Male White Duck grooming In Forest

Your duck's sleeping patterns will vary based on a variety of factors, such as the way in which you house him and the current weather conditions. For example, he may take frequent naps in the shallow parts of his pond when the spring sun warms the water quickly. Conversely, he may sleep through the long, cold nights of winter, tucked away in his shelter. While ducks often sleep at night, their activity period is not restricted to sunlit hours; in fact, many species migrate at night. In warm weather, ducks may feed through the night. Always be sure your duck has access to water whenever he has access to food.

A landmark study published in a 1999 issue of the journal "Nature," produced some startling information. The data demonstrated that ducks can allow half of their brain to sleep at a time, so that the other half of their brain -- and the associated eye, which often remains open -- can be alert for predators. In a subsequent interview with "The Independent," lead scientist Niles C. Rattenborg, explained: "Birds sleeping under risky conditions spend more time with one eye open and half the brain awake." Ducks sleeping at the end of a line often keep the eye closest to the other ducks closed, while the other eye remains open.

Young ducks sleep more as they age, according to a study by James K. Ringleman and Lester D. Flake. Publishing their results in a 1980 issue of "Journal of Wildlife Management," the pair documented a group of mallards and blue-winged teals (Anas discors), living in a South Dakota wetland area. In most cases, as young ducklings aged, they slept -- and groomed -- for longer periods than their younger counterparts did. In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey scientists Pamela J. Pietz and Deborah A. Buhl, collected similar data while studying mallards in North Dakota and Minnesota.