How can you tell when ducks are cold?

[Onlyducks]

DuckPan: 18F is not really that cold to a duck, though that may seem unbelievable. As long as they are not showing signs of distress, they probably are fine. If they have never gone in their house it's tricky to get them to go now. Just put a lot of straw or loose wood shavings in the pen, block the wind as much as possible and feed them more. You might want to empty the pond at night anyway. That way, they would go over to the bedding. If the water is not frozen, and I'm guessing it's not or they wouldn't be in there (check to make sure they can get out and are not frozen in), they are probably actually warmer in the pond where it's over 32F. When I first got my muscovies, I often had to break the ice out of their water dishes in the mornings and they were always out running around in the snow. Until this severe drop occurred, they were fine. As I've read over and over again, ducks have their own down coats!

(My husband's coworker's geese are still out running around in −15F and will not go in their house, either. They're fine as far as she can tell.)

 

[needlessjunk]

Yeah, I totally understand. But that's practically what Mother Nature did the last couple of days. So I'm just trying to lessen the damage that her power outage has caused. I was planning to use absolutely no heat all winter because I have the same concerns as you. The heat lamp is really just a temporary thing (I hope!). And it's still super cold with the lamp, so I don't think it's going to effect their ability to acclimate... it's just helping them transition a little bit (and giving me some peace of mind). It seems that runners can be more sensitive to cold than other breeds, too. I've noticed one of my drakes has really dropped some weight, and with all the shivering I decided some extra heat is the way I'll go until the weather turns around in a few days. This cold front was just real nasty, and came on all of a sudden.

I think as long as you know about the fire hazard and it's a temporary thing then it's fine. You gotta do what you gotta do to keep your animals safe and alive. I would bring my ducks inside if needed and do have a pack up plan if they can't be kept outside for various reasons. They will go in my garage in a large kiddie pool with chicken wire around it to keep them in. It's nuts how cold it got so fast and I'm not jealous of y'all's weather in the least.

 

[jacksonnotary]

I agree. What ever it takes, we'll make sure our ducks and chicken got everything they need and even if it is plugging in a heater or else. We want to keep our feathered friends save also. We are located in TN and do usually have mild winters. I think all of us are covered by the same cold spell. Our ducks still swim in their pool but don't stay as long as they used to. We try to keep the hen house no lower than 39 F, we also keep an eye on the humidity inside the coop. We don't want to cause frost bite. It is also well insulated. During the day they hang out outside, their food and drink in a covered area right next to the hen house. I noticed in the summer that if it is too uncomfortable for them, they all hang out inside the coop. So I expect the same for the winter.
P.S. No, we didn't have A/C in the coop, but we kept the swamp cooler running. LOL

 

[Onlyducks]

It warmed up to around 19F, so I opened the greenhouse door and let the ducks out for a bit. I had hoped to move them back to their pen on Sunday, but it looks like the cold is sticking around for a while. They are out flapping their wings and stretching at the moment!

 

[Tigeresslane]

I have a Runner and a Cayuga Duck. They have a dog kennel in the corner of the 6 foot fence with their coop next to that for more wind blockage that we leave open so they can go in and out of both. At night we lock them up in their insulated coop. With runner Ducks I have been reading that they don't tolerate cooler temperatures very well. He is shaking like a dog shakes after a bath he hasn't layed on his feet yet however he is fluffed like he fluffs at the chickens when protecting our female Cayuga. Is he cold? I think part of the problem is that our female Cayuga duck is running and forging in their 15 feet chicken run and he sticks to her side like glue and won't go in for warmth? The temp. Is 35.4 F w/ wind chill factor 24 F I probably am just worried for they are 8 months old and to me they are still and always will be our babies and are spoiled? Do we lock them back up?

 

[Orca5094]

I have a Runner and a Cayuga Duck. They have a dog kennel in the corner of the 6 foot fence with their coop next to that for more wind blockage that we leave open so they can go in and out of both. At night we lock them up in their insulated coop. With runner Ducks I have been reading that they don't tolerate cooler temperatures very well. He is shaking like a dog shakes after a bath he hasn't layed on his feet yet however he is fluffed like he fluffs at the chickens when protecting our female Cayuga. Is he cold? I think part of the problem is that our female Cayuga duck is running and forging in their 15 feet chicken run and he sticks to her side like glue and won't go in for warmth? The temp. Is 35.4 F w/ wind chill factor 24 F I probably am just worried for they are 8 months old and to me they are still and always will be our babies and are spoiled? Do we lock them back up?

I don't have Runners (I have Cayugas and Cayuga crosses), but I always err on the side of caution with my ducks in the winter. If even one of them is shivering or looking too cold/uncomfortable, everyone goes inside for a couple of hours to warm up. Then I try them out again if whoever was cold seems ok again. You just have to play it by ear and learn what your ducks' cold tolerances are. Some are more bothered by the cold than others. I have one female who is always the first to start shivering, so I keep a close eye on her on the cold days. If she starts to shiver, everyone goes inside. I know that below a certain temperature my ducks will not want to go outside, so those days they stay inside all day. I will just take them out for a brief exercise a couple times on those days, then back into the warmth of their duck house.

So yeah, my suggestion would be to bring your ducks inside for awhile for him to warm up and see how he acts after that. If he seems back to normal and no longer fluffed after a couple hours, you can try them outside again and see how he does. You will learn their cold tolerance and know when to keep them in and when they're ok to be out all day. Good luck!

 

[Tigeresslane]

I don't have Runners (I have Cayugas and Cayuga crosses), but I always err on the side of caution with my ducks in the winter. If even one of them is shivering or looking too cold/uncomfortable, everyone goes inside for a couple of hours to warm up. Then I try them out again if whoever was cold seems ok again. You just have to play it by ear and learn what your ducks' cold tolerances are. Some are more bothered by the cold than others. I have one female who is always the first to start shivering, so I keep a close eye on her on the cold days. If she starts to shiver, everyone goes inside. I know that below a certain temperature my ducks will not want to go outside, so those days they stay inside all day. I will just take them out for a brief exercise a couple times on those days, then back into the warmth of their duck house. 

So yeah, my suggestion would be to bring your ducks inside for awhile for him to warm up and see how he acts after that. If he seems back to normal and no longer fluffed after a couple hours, you can try them outside again and see how he does. You will learn their cold tolerance and know when to keep them in and when they're ok to be out all day. Good luck!

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I don't have Runners (I have Cayugas and Cayuga crosses), but I always err on the side of caution with my ducks in the winter. If even one of them is shivering or looking too cold/uncomfortable, everyone goes inside for a couple of hours to warm up. Then I try them out again if whoever was cold seems ok again. You just have to play it by ear and learn what your ducks' cold tolerances are. Some are more bothered by the cold than others. I have one female who is always the first to start shivering, so I keep a close eye on her on the cold days. If she starts to shiver, everyone goes inside. I know that below a certain temperature my ducks will not want to go outside, so those days they stay inside all day. I will just take them out for a brief exercise a couple times on those days, then back into the warmth of their duck house. 

So yeah, my suggestion would be to bring your ducks inside for awhile for him to warm up and see how he acts after that. If he seems back to normal and no longer fluffed after a couple hours, you can try them outside again and see how he does. You will learn their cold tolerance and know when to keep them in and when they're ok to be out all day. Good luck!

ty same goes for. Me our runner is so sensitive makes sense what ur saying! Ty ty ty I love my babies so much we are learning so much from U all on BYC I think I will have more!

 

[Tigeresslane]

I originally put my duck in its coop with straw and more warm cedar bedding it's 27 degrees should I turn on the heat lamp for an hour to warm up my duck then shut it off worried about fire fried duck or because it is supposed to get colder leave it on and check it every hr thru the night?

 

[Newduckdaddy]

Hi I have 6 ducklings they are about 4 to 5 weeks old and the are outside with a heat lamp because it got down on the high 30s last night and they were fine but tomigtvits suppose to get down in the 20s should I bring them inside the house or should they be ok in the coop with a heat light