Clarissa Embach

Meredith Casto wrote:Perhaps this is a silly question: what kind of call do you use to call your ducks in for the night?  Or does it even matter what kind of call you use?  For the night, our ducks will be in a fenced area with our chickens.  The chickens are closed up in a moveable chicken tractor at night, but think we will have boxes for the ducks for sleeping and laying.  Thoughts?

"Hey Ducks, Hey Ducks" The ducks usually respond with quacks and the geese honk, and they eventually come waddling up the incline toward the barn. However they are not as obedient as a pet dog.  

My ducks and geese free range about 80% of the time. I do have a 1/4 acre pond on 3.2 acre property. They are not given free access to food during the day, so my younger son feeds them just before sunset in a secured barn. The barn yard area is surrounded by electrified netting.

When the pond is frozen or if it is snowing (fox hunt during the day), I don't let them free range. They are contained inside the electrified fence. Sometime between March and April, I watch them more carefully because the foxes are hunting for their kits during the day.

You can train them to come home with a call. I have never had a problem with hawks or vultures hunting the ducks or geese.