6 month old not coming in at night

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I had Muscovy in the past and they came back to the coop even earlier than the chickens but now I have Khaki Campbells and it is a fight every night. They WANT to stay in the pond. I have to go to the pond with a long pole and force them out, it is not fun and now that it is cold I want them to go inside periodically to warm up by getting out of the water but they just won't. I tried to wait them out, but they just stay out and start to shiver and shake for how cold they are.

I tried randomly putting dried worms in their bowl inside the coop so they go inside to check and "like" the coop, but the pond is just more beloved. They go in, eat worms, go back out and at the end of the day, no positive attention gets them to the coop.

Help! How do I teach them to come inside on their own ?

 

[sourland]

How and when do you feed them? I would provide feed in the coop/pen only in the evening so that they come in to eat - then I would close them in.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You could also build a pen so that when they come up to eat at a certain time of day you clsoe them up. that way you have them right there so you can herd them inside. I went through this years ago with 3 of my Muscovy females they got up on the bank behind our house which is steep and no matter what I did I could not get them to come down. I about froze out there begging them and bribing them but nothing worked so I had to leave them out overnight. Next day I fixed them good I put up fencing so when they came into the smaller area where I keep food and water I could close that off from the rest of their property and I could herd them inside. I used plastic poultry fencing and the fence posts that have a point and you push them into the ground so easy to use and worked.

 

[CoriM]

Agree with other posters - figure out a way to lure them in with treats and food - can you bring the meal worm container out and call them to you? Mine will come running for those or peas. You just need to establish a new routine for them so they feel most comfortable coming into shelter at dusk.

 

[Canadian Wind]

I'm having the same issue with mine, a bunch of them have decided that under the porch is more fun than in the coop. >.< And we're having a massive winter storm tonight. I only managed to get half the ducks safely in their coops.

Thankfully, it's not going to be cold overnight, but I need to get them all sorted and going into proper shelter.