How do ducks fair in the winter???

Old McRonald said:

Are call ducks more at risk because of smaller size compared to full sized ducks?

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You know. . I have calls and I have standard size ducks.
I really don't notice much difference in their behavior in regards to being cold. .
I'm in Missouri but we still have some freezing and below freezing weather here. . and all my crazy birds still want to come outside pretty much no matter what.. I would say the calls do just as good in the cold as my standard. They have full access to their house at all times and I lock them up every night. Winter is more of a struggle keeping the water out more than anything.

shawluvsbirds said:

You know. . I have calls and I have standard size ducks.
I really don't notice much difference in their behavior in regards to being cold. .
I'm in Missouri but we still have some freezing and below freezing weather here. . and all my crazy birds still want to come outside pretty much no matter what.. I would say the calls do just as good in the cold as my standard. They have full access to their house at all times and I lock them up every night. Winter is more of a struggle keeping the water out more than anything.

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I will see some colder temps than you since I'm your neighbor to the north in NE Iowa but that is good to know. This will be my 1st winter with calls and I'm going to baby them somewhat as last winter some of my roosters weren't smart enough to go inside and got their combs frostbitten and become peacombed!

shawluvsbirds said:

You know. . I have calls and I have standard size ducks.
I really don't notice much difference in their behavior in regards to being cold. .
I'm in Missouri but we still have some freezing and below freezing weather here. . and all my crazy birds still want to come outside pretty much no matter what.. I would say the calls do just as good in the cold as my standard. They have full access to their house at all times and I lock them up every night. Winter is more of a struggle keeping the water out more than anything.

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I haven't seen any cold weather issues with my call ducks either. They seem as winter hardy as my full sized ducks. I mostly just keep a watch on their feet for any issues.
I even had a hen hatch a clutch in February, and we had snow in their first few weeks. I lost a couple that got separated from her, but for the most part, she took great care of them.

WVduckchick said:

I haven't seen any cold weather issues with my call ducks either. They seem as winter hardy as my full sized ducks. I mostly just keep a watch on their feet for any issues.
I even had a hen hatch a clutch in February, and we had snow in their first few weeks. I lost a couple that got separated from her, but for the most part, she took great care of them.
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Your calls are so pretty!

Old McRonald said:

Are call ducks more at risk because of smaller size compared to full sized ducks?

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No not really. What can happen though is poop freezing to the butt end when they huddled up in straw. I just take out a warm pail of water and dip the butt into the water to remove the frozen poop ball. Other than that the do good. I also provide heat if temps here get brutally cold. Anything after -20C I run heat till it warms up again. Definitely not room temperature but definitely not -20C either.