Questions! Building a duck house...surviving harsh winters

[jmc]

Heat lamp not neccess., may I chime in; neither is a heated water thing, if you are willing to check on it during the day, adding hot water, etc. They can go without water a little longer than we might think.

You can certainly use a wire floor. But skip the chicken wire. It should be 1/2 X 1 welded wire, no smaller, no larger, to save feet and keep preds. out.

But you'd better get em on wire real soon if you want them to be accustomed to it, cuz they really don't seem to enjoy it too much (plus it gets cold as he** in the winter on a sub zero night)

Shavings will work fine.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

I use straw in my duck house which is a 3 X 4 converted doghouse. Last winter it housed five ducks. I attached an old sleeping bag covered with a plastic tarp on the top for extra insulation. They usually wanted to be outside all day and I would have to urge them to go in at night so I could lock them up so the predators couldn't get to them. There were some very cold snowy days they decided to stay inside all day, just going out for food and water.

 

[goosedragon]

First about the light, duck life cycles are contlolled by the hours of light. You can trick ducks into laying longer by providing a couple extra hours of light to their day. Have you noticed that egg production starts to go down when the days start to get shorter and kick into high gear when the days get longer? When they were wild the hours of light told them when to head north to nest and when to head south to avoid the winter and lack of food that it caused. Light can also used to force ducks to molt at unatural times. You want to be careful and consider the results when you mess around with the hours of light they receive.
Wifezilla mentioned the deep litter method but didn't explain it. It is a old method that goes back to when most farms didn't have electricity or at least to their out buildings. Usually used straw or hay which was litter available on most farms. Basically you just added another layer of litter when the top layer became too pooped. This tended to work like a compost heap which will throw off heat. between this heat and the body heat of the birds often the 'hen house' was the warmest building on the farm. For this to work you must have proper ventilation since the gases from the heap and the poop needed to excape. The other big drawback was that you had to get out there and do a HUGE clean up effort early in the spring before it became too warm and it really started to stink! Basically all those 12-20 weekly cleanups that you skipped during the cold of the winter got done in one go. I can remember hauling out multiple loads of litter/waste and spreading it on the fields as fertilizer before the fields were plowed. I don't know how well it would work for Backyarders but it makes a very nice compost heap if you garden as well. It actually works better in cold climates than in warmer ones that have milder winters.

 

[LilDucky85]

Thank you everyone! This info has been very helpful! Last night was the last night I will use the heat lamp for them!

So dont use a heat lamp during winter then? And even in winter I can keep the food and water outside in the caged in area?

Thanks for posting about proper ventilation, and extended lighting goosedragon. My ducks arent laying any eggs yet but I didnt know they lay depending on light. I also knew they needed ventilation but didnt think there was much meaning to it when it comes to poop.

 

[jmc]

If you can provide closeable vents, it is sort of impossible to have too much ventilation for a duck house (if you can close them against weather)

They might appreciate a heat lamp in real cold weather, but they won't DIE without it. Depends on how much like the 'Duckdorf Astoria' you wish to be!!!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

We use hay in our duck house, clean it once a week or once every two weeks depending on the messyness. You won't need a heat lamp if you insulate with some good R 20 or around there. Your ducks SHOULD NOT need a heat lamp, neither should chickens if people would just insulate.

 

[Kats]

No, you don't need heat for ducks in winter. Deep litter--add more straw when it gets smelly, or throw in a bale and they will pull it apart over the winter. Let them out every day and give them as lots of water twice or 3 times a day. I have tried 2 methods with water--those rubber pans you can get in the feed store. Bang them on the ground to get out the ice and pour warm water into the pan. And a heated waterer. Since our barn already has electricity, I guess I'll go with the heated waterer next winter.

 

[Grammyshammy]

I had the same question so I don't have an answer, but I just wanted to say how adorable the picture with your posting is! I love it! It's exactly the way I feel about my ducks as well. So cute!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I had the same question so I don't have an answer, but I just wanted to say how adorable the picture with your posting is! I love it! It's exactly the way I feel about my ducks as well. So cute!

@Grammyshammy Welcome to BYC

 

[LeannS]

A duck shelter is very important and is protecting your investment. I got started late in the year with my 6 ducks and next year by this time I intend to have better shelter for my 6 ducks. The less stress they have to endure, the more, they can
put out.I got my ducks 1 month ago and it took that long for them to get in better health so they could produce eggs for me. We are in the 20 th century now and our animals become family. I have shelter but it should be better, I have heated water, and heat lamps to keep it available for them to go to, and they do use it. Straw, wood chips, food and water 24 /7. It is very cold here in Washington state right now. At night in the 20`s day time in the 30`s. Winter is harsh and they need help getting through it. I would rather buy duck eggs, but they are not available in my area, so I had to get my own for the eggs. I am allergic to Chicken eggs. Also now I can say I have organic eggs. Some old timers would bring their ducks in side their homes just to help their ducks survive. Or they would process them before the cold set in for the winter.
I am actually old enough to remember my Aunts and Uncles, doing that when they had no electricity. I would really feel bad to loose a duck to the weather.