Ducks won't go in coop at night

[Quackpackmom]

hello! i am a first time duck raiser and i thought i did sufficient research before bringing them home, HA! so, we have to catch them every night and they hate it. i've hand fed since they were little but not exclusively. i work full time so its mostly a few times a week now but they just aren't very excited to see people ever...probably because we have to catch them every day. so, now for 2 days they don't come out of the coop when i open it in the morning and spent all day in the coop with the door open. Then when it hits evening they are out and we have to catch them. my husband is really tired of helping me catch them, i need a solution.

 

[mkathleen419]

I have 6 ducks and two Geese. They do not always go in at night. To round the up I take two long sticks, like yardsticks, and use them as "wings" to guide them. The ducks stay in a group and are very guidable and we can guide them into the coop. That may be less traumatic than chasing and picking them up.

They have started to gather around the coop at around 8:00pm at night now so it is much easier. I am not sure if part of that is they follow the geese who seem smarter and more trainable.

Good luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Herding is a great way to train your ducks to go in. Always walk slow and speak in a soft voice.

 

[416bigbore]

Hello Quackpackmom, Welcome to BYC.

 

[Quackpackmom]

I have 6 ducks and two Geese. They do not always go in at night. To round the up I take two long sticks, like yardsticks, and use them as "wings" to guide them. The ducks stay in a group and are very guidable and we can guide them into the coop. That may be less traumatic than chasing and picking them up.

They have started to gather around the coop at around 8:00pm at night now so it is much easier. I am not sure if part of that is they follow the geese who seem smarter and more trainable.

Good luck!

thank you! my husband wants to put kind of a side on the ramp so we can herd them easier, hopefully that solves the issue i just want them to be happy!

 

[Quackpackmom]

Herding is a great way to train your ducks to go in. Always walk slow and speak in a soft voice.

thank you! i'm hoping to have a better system soon!

 

[tribalacres]

This may sound crazy but since they were hatched in March, we brought them out to their coop in April and we started singing them the same song every night when we would put them up. Two of us spread our arms like wings as someone previously said and we sing the same song as we corral them to their coop. It works, exhausting the first couple of weeks but as soon as we head toward them we start singing and most nights they start heading to their coop.

 

[Quackpackmom]

This may sound crazy but since they were hatched in March, we brought them out to their coop in April and we started singing them the same song every night when we would put them up. Two of us spread our arms like wings as someone previously said and we sing the same song as we corral them to their coop. It works, exhausting the first couple of weeks but as soon as we head toward them we start singing and most nights they start heading to their coop.

the only issue i have is we can't corral them...why did we have to make it elevated

 

[Quackpackmom]

thank you! my husband wants to put kind of a side on the ramp so we can herd them easier, hopefully that solves the issue i just want them to be happy!

also, should i be worried that they are hanging out in there during the day now? i feel like they got mixed up!

 

[HalfWayUpAMountain]

To build on everyones points:

1. Routine is key
2. They'll act up the more stressed you get - keep voices gentle and quiet and move slowly
3. Extend arms or get yourself a nice long bamboo cane each.
4.Have you thought about adding an enclosure to your coop ? That can make things much easier and gives them somewhere safe to be outside if you are busy.
5. They can respond to verbal cues like singing the same song - we say bed tiiiiiiiiiiime in a sing song voice to ours.

And welcome to the duck life !! The learning never ever stops !