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[Ziggy]

Hi everybody,

I would appreciate people's advice and feedback on ducks' behaviour at night. I have noticed for the last few weeks that my five runner ducks, who are about four months old now, have been very busy and active at dawn, and the females quack a fair amount, nothing frantic, but a steady chatter-like quack which is enough to wake us up at times.

Then, tonight, I woke up at 1am and heard faint quacks, and came down to the garden to make sure everything was fine, and all seems ok but all the ducks are up and about and eating and drinking and behaving as if it was 'active time' and not at all sleeping time. Googled a few things, and have found a substantial number of articles suggesting ducks are 'nocturnal' and unlike chickens will be regularly active at night. Mine do seem to spend a fair amount of time in their coop in the day, though they do come out to eat/drink/wash/play regularly.

My question is this. They live in a WIR, with a cube placed on the floor (no legs), and I had so far left the door of the cube open at night as the WIR is predator-proof. As they are getting noisy at dawn, to avoid neighbour complaints (not had any complaints yet, but thinking ahead), and to avoid complaints from DH who says they wake him up at 5am, I was thinking of closing the cube door in the evening, so they might be encouraged to sleep, or at least their chatter will be less loud. Having read about their nocturnal behaviour being normal, though, I wonder if locking them in the cube from evening till morning would be ok, or whether they'd be distressed to be locked in?

Any suggestions/advice much appreciated,

[mollyripkim]

I have two call ducks also in a fox proof WIR, initially I shut them in their duck house every night and they soon got the hang of being herded in to bed, then they were let out first thing in the morning. When this hot weather started I decided to leave them out overnight - they are always up and about when I get up, often on the pond but I haven't been aware of any noise. Call ducks are known for being extremely loud but definitely have got quieter since they have grown up so maybe yours will get quieter as they mature.

I really don't think it stresses them being locked in at night.

[miller30]

My ducks are locked up every night and have been for the last nearly 8 years they know when it is bedtime and I sometimes hear banging and quacking in the night this will be my drake chasing the girls around trying to tread them he thinks hes hugh hefner little sod it does them no harm to be locked in at night and mine start shouting in the morning to be let out I ignore them until I want to let them out they don't have any food or water at night as this will attract rats leanne

[Ziggy]

Thank you, I will lock them in if they remain so noisy... I hesitate now cause it's quite warm, but I could always slide the roof of the cube off a tiny bit to help with 'air conditioning' if need be...

Thanks again

[Cheeky Chooky]

Our Muscovy girls are locked safely away every night and they seem perfectly happy After reading a terrible post on here about someone finding their poor Muscovy had had its bill ripped off overnight through the bars of the WIR, I'd never risk my girls

[Ziggy]

Well I tried last night, sent all the duckies in the cube before going to bed and closed the door. I slid the roof of the cube forward a little bit, not enough for them to poke their head out, but enough to let some air in. It all went well, no noise at night, and they seemed quite happy and unstressed when I let them out this morning!

 

I must stop worrying so much about those duckies!!