NathanZee
Songster
I have two geese and 12 ducks, will they produce enough heat by themselves to be okay in minnesota? Lots of people have said they would, but maybe they had larger flocks.I think you have two ducks, yes? And they probably don't weigh more than 5 pounds - I think it would be difficult for just the two of them to keep themselves warm enough in a really frigid shelter.
From my experience with Runners, I can say that not all ducks have the same cold hardiness. And from threads here, I have found that some folks who say their ducks are fine in extreme cold actually have a shelter available to the ducks that stays closer to 35F to 40F. For me, it's not a question of survival but of thriving. I have a number of Runners who do not thrive below 35F - so they have a night shelter that stays at or above 40F. And when I let the flock outside, I watch them. On a cloudy day that's 25F and breezy, they'll start showing signs of getting chilled, and I bring them in.
I aim to adjust their setup so that they can bring themselves in, but for now they cannot - and I must pay attention to the weather report. During a blizzard, of course, they remain in their night shelter, that is nice and roomy with a little over 100 square feet for 14 small (3 - 4 pound) ducks.
At the very least, have a backup shelter for them - and please keep track. I had an indoor-outdoor thermometer set up to read the temperature inside the duck coop without me opening the door and making it even colder. That is how I monitored them their first winter, and that's how I learned what the threshold of my less hardy ducks is.
Also, there have been some record-breaking low temperatures - ducks do have their limits.