how do you get your ducks to go to bed?

I walk outside in the evening and yell duck duck duck duckduckduck bedtime. Every goose, chicken and duck comes running. I also carry a blue feed bucket when calling them. Everyone heads for their home waiting for dinner.
 
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When you say "waiting for dinner", does that mean that you don't keep their feeders full durring the day, or you just give them a treat for "dinner"? Thanks!
 
I remove the feeders from the coops during the day.....making the chickens and ducks forage in the yard during the day. I put the feeders back in when I close up the coops for the night. All I have to do it say "coop coop" and all the birds go in their respective coops and wait for dinner.

For the poster who said you cannot train a duck to lay in a certain spot, I have! I put a wooden crate sideways in the coop with fresh sand and they have been laying in it perfectly every morning for 3 weeks now. I get 8-9 eggs per day and they are all nicely kept clean this way.
 
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Yep, me too, I have a bamboo pole I call my "duck stick" - only way to herd them in anymore. They used to go in just fine, now they just want to keep wandering even when it is getting very dark.
 
I think mine are protesting the shorter days they used to come inside pretty easily, sometimes by themselves. Now they want no part of coming inside at 6:30 to 7. I have had to resort to having a shovel with me to herd them in a couple of nights recently.
 
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When you say "waiting for dinner", does that mean that you don't keep their feeders full durring the day, or you just give them a treat for "dinner"? Thanks!

Rainy days feeders are left out and available since they tend to stay closer to the buildings. Normal days here the feeders are filled at night only for those who free range. Those in flight pens or breeding pens get fed twice a day with chopped greens, grasses ect mid day.
 
Sean S. :

I think mine are protesting the shorter days they used to come inside pretty easily, sometimes by themselves. Now they want no part of coming inside at 6:30 to 7. I have had to resort to having a shovel with me to herd them in a couple of nights recently.

Mine are doing that too. It's weird. They used to head for the duck house when it started getting dusk. Now they just want to run with the opossums, raccoons, coyotes in the dark! Makes for a somewhat frantic human, tagging along after them, with my duck stick, saying, "well if you REALLY want to stay out and get eaten...." Of course, I don't give up until I catch them. And they don't understand me, and I just look silly. It's become a nightly routine.​
 
We trained our also. About 2 weeks of our time and now they have us trained. If we don't go out to put them to bed at their time...just before dusk ( my thinking was not to have them free ranging while preds are probably looking for an eveing meal), they are waiting at the pen. We feed them but they eat it all up. In fact, I am concerned ours are too fat...pekings. How can you tell?
Does anyone have any suggestions on good housing for them.....they sure get messy and wet, we allow them a water bucket when locked up, but I get concerned about the wetness in the winter.
 
Mine go in when they are told "bedtime, ducks"

I put fresh water in their run and their evening meal.

I also herd them a little bit, which mostly involves standing still and moving a long stick that I'm holding. You have to go slow when herding ducks and give them time to think. If they get rushed, they panic, and then they scatter.

While they are learning, I block their path with some portable fencing so their options about which way to go are limited.

But then my fat butt Appleyards want to stand and argue about it. Sometimes I have to reach down and give them a shove to get them moving in the right direction.
 
thanks everyone for your responses! alot of you say you feed at night. i have their feed out all the time should they not have it available that much? also i've tried using treats (cracked corn) but when they know it is to coax them in they ignore me, they follow me till they realize my plan then turn around and walk the other way, clever little boogers
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. this might have something to do with it.....i have them in an enclosed area with their coop in the same place. they come out in the yard once a day for an hour or two (b/c i have dogs that would like them for lunch
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) it's mostly getting them back in the enclosed area that i have a problem with. at night they usually let me walk up to them and pick them up to put them away, usually lol. maybe i need to try different treats? eventually i'm going to build a bigger area for them so hopefully they won't be as reluctant
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