Ducks suddenly are terrified of me

[Hunter0704]

Some of you will think I'm nuts, but here goes.....my ducks sleep under a raised chicken coop, three sides of it enclosed...the run is attached and open to them all night that is covered with hardware cloth.

I hung a dark colored towel across the area the ducks sleep in so no one can see them...meaning predators. Additional, each night I move their hanging feeder from the run to under the coop near the ducks to keep predators from seeing the food. I put white LED lights around the run for Xmas and have decided to leave them there for the ducks, and for me to see if there are any predators around. My chickens won't even go into their raised coop at night unless their light is on...we were gone from home and returned after dark twice now and when we went to check on the ducks and chickens, the chickens were in with the ducks and didn't go up into the coop until we turned on their light. I think they all feel secure with the lights and with the visual blockage of the towel. Just my opinion!

 

[Amiga]

I use solar recharged string lights around the day pen, duck house and veranda for the same reasons, Hunter0704. It has worked out well. It's just enough light that the ducks and I can see what is happening at night. The electric fence helps discourage predators that don't take the hint.

 

[yoyosma]

When my girls were acting all spooky, I tried turning on the yellow bug light that they'd had in their night coop when they were first out of the brooder (I had it on then for a little extra heat, and because they'd had 24 hour light in the brooder). I'd had no lights on at night for about 3 months by then.
They acted like I was going to kill them when I tried to herd them into the lighted coop! Apparently they'd completely forgotten about their cheerful yellow nightlight.
They're much happier with the lights off, for some reason; even flashlights around their area really freak them out.
But, as I said, they did at least grow out of that horrible phase when ANYTHING I did was terrifying.
It's really a learning curve for me, with these ducks and geese. The geese HATE change! They finally got comfortable here in their new home, and then I moved the electric poultry netting today, to give them some greener grass.
They're in full mourning for their old, muddy, chewed-to-nothing area. Hanging around the coop and muttering darkly.