My ducks won't sleep in their house.

[canard]

If my ducks are not cooperative, I herd them into their 2 coops. I sometimes walk behind them and say, "It's bedtime. It's time for bed". I have also used two downhill ski poles held out in the shape of a "V" as I walk behind them. They are my "herding sticks". Some people throw a treat such as frozen peas (my ducks' favorite) into their coop to encourage them to go in. If I want them all in the pen fast when I am going out, I throw peas in their net covered pen and they RUN in to fight over them.

 

[canard]

Another suggestion would be to throw some fresh hay in every couple of nights and throw in some Sweet PDZ to help dry out the hay. They do not like wet (poopy) ammonia smelling hay. Who would? I used to clean their coops every week. I work full time. I don't have time to clean coops that often. I plan to use the "deep bedding" plan this fall and winter. My ducks get Sooooooo excited when I throw a layer of fresh hay in their pen and coops. The Pekin make a happy honking noise I ONLY hear them make when they get fresh hay. The Khakis and Runners make excited chattery noises when they get fresh hay in their coop.

 

[kseniyacholock]

We lost 1 Runner (to a hawk) while he/she was free ranging this summer during full daylight when I was at home. I was in and out of the house a ton too. We talked about and looked into ducks for about 6 weeks and then brought 8 home. We raised our Pekin ducklings in the tub at first. When my boyfriend insisted they remain outside after they were older, I made him fashion a hillbilly coop. I would not go to bed without them locked up at night.

We killed one raccoon and one opossum (NOCTURNAL) near them at night this summer. We felt a bit guilty but the urge to protect our ducks influenced our decision to dispatch them. I just found an opossum lurking outside their pen (inside of which is a coop) last night or the night before. I chased him off. I got my boyfriend and he got the pellet gun but the opossum had already run into the woods. We searched with spotlights but didn't find him.

Hawks and eagles will eat them. I have read horror stories people (even those with coops or pens) shared about predators reaching through fencing and ripping their live ducks to death. Even skunks (NOCTURNAL) can kill young ducks. Many animals are attracted by the smell of duck eggs or their feed. I also read fox and raccoons have gone on killing rampages where they killed the entire flock and only ate one or two. I also read that owls (NOCTURNAL) will silently swoop down and decapitate a duck and eat the head and leave the decapitated body behind. The saddest story I read was posted by a woman who had allowed opossum to live under her deck for at least 2 years. Then, suddenly, something kept squeezing into her chicken coop and maiming and killing chickens. Several days later she caught the opossum red handed with blood all over him next to a freshly injured chicken.

I can't imagine the horror of finding my babies ripped up and half dead or dead. I would be very saddened. Even a hillbilly coop slapped together is better than nothing. I don't leave feed in their coops at night any longer. Some animals are more interested in their feed. However, I do not want to take the chance that they would find a duck dinner more inviting. I plan to build a much better enclosed pen/run and coop this fall. They are such sweet companions. They deserve protection.

Many animals have teeth. The ducks do not. How can they defend themselves adequately? The sad reality is they cannot. Imagine a small hungry animal with teeth faced up against a duck. What can a duck do.....waddle over, flap its wings and "beak" the animal with its bill? Fat lot of good that would do. I imagine too as the vegetation dies and winter comes, predators will become even hungrier and the ducks will look even more appetizing.

 

[kseniyacholock]

Thank you so much for your input it was very helpful! Something (racoon, fox, opposum) killed two of my neighbors across the streets female ducks. We live in the city, in apartments but theirs and ours have huge common ground in between her apts U shaped building and mine same shaped, open area in between the "U." and across from each other, and Hawks!! Do we have hawks, me and my husband helped them round them up twice and chase them off both time and they didn't come back all summer until just this past week, there were 3 in our yard but didn't see there one Pekin duck. He seems to stay up the street out of the "open" in day but at night stays by their front door. He now has a dog house they just recently got, but needs a door and he won't go in it!!! It snow tonight and he's out there in the snow and I'm worried sick about his feet getting frost bite and him being cold! I just want to run out there and cuddle him in warm blanket but it's 3am! My neighbor herself has even admitted how lazy her husband is, but he's beyond lazy! Hasn't even bothered to move the hosue next to the front door where he "might" get in it, said he was going to build it a house and by the grace of God we just happened to run into a woman with a big tall dog house (with vent) in the back truck bed when I took the wife to get a bail of hay I paid for and had to put in my car trunk! Grrr

 

[Miss Lydia]

If my ducks are not cooperative, I herd them into their 2 coops. I sometimes walk behind them and say, "It's bedtime. It's time for bed". I have also used two downhill ski poles held out in the shape of a "V" as I walk behind them. They are my "herding sticks". Some people throw a treat such as frozen peas (my ducks' favorite) into their coop to encourage them to go in. If I want them all in the pen fast when I am going out, I throw peas in their net covered pen and they RUN in to fight over them.

I love your avatar!