Will Ducks Return to Sleeping Quarters At Night?

[Barry Natchitoches]

I have chickens, and they will return to their sleeping quarters at night without prompting.


Will ducks do the same thing, if I let them out to free range when I'm not at home?

 

[GrannyCarol]

They will come in if they are used to being fed in their night time quarters. Ducks are habit led and love their goodies. Keep in mind that they don't sleep all night like chickens though, they will need to be locked up.

 

[Oddyse]

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[cheapsk8]

My 3 mallards are weird sometimes they go indoors sometimes not

 

[Oddyse]

Mine go in and out as they please. I learned very quickly that ducks do what they want, when they want.

 

[shadust1]

my two pekin ducks live inside my greenhouse....they go down to the pond during the day then when it starts to get dark they waddle all the way back up to the greenhouse...take a bath in there pool there and go into the greenhouse to go to sleep!!! i was nervous when they started to go down to the pond bc i thought they would just stay down there and not come home...but i was wrong....

 

[WalkerH]

At night mine always go back in the fenced area with the chickens, but they never go back to their own space, even though they know how to. I don't mind as I don't lock them up at night anyway. I don't give them water in their house so I don't feel it is right to lock them up. We have a dog door though and I have had noticed when I stay up late one of the dogs usually gets up and goes out there every once in a while and does a perimeter check, which is funny to see since they aren't at all LGD. One time they did get a opossum, so I know they are going out there for a reason.

So to answer your question they will go back to where you feed them. Mine do, and I do believe they sleep in their house, sometimes. Although they prefer the tall foliage in the garden.

 

[GrannyCarol]

BTW, I mentioned locking them up at night because of the probability of predators. If predators are not a problem at your location, then it wouldn't matter so much. Things are pretty calm here, we live in town, but its a very small rural town and the deer and wild turkeys roam freely in my neighbor's rather forested "backyard". He's got about an acre. Coyotes are evident at times, never bothered us, which makes me happy. I do lock mine up in secure/covered pens at night. For one, I feel they are safer and secondly, I don't let them out until 9 or so the next morning and most of the eggs are laid in their pens where I can find them!

 

[emryst]

I have chickens ducks and a turkey that live together and the chickens go in first when it starts getting dark. The turkey squawks at the ducks to get them to go in but they always end up staying out later.

Initially I had to herd the ducks in at night, which is really easy since they all stick together. After a week or so though they got used to the program and always go in at night. Haven't had too much of a problem since. I let them free range in the evening and they know their way back to the fenced in area well enough. At first it did take some repetition but now they all know where the gate is.

 

[cassidy22]

I was surprised. We moved our ducks from a temporary summer home to their permanent and safe winter home. They slept one night outside. The next night, we put in extra bedding and their food trough, plus we made it such that out little lambs couldn't get in the door (but he ducks still could) and in they went, and have been going in ever since.

It takes about a week of picking up chickens at night when they are sleeping, and putting them into their coop, before they will all do it on their own. Ducks are smarter!!