Help..!?!?!? They won't come out..!!!

[paulandashia]

Our Golden 300 Hybrids, whom are about 6 weeks old now went outside for their first night in the coop last night.
They did good, and thanks to the heat lamp, the coop was nice and warm inside, despite the freezing temperatures outside.
This morning I went out and opened the mini-door that led to the outside run to give them access to the outside.
This was at 8am. It is late afternoon now, and I am yet to even see a single duck as much as stick their head out to look outside.
They have been in the garage since hatching.

I decided their water will be staying outside. TOO Messy to be indoors.
I have their food dish in there, but I don't want to put water inside the coop. I was thinking about mixing the water and feed, to make it mushy, but i don't want to put the water in there. They splash too much, and the cement on the floor is still drying.

I was trying to keep them safe, so I kept them inside for a long time.
Did I do something wrong by keeping them indoors all these weeks?

How can I encourage them to go outside?

Help?

 

[chickboss]

Give them some time, and try to rig up a water container that won't be as messy. I use a bucket with a lid cut back just far enough for them to get their heads in. They just feel safe in there for now, they will get curious and come out on their own soon enough. My chicks did this for about a week, and now it is a rush to the door the second I open it. They just need to adjust. Your coop seems roomy and nice. Maybe if you did the bucket thing you could put some kind of tray undernieth to catch any they manage to spill. You'll only have a mess for a short while, and then, once they are comfy with the outdoors you can move the water back out. Hope this helps!

Another thought, you may want to switch it up and have the food outside to motivate them, and the water in. I know you don't want the mess, but the food will lure them out just as well and if they are being obstinant they can go longer without the food than without water.

 

[nissa_loves_cats]

They are young yet, give them time to get used to their new home and in time they will be going out. Mostly when you don't want them to.

 

[purr]

I think they will come out eventually,If your going to provide food in the coop though you really need to give them water too.Ducks need water to eat or they might choke.

 

[ChickNMallardMomma]

hya... I am rather new to ducklings as well... just got my first 20 last weekend. I have a coop very similar to the way yours looks in the pic. I put their food in the coop and their water bowl outside and they have a very shallow thing of water out in the attached enclosed run that they can play in.

When I go out to check on/feed/water them they are ALWAYS huddled in the corner on the far side of the coop. I KNOW they are going outside because they have severely mucked the shallow play area and nearly totally emptied it. They also empty their waterer every night as well. I have so far caught them outside ONE time... but as soon as they realized I was coming they ran back inside. I would wager it is the same with yours. They are still rather scared and are probably hiding when they realize you are coming.

Again, am rather new at this myself but these are just my own observations.

~Sami

 

[CoopCrazy]

With my Pekins I just had to push one out the door and it saw the pool and that was all she wrote, every single other duck was out there in minutes splashing around.. Just try to bribe them or shove em out ..

 

[Amiga]

I would bribe them with treats. They do need water, though. Can you make a treat trail to the waterer outside? I plan to have the water and food outside in a secure pen attached to the shelter. There is a larger duck yard beyond the pen. The pen has a sand and hardware cloth (wire mesh) floor, and drains very nicely.

Temperatures at night have been so cold here, and I don't have electric to the shelter, so we are waiting another week before they go out.

They have had several outside afternoons on warm days, so they understand outside. We will see how they adjust to a new bedroom.

 

[paulandashia]

Ok, so we played a little game of chase with me having to grab them and shove them in and out of the coop.
It took about 20 rounds, but they are going in and out on their own now, although they deffinitely prefer to be OUT. LOL

Also, does anyone have any idea on weather or not there might be some problems when I put the Chickens in there in 2 weeks?
I don't want any of them to get hurt....