Help training ducklings to sleep

[SwedenDuck]

I need help trying to get my ducklings to sleep. I have three of them that stick together since I bought them a few days ago and have been in my room and handled every day since. I start school soon and I need them to stop chirping so loud due to my parents getting agitated. What techniques can I use in order to help them sleep either in the dark or with a soft light. I rather not get rid of them, due to one having medical issues and they are still very young ducklings. Please help

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Yep sorry ducklings don't sleep long and they peep a lot. They don't seem to recognize day and night and cycle like @Texag87 says above. Be sure you keep feed out all the time. A full duckling is sleepier, especially after zoomies.

 

[Duckworth]

They are a lot like having a new puppy that yelps all night. I would do as others have suggested and make sure you get their outdoor housing ready and very secure so that you can begin acclimating them to their permanent home and move them as soon as they are ready. It's going to be a few weeks. Mine got quieter as they got older, but while they are growing so very fast during these first few weeks, they tend to be very vocal and need to eat frequently. Do you have a secure garage where you could put them overnight? Just be sure to consider the temperature out there and whether their need for supplemental heat is different there.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

My other incubator is hatching geese. My friend 3d printed a goose egg turner. I really like loaning my incubators.

 

[Rplantage]

This helps alot my ducks are barely 2 weeks old. I told my husband its like having kids all over again. All through the night they eat drink and play mainly with their drinking bowl they drink water and play in it alot im constantly changing the pine shavings. But at 2 weeks they are very active. But i have a question do you have any suggestions on how to keep the pine shavings dry. I change their bedding at least twice at night

Soft light works best. Ducks do not sleep all night and ducklings are even worse. They usually sleep an hour or two followed by action......eating, drinking, pooping, and playing for a half hour or so, and the cycle starts again. Gradually ween them off the soft night light and their sleep will be longer. Do it to fast and they will panic and scream

 

[silverlinings]

This helps alot my ducks are barely 2 weeks old. I told my husband its like having kids all over again. All through the night they eat drink and play mainly with their drinking bowl they drink water and play in it alot im constantly changing the pine shavings. But at 2 weeks they are very active. But i have a question do you have any suggestions on how to keep the pine shavings dry. I change their bedding at least twice at night

Ducks are gross! Because I work from home, I had a much easier time keeping the brooder clean. Whenever I would use the bathroom, I'd use a paper towel or dog poop bag to pick up the poop/wet spots I could see and toss a little more pine shavings in. The smartest thing I did with my second round of ducklings was the water/juice/milk jug with holes cut in it big enough for their head but not their body. I placed that on top of a shallow baking pan with a cooling rack. I wrapped the cooling rack over the top with non-slip shelf liner and that way, most of the water stayed in/on top of the area where the pan was.

They only make more mess as they get older. I've raised in 4 different batches since August last year and I can say my most recent time was the easiest! Sometimes you just have to let it go and remember that they're messy little things. Photo below of my second brooder setup.

 

[Texag87]

Soft light works best. Ducks do not sleep all night and ducklings are even worse. They usually sleep an hour or two followed by action......eating, drinking, pooping, and playing for a half hour or so, and the cycle starts again. Gradually ween them off the soft night light and their sleep will be longer. Do it to fast and they will panic and scream.

 

[Steven Bussell]

We are raising a mixed flock. They where 2 days old when we put them together.
We used a heating plate in our coop and only turned on the coop light when it was to cold to leave the window open during the day. We alway shut it off at sunset.
We would turn the light on to help train them to go to bed after we started allowing them outdoor.
Now the flock doesn't even need the light but they get very moody if we don't go turn it on for a little while.
Then about a half hour after lock down if we don't turn off the light the ducks let's us know by yelling for us to turn it off.
We don't hear anything from them until 6:30 am if we haven't let them outside.

 

[Texag87]

I recommend raising them on puppy pee pads. You can just roll them up sand throw away. Much easier and less smelly than pine shavings. Here are my current babies.
View attachment 3442716

Their siblings are in your incubator due to hatch two weeks from Monday. The family we are hatching for is supposed to come over and look at them when we candle tomorrow evening. Sample candling this evening shows 9 still going strong.

 

[Duckie doodle]

I had the same problem you do now with my pekin drake. What I did is I got him into a routine so when I go to bed I call him and he follows me right to bed then he goes to his spot where he sleeps but I did not use a light for him overnight it was always completely dark. Since they are ducklings they do not sleep much they are babies so they will run around and play, eat, drink, poop. I do notice that my pekin will yell at me if he is out of food or water during the night so maybe that could be why they are extra noisy.