When do I put the ducks to bed?

[Qwerty]

Hello.

I have a bit of a problem. I am not quite sure When to put my little ducks to bed. I normally put them in the hutch at seven pm, But I am worried that now the nights are drawing in, they need to go in earlier. I did put them in earlier, and they didn't mind, but now they do not seem to want to go in earlier. They sit there on the pond, doing the what-on-earth-are-you-doing stare!
I was thinking of putting a low watt light in thier pen when it gets dark.
Any ideas?

[lynda66]

if they are happy out, i'd be inclined to leave them till their normal time, if they get too cold, i'm sure they will go inside ......... if it makes you feel better then put a light in, but i'm sure they can see much better than us in the dark

[womble]

You're lucky, when I had ducks they never ever wanted to go in, getting them inside was a nightly performance of running round the garden with a net in each hand... usually several times.

The only reason they would need to go in earlier is to keep them safe from foxes.

[aud]

We have our ducks with out chickens so its not really a problem keeping them out. Oh i must add we have a half an acre fenced field, with a 7 ft fence around it. so its foxy proff.
we do stil shut up the birds in sheds, the chickens get shut up as soon as the sun sets, which at this time of the year is about 5pm. The ducks however stay out till way after its dark.
If you have a pond with an island, then they can stay out all night, Most water birds tend to sleep on water, or at least have the area to escape it.
Oh course you can put them in at any time you like. If you can catch them lol.

[flowerofshona]

When they have had a wash and got their jimjams on

[Qwerty]

When they have had a wash and got their jimjams on

"Don't forget to brush your teeth, my little duckies!"