Do I just keep putting them in or will they learn?

[Fur-N-Fowl]

If I'm understanding correct and it's Ducks you're talking about then you will most likely have to always put them in their coop/house.

All my chickens go into their huts as soon as it starts to get dark. The later brighter nights now messes with their routine but they are generally in their huts by 9pm.

However, our ducks just don't go in even when it's dark. We herd them in and they go in easily enough it's just they need to be told to go in. Ducks will also like to wander during the night, they don't usually lie down and sleep all night so locking them up is a must unless you have a 100% secure run for them.

My mandarins are housed in a secure aviary with my parrots. They have a hut to go in on a night but they don't bother to use it. They prefer to sit outside in the aviary on a night. Luckily they are safe in there, however, if I left my Indian runners out they'd most likely be taken by a fox during the night as they are free range.​

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Sorry for the late response, I was doing my chores until now.
Yes, I know how dangerous it is for them.
I wouldn't be asking if our 3 dogs hadn't started alerting us that something may be out there, especially since our male cat likes to go out during the night for a little bit. They actually saved our chickens last year when they woke us all up around 1am because a raccoon was in our backyard. One of our dogs chased after it until it went up into a tree. We had contacted animal control about it and they ended up catching it days later and then killing it.

 

[ketojenn]

I recently went out of town and left my 19 year old in charge. He was not impressed with the ducks not going up the ramp like the chickens. He said they were happy to go in if he set them on the ramp, but wouldn't go on their own. Lol
Since I have to go out of town a lot, we decided to build a smaller, secure run attached to the coop. This way they can stay outside and be safe if I'm gone. They are in a pretty large run now, but it's not predator proof. So, it's a run inside of the run. Make sense?

 

[Sacri]

Colonel and Duchess keep scaring me when there are nights where I forget to put them in their coop. I'll up around 4 or 5am and they'll be out in the yard.
Already hate myself for forgetting those nights.

Should I just continue putting them in their coop or will they learn?

Any advice or tips are welcome!

set an alarm on your phone. You can set it to go off seven days a week. Mine learned pretty quick to go in at dark but I always go out and count them and lock them in.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

set an alarm on your phone. You can set it to go off seven days a week. Mine learned pretty quick to go in at dark but I always go out and count them and lock them in.

Alarms don't work on me, I tried already. A month ago, I had 7 alarms set for each half hour but I never woke up for any of them.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Well..They will always need to be put in because Ducks won't go if not told to go in. They don't sleep all night like chickens do...

Mine do.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Mine do.

mine do too most of the time as soon as it gets dark.