you

Thank you I’m about to go try again with a rope if I can find one

 

[HeatherKellyB]

That's about the age that I started struggling with getting mine off the pond at night. I hope something works for you soon.

You probably already know this, but just in case, ducks (at least my ducks) are terrified of umbrellas, so I had to go without during this time.

I started putting their feed up after they had breakfast, then giving them an early lunch. By the time it was dark, they were hungry again and they were easily lured at night with hearing their feed rattling and me calling them the same way every night before it got completely dark. Of course they're all different so what works for some won't work for others. I just wanted to share what worked for me

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ya know....mine play with the red dot from a laser pointer.
Maybe try that to get them off the pond.

 

[Brooke_R]

That's about the age that I started struggling with getting mine off the pond at night. I hope something works for you soon.

You probably already know this, but just in case, ducks (at least my ducks) are terrified of umbrellas, so I had to go without during this time.

I started putting their feed up after they had breakfast, then giving them an early lunch. By the time it was dark, they were hungry again and they were easily lured at night with hearing their feed rattling and me calling them the same way every night before it got completely dark. Of course they're all different so what works for some won't work for others. I just wanted to share what worked for me

Thank you so much for your advice. Maybe they’ll start coming up for food