Hi all! Does anyone know how long would you have to keep ducklings in thier coop so that they know where home is?? Thanks!
I confess, I mostly kept my littles in a fence till they were four or five months old, then I would herd them. It was easy, but my nerves were shot at first. Keeping treats with you to entice them can help. That's all I can offer. I do know that people have lost ducks, letting them roam around before the ducks realized they needed to stay put.
We adopted 4 adult ducks and kept them in a stall in our barn for two weeks before beginning to let them out. Then it was another two weeks in an enclosed pen attached to the stall where they were kept. Now they have free range of the property, and head back to the barn at night on their own. The time frame seemed to work well as they don't really like a lot of change and the sequence allowed them to gradually re-establish their "home base"