Ducks and bedtime?

[Mommysongbird]

What do you do with your ducks at bed time?

Do you close them up or just let them go in on their own??

We have 2 ducks outside with some chicks and the ducks don't want to go into the coop especially while it is raining. It's 8:00 PM and it's been storming here and the 2 ducks are still out. My mom just called and was telling me about the other 6 ducks that I took to her house this morning. They too are out "playing in the rain". All these ducks are about 10 - 11 weeks old.

 

[Going Quackers]

Some of mine will go in on their own(my 8wk olds do) but most wait for me to come herd them in, they know the routine, they go in just before to be locked into predator proof housing.

If one has a run that is safe they can be left to go in/out mine is not so in the barn they go!

 

[Mommysongbird]

Some of mine will go in on their own(my 8wk olds do) but most wait for me to come herd them in, they know the routine, they go in just before to be locked into predator proof housing.

If one has a run that is safe they can be left to go in/out mine is not so in the barn they go!

Mine have a predator proof run, but I am not sure my neighbors are going to like the quacking through the night. The coop has a door on it, so they can be locked in at night time. My mother's however does not have a door at all. My dad says there is no use in putting a front on their duck house, its like a small shed with 3 closed in sides (the back and sides are closed) but the front is open.

 

[Going Quackers]

Do they make that much noise overnight though? See i own Muscovy the ladies rarely quack but i am also in the country so honestly, wouldn't make a darn piece of difference lol

If they are provided the option, they will choose whichever they prefer and in warm weather times outside maybe the top choice, in winter it's all i can do to shove them out of the barn some days but then i feel the same when it's super cold.

 

[fifenashia]

I have 2 male CayugaXPekin ducks and they hated being herded into the coop at night and would often still be out at like midnight if I let them. We recently ripped the door off the coop and now the ducks sleep anywhere in the back yard that they want to. I provide a space for them to escape to if they want/need to and I leave a patch of grass grow up so they can nest down if they want.

Good luck!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i personally lock all my critters up in a secure coop at night. My ducks would love to stay out all night, but i would hate for anything to happen to them, and predators can come out of the blue at any time. The folks who lived here before had ducks. No problem until they came out one morning to find them all decapitated.

Ducks are creatures of habit. If you make it a routine of going into a coop at night, it will be easy to do every night.

 

[keirys]

My ducks put themselves to bed before the chickens do.. no party animals here

 

[Mommysongbird]

Do they make that much noise overnight though? See i own Muscovy the ladies rarely quack but i am also in the country so honestly, wouldn't make a darn piece of difference lol

If they are provided the option, they will choose whichever they prefer and in warm weather times outside maybe the top choice, in winter it's all i can do to shove them out of the barn some days but then i feel the same when it's super cold.

We have 2 mallards and they are still young, but one of them is loud already, maybe a female. The other is still new to outside living but they are roughly the same age. My mom's were very loud when they were at our house, in the brooder box. But yesterday was the first day in their new outdoor peen and they seemed fairly quiet. I have to call her and see how they did overnight.

She has a lot more neighbors than we do, but I don't think any of them will complain if they are a bit noisy. She has 4 mallards and 2 Pekin and 2 more pekin will be going to her house in a few more weeks.

 

[Mommysongbird]

i personally lock all my critters up in a secure coop at night. My ducks would love to stay out all night, but i would hate for anything to happen to them, and predators can come out of the blue at any time. The folks who lived here before had ducks. No problem until they came out one morning to find them all decapitated.

Ducks are creatures of habit. If you make it a routine of going into a coop at night, it will be easy to do every night.

I would prefer that all of our chickens and ducks be in their coops at night time, that way I know they are safe.

I do worry about the ones that I took to my parents house though. They have bear and other wildlife around, but the ducks are in a large 6 foot high dog kennel with chicken wire all around it, on top and on the bottom. But their house is only 3 sided with the front open so they are not locked in an actual coop at any given time.

 

[Mommysongbird]

My ducks put themselves to bed before the chickens do.. no party animals here

Haha! My chicks (the ones in with the ducks) do go into the chicken coop, but sometimes if the ducks don't come in, the chicks will go back out. But they always are in the coop by night fall and just kinda try to coax the ducks in.