Stubborn Pekin Ducks

[KayB207]

I have two pekin ducks they are roughly a year old. I recently moved them down to our pond so they can swim and walk around our yard freely. At night they will NOT come in! Last night I went outside around 9:30 pm and they were up in our driveway not sure of where to go. They do not follow me so I had to catch them one at a time and bring them to their pen.
I left them in their coop until 10 am this morning and when I opened up the door they stayed in their coop until about 2pm.
Now it is 9pm and they are still in the pond. I have tried three times to get them to follow me with a flashlight, with treats, and just talking to them and Calling to them. Not only will they not get out of the pond but now they are hiding under the cat nine tails in the pond as if they do not want me to see them. What do I do?

 

[Jpat]

Chasing them definitly wont help, But i understand how bad you want them safe!

Is the coop close to the water?

Do they have a favorite treat or food?

Mabye put treats inside the coop at night and their feed next to it, my ducks will do most anything for food. they always get in the coop at night tho ive never had that problem

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Put some food or treats in there well before sunset and just trap them inside. Do that for a few weeks and they will probably get used to sleeping in there. My ducks abandoned their coop after a pretty intense earthquake. I could not get them to go back in for love or money. But when I raised some meat ducks and locked them into the duck tractor at night, they took to that pretty quick. I think if they get too many or one very intensely bad experience with a sleeping area they just get very turned off and might not ever want to go back in. And no, do not chase or herd them aggressively, that just makes things worse.

 

[CrystaBub]

I agree with @Jpat. Ducks are very food driven, so if you could start treating them when you do finally get them into the house, it will reinforce that they will be rewarded for going inside. I used meal worms and the word 'inside' to get my ducks to go in and now as soon as I say 'inside' they head in. Good luck -keep us posted!

 

[123RedBeard]

Don't feed them in the morning ... hungry ducks are VERY motivated for food or treats ...