Canadian Winters with Ducks

[Jelibaen]

I'm in Alberta, Canada. This is our forecast this week. It has already been like this for 3 days. Needless to say, my flock is a bit upset about the temps.
Last year I only had 8 ducks and we hit -53C. Managed okay, had some frozen poopy bums every few days. This year I have 20 ducks and 2 geese in an uninsulated 8x12 coop. Lots of straw. Heated rubber water buckets but no supplemental heat. Only just started having some frozen poopiscle butts tonight, but nothing all that bad. So I figured I would share my winter tips, and if anyone else has other advice, feel free to add on!!

- A big thick layer of bedding (straw is what I use) is your best friend. Fluff it at least once a day so it doesnt get packed down and frozen with poop. When you have a cold night, add more straw.
- Do not use heat lamps in a duck coop. The fire hazard alone is huge, but heat causes condensation, and that will give you more grief than the cold will. Ducks and geese should have a healthy layer of fat and down built up for winter.
- The more birds you have, the less trouble. More birds is more body heat and they will snuggle up together. The other bonus to more birds is that someone is always moving, so there's less time for your ducks to sit there and get frozen poopy bums if they're constantly having to get up and move around.
- Heated buckets are your friend, but make sure you get the rubber ones. Plastic buckets will crack if they freeze. Rubber buckets are flexible, so if they do end up freezing, the bucket isn't damaged. That flexibility also makes it easier to get ice chunks out.
- Feed as much as they can eat, but especially before bed. A full belly is a warm belly, and your ducks will be warmer if they are digesting food overnight instead of on an empty stomach

Add your own!

 

[Callender Girl]

You offer some really good advice and a reminder to me that, although it's sometimes ridiculously cold here, some folks have it even colder!

I second your suggestion about heat lamps -- or anything electrical in a duck coop/run. I know ducks can cope with the cold, but I usually throw some straw in their run for them to lie on, mostly because it makes me feel better! I had been using electric water dishes, made for dogs, with heavy-duty outdoor extension cords in the duck yard for years successfully.

That is, until a day with a bit of thawing allowed the electrical plug to fall into a tiny puddle of melted snow. The crisis was averted because I saw smoke from the smoldering straw in time to remove the cord.

Best wishes for getting yourself and your ducks through winter!

 

[Canadian Wind]

I am so glad I'm in Ontario and don't have these temps, yet. Probably will around February, though.

Geez, that's going to be one heck of a jump for Sunday! Hope the winds aren't too bad for you from that!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

You offer some really good advice and a reminder to me that, although it's sometimes ridiculously cold here, some folks have it even colder!

I second your suggestion about heat lamps -- or anything electrical in a duck coop/run. I know ducks can cope with the cold, but I usually throw some straw in their run for them to lie on, mostly because it makes me feel better! I had been using electric water dishes, made for dogs, with heavy-duty outdoor extension cords in the duck yard for years successfully.

That is, until a day with a bit of thawing allowed the electrical plug to fall into a tiny puddle of melted snow. The crisis was averted because I saw smoke from the smoldering straw in time to remove the cord.

Best wishes for getting yourself and your ducks through winter!

To the bucket issue I have 3 of them and I set a plastic boot thing first then a small Matt over it then the bucket I have the cord pulled up so it’s never laying on the ground
Every night I switch out my Matt so it’s not built up with ice and no melting water issues

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

View attachment 3354315
I'm in Alberta, Canada. This is our forecast this week. It has already been like this for 3 days. Needless to say, my flock is a bit upset about the temps.
Last year I only had 8 ducks and we hit -53C. Managed okay, had some frozen poopy bums every few days. This year I have 20 ducks and 2 geese in an uninsulated 8x12 coop. Lots of straw. Heated rubber water buckets but no supplemental heat. Only just started having some frozen poopiscle butts tonight, but nothing all that bad. So I figured I would share my winter tips, and if anyone else has other advice, feel free to add on!!

- A big thick layer of bedding (straw is what I use) is your best friend. Fluff it at least once a day so it doesnt get packed down and frozen with poop. When you have a cold night, add more straw.
- Do not use heat lamps in a duck coop. The fire hazard alone is huge, but heat causes condensation, and that will give you more grief than the cold will. Ducks and geese should have a healthy layer of fat and down built up for winter.
- The more birds you have, the less trouble. More birds is more body heat and they will snuggle up together. The other bonus to more birds is that someone is always moving, so there's less time for your ducks to sit there and get frozen poopy bums if they're constantly having to get up and move around.
- Heated buckets are your friend, but make sure you get the rubber ones. Plastic buckets will crack if they freeze. Rubber buckets are flexible, so if they do end up freezing, the bucket isn't damaged. That flexibility also makes it easier to get ice chunks out.
- Feed as much as they can eat, but especially before bed. A full belly is a warm belly, and your ducks will be warmer if they are digesting food overnight instead of on an empty stomach

Add your own!

I’m also in Alberta and we hit -43 yesterday. My ducks won’t come out of the coop at -30 or cooler
They limp almost immediately
So yesterday I had to put water in the coop for them this caused me issues of frost up the wall , door and the shavings on the floor
Needless to say all 16 were brought in the house as they themselves had ice on them
This is our first winter outside as last year I only had 2 and hatched 5 little ones in December.
I have been keeping a small heater in the pen for -20 or cooler I turn on
My guess is that along with the water inside caused me the moisture issue
It’s a learning curve for me this year
It’s going to be warmed up to +2 this weekend and I’ll move them back outside and stop using the heat on the cold days
As for the outside run we are going to make something that gives them a bit of covered outside area so the snow is not constantly covering the shavings outside causing the feet to get to cold
Any suggestions to stop feed , grit and oyster shells from freezing outside ? I usually keep them further apart from water but in the cold temps they really won’t walk far before needing to lay down and pull their feet up
Our coop is a garage with cement floor
It’s big door is what caused me most my issues last night as the ice was mostly around that area
I think we will plastic it from the outside for the winter as many little drafts can come through it
I use a really thick layer of shavings and I clean my pen twice a day when they stay in most of the time
Any extra advice to help me get through our first winter would be much appreciated

 

[Jelibaen]

I’m also in Alberta and we hit -43 yesterday. My ducks won’t come out of the coop at -30 or cooler
They limp almost immediately
So yesterday I had to put water in the coop for them this caused me issues of frost up the wall , door and the shavings on the floor
Needless to say all 16 were brought in the house as they themselves had ice on them
This is our first winter outside as last year I only had 2 and hatched 5 little ones in December.
I have been keeping a small heater in the pen for -20 or cooler I turn on
My guess is that along with the water inside caused me the moisture issue
It’s a learning curve for me this year
It’s going to be warmed up to +2 this weekend and I’ll move them back outside and stop using the heat on the cold days
As for the outside run we are going to make something that gives them a bit of covered outside area so the snow is not constantly covering the shavings outside causing the feet to get to cold
Any suggestions to stop feed , grit and oyster shells from freezing outside ? I usually keep them further apart from water but in the cold temps they really won’t walk far before needing to lay down and pull their feet up
Our coop is a garage with cement floor
It’s big door is what caused me most my issues last night as the ice was mostly around that area
I think we will plastic it from the outside for the winter as many little drafts can come through it
I use a really thick layer of shavings and I clean my pen twice a day when they stay in most of the time
Any extra advice to help me get through our first winter would be much appreciated

Move your feed and stuff away from the water even by a few feet. If you're feeding pellets and they arent getting greens right now, they dont need grit. And if they arent laying, they don't need the oyster shell either!
I dont even bother offering letting my ducks out past -15. I have one duck who is the leader and she hates the snow with a passion, so if theres snow on the ground, she leads everyone back inside in like 5 minutes. In those cold temps, the more the door is open and the more in-and-out the ducks are doing, the colder your coop is going to be.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Move your feed and stuff away from the water even by a few feet. If you're feeding pellets and they arent getting greens right now, they dont need grit. And if they arent laying, they don't need the oyster shell either!
I dont even bother offering letting my ducks out past -15. I have one duck who is the leader and she hates the snow with a passion, so if theres snow on the ground, she leads everyone back inside in like 5 minutes. In those cold temps, the more the door is open and the more in-and-out the ducks are doing, the colder your coop is going to be.

I have 3 girls out of 11 still laying daily including one that is finishing a molt. No idea why she is still laying she will be 1 on Xmas day
I do give my ducks a spring mix lettuce to keep to greens in the winter
Do you keep water and feed in the coop then ? I was fine until the temps got so cold with water in the coop
With -30 and water inside I didn’t have the ice build up

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

View attachment 3354315
I'm in Alberta, Canada. This is our forecast this week. It has already been like this for 3 days. Needless to say, my flock is a bit upset about the temps.
Last year I only had 8 ducks and we hit -53C. Managed okay, had some frozen poopy bums every few days. This year I have 20 ducks and 2 geese in an uninsulated 8x12 coop. Lots of straw. Heated rubber water buckets but no supplemental heat. Only just started having some frozen poopiscle butts tonight, but nothing all that bad. So I figured I would share my winter tips, and if anyone else has other advice, feel free to add on!!

- A big thick layer of bedding (straw is what I use) is your best friend. Fluff it at least once a day so it doesnt get packed down and frozen with poop. When you have a cold night, add more straw.
- Do not use heat lamps in a duck coop. The fire hazard alone is huge, but heat causes condensation, and that will give you more grief than the cold will. Ducks and geese should have a healthy layer of fat and down built up for winter.
- The more birds you have, the less trouble. More birds is more body heat and they will snuggle up together. The other bonus to more birds is that someone is always moving, so there's less time for your ducks to sit there and get frozen poopy bums if they're constantly having to get up and move around.
- Heated buckets are your friend, but make sure you get the rubber ones. Plastic buckets will crack if they freeze. Rubber buckets are flexible, so if they do end up freezing, the bucket isn't damaged. That flexibility also makes it easier to get ice chunks out.
- Feed as much as they can eat, but especially before bed. A full belly is a warm belly, and your ducks will be warmer if they are digesting food overnight instead of on an empty stomach

Add your own!

Those temps are revolting! We get down to -20 F (-28.8 C) off and on in January and February, and that’s brutal enough for me!

We also use rubber buckets. Those suckers are indestructible! Because my 4 ducks prefer to spend time in the barn in the winter, they do need water in there. However, it is kept away from their sleeping spaces, and I keep up with the spillage the best I can.

I have a base layer of wood chips with straw on top in sleeping areas. My ducks like to sleep in a converted horse stall. This year, we made an improvement. In the stall, we made a smaller shelter using plywood on top of straw bales. It is their preferred sleeping spot now, as it’s small, dark, and cozy.

I spot clean daily to remove any poop or wet straw, and take advantage of days that are halfway decent to do a more thorough clean, and to get the ducks outside to bathe.

We do not provide supplemental heat and don’t use heated bowls. We do provide fresh clean water twice daily.

 

[Jelibaen]

I have 3 girls out of 11 still laying daily including one that is finishing a molt. No idea why she is still laying she will be 1 on Xmas day
I do give my ducks a spring mix lettuce to keep to greens in the winter
Do you keep water and feed in the coop then ? I was fine until the temps got so cold with water in the coop
With -30 and water inside I didn’t have the ice build up

I keep water and food in the coop because mine refuse to go outside lmao but my water buckets are covered and only have a hole big enough to dip their head into, so they arent tossing it around and getting ice everywhere. If you heat the coop you will get more condensation

 

[Jelibaen]

Those temps are revolting! We get down to -20 F (-28.8 C) off and on in January and February, and that’s brutal enough for me!

We also use rubber buckets. Those suckers are indestructible! Because my 4 ducks prefer to spend time in the barn in the winter, they do need water in there. However, it is kept away from their sleeping spaces, and I keep up with the spillage the best I can.

I have a base layer of wood chips with straw on top in sleeping areas. My ducks like to sleep in a converted horse stall. This year, we made an improvement. In the stall, we made a smaller shelter using plywood on top of straw bales. It is their preferred sleeping spot now, as it’s small, dark, and cozy.

I spot clean daily to remove any poop or wet straw, and take advantage of days that are halfway decent to do a more thorough clean, and to get the ducks outside to bathe.

We do not provide supplemental heat and don’t use heated bowls. We do provide fresh clean water twice daily.

I use the heated rubber buckets and those work great. It only heats it enough to not freeze, so it doesnt evaporate or anything! And yeah talk about indestructible - the only thing that broke mine was a bear last year and thats cause they pulled it through the duck door