A little break from the bitter cold

[red horse ranch]

I have to shovel about a foot of snow out of the chicken yard and then shovel a path to the barn before I can let all the birds out. At least it's supposed to be above zero today. Grrr

 

[R2elk]

I have to shovel about a foot of snow out of the chicken yard and then shovel a path to the barn before I can let all the birds out. At least it's supposed to be above zero today. Grrr

It was -17°F this morning and is currently up to -14°F. It is sunny and calm. Once the wind starts blowing from the west it should start warming up fast. They are calling for a high of 25°F today. Yesterday's high was -1°F.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

It was -17°F this morning and is currently up to -14°F. It is sunny and calm. Once the wind starts blowing from the west it should start warming up fast. They are calling for a high of 25°F today. Yesterday's high was -1°F.

We are cold! Rolling blackouts in our area. Way low low of ~8 F forecast tonight then slow warming. The guineas are locked in their coop but seem fine health wise. My ducks are surprisingly cold and shivering; I don’t understand why they seem worse off than the rest. One rooster looks like he’s getting frostbite on his comb. He’s coming into the garage for the night...

 

[R2elk]

It got up to 28°F after a low of -17°F this morning. It is currently 15ÄF and dropping. The guineas came right out this morning while it was at the lowest temp. All of the poultry look fine but the egg count from the chickens dropped to 3 today.

 

[Sydney65]

We are cold! Rolling blackouts in our area. Way low low of ~8 F forecast tonight then slow warming. The guineas are locked in their coop but seem fine health wise. My ducks are surprisingly cold and shivering; I don’t understand why they seem worse off than the rest. One rooster looks like he’s getting frostbite on his comb. He’s coming into the garage for the night...

https://farmhouseguide.com/how-to-t...n your ducks are cold,that its plumage is wet.
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/how-to-keep-ducks-warm-in-cool-weather

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/shivering-ducks-in-the-morning-cold.841089/

https://www.therusticelk.com/caring-for-ducks-in-winter/

You made me look.

 

[Sydney65]

13°, -11°wc. Noticed snow was blowing into run via small gaps so went out to close pop door. Everyone was still in the run, in the dark, with snow also blowing on them. Turned on the lights, wiped everyone off & hussled them into coop after making sure there wasn't a reason they weren't in there, and closed the pop door. Then fell into a 3' snow drift.
I may regret closing pop door..will be digging out before it gets open again.
I've tried giving them warm oatmeal before but they won't touch it.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

https://farmhouseguide.com/how-to-tell-if-your-duck-is-cold/#:~:text=When your ducks are cold,that its plumage is wet.
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/how-to-keep-ducks-warm-in-cool-weather

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/shivering-ducks-in-the-morning-cold.841089/

https://www.therusticelk.com/caring-for-ducks-in-winter/

You made me look.

Thanks! Yeah, I thought that we were setup ok for this cold spell but we really weren’t. I have multiple issues with the birds now that probably could have been prevented if I’d been better prepared. I have a rooster in my garage who will likely lose his comb to frostbite. A chicken hen that I’m worried about, and those ducks! I’m not sure why the ducks are so cold but I’m guessing it’s the waterer I’m now using. Usually they have a waterer with a grate over it so they can dip their bills but not splash water everywhere. That waterer, it turns out, freezes solid at these temps very fast. So I’ve had to abandon their usual waterer for a small black rubber tub and they keep trying to get into it, plus they sling it around and get ice everywhere, including their feathers and feet amd on the chickens. I never put water in the coop... except now. The birds are too cold to come out so the water is in the coop, along with ice from the ducks. Plus the coop has an open south wall, as do all of our coops because we usually worry more about the heat than the cold. At this point, I’m snowed in and I’m just praying for warmer temps and that the birds survive... It should warm over the next few days (but more snow too!) and be at our normal temps by weekend.

For next time: bales of hay! Even though the wind is from the north and the coops are open to the south, I think some of the wind whips around the open end. Bales of hay would be a wind break... Duck water... I guess I need to make a grate for a black rubber tub? Or find something commercial made for ducks that is thick walled and untippable... I’m not sure what else I should have done, maybe put up more wind breaks around the run. It’s hard to plan for an uncommon weather event like this but I don’t want to have another potentially devastating weather event that I may lose birds to! I’m really hoping I don’t lose any birds.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

13°, -11°wc. Noticed snow was blowing into run via small gaps so went out to close pop door. Everyone was still in the run, in the dark, with snow also blowing on them. Turned on the lights, wiped everyone off & hussled them into coop after making sure there wasn't a reason they weren't in there, and closed the pop door. Then fell into a 3' snow drift.
I may regret closing pop door..will be digging out before it gets open again.
I've tried giving them warm oatmeal before but they won't touch it.

Wow - serious wind! Pic of our temps. We are at -13 F wind chill! Not a guinea but this is our Favorelle rooster that apparently has frostbite along his “dub line” according to someone on the diseases forum... It sounds like he will probably lose his comb - I’ve not had to deal with frostbite before!

 

[Sydney65]

Have you marked it to dub or is that frostbite or normal? And is that black thing a wattle? I know, lots of questions. I imagine they gave you advice. You know I looked it up, though. Lol.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

Check his feet, too.
I hadn't thought about it but now concerned abt this for goons since snow was managing to blow in. I didn't see any damage to their wattles...once they got in coop they were quick to huddle and tuck, where as in run, they were each on their own perch. I swear if I didn't live with another human, I'd bring them inside. I remember someone having pigs in a playpen once..can't be any worse than that. Except, their poo wldnt be frozen in here. Lol. (That part is a plus!)

 

[Sydney65]

Thanks! Yeah, I thought that we were setup ok for this cold spell but we really weren’t. I have multiple issues with the birds now that probably could have been prevented if I’d been better prepared. I have a rooster in my garage who will likely lose his comb to frostbite. A chicken hen that I’m worried about, and those ducks! I’m not sure why the ducks are so cold but I’m guessing it’s the waterer I’m now using. Usually they have a waterer with a grate over it so they can dip their bills but not splash water everywhere. That waterer, it turns out, freezes solid at these temps very fast. So I’ve had to abandon their usual waterer for a small black rubber tub and they keep trying to get into it, plus they sling it around and get ice everywhere, including their feathers and feet amd on the chickens. I never put water in the coop... except now. The birds are too cold to come out so the water is in the coop, along with ice from the ducks. Plus the coop has an open south wall, as do all of our coops because we usually worry more about the heat than the cold. At this point, I’m snowed in and I’m just praying for warmer temps and that the birds survive... It should warm over the next few days (but more snow too!) and be at our normal temps by weekend.

For next time: bales of hay! Even though the wind is from the north and the coops are open to the south, I think some of the wind whips around the open end. Bales of hay would be a wind break... Duck water... I guess I need to make a grate for a black rubber tub? Or find something commercial made for ducks that is thick walled and untippable... I’m not sure what else I should have done, maybe put up more wind breaks around the run. It’s hard to plan for an uncommon weather event like this but I don’t want to have another potentially devastating weather event that I may lose birds to! I’m really hoping I don’t lose any birds.

Yes, we always get straw bales in the fall. Mainly to spread on ground in back d/t winter foot traffic,but have found a multitued of uses for it.
You don't have power running to your coop, do you? If you do or are willing to run an extension cord, you could do this:

Here's the link for other ideas -
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/show-me-your-winter-duck-waterers.1050274/

Or do @R2elk 's method, modified as you suggested earlier, with same cover.
Instead of dog bowl you cld get heater separate that drops inside and use a bigger container for more water. I haven't seen any solar water heaters-if I had, I'd have it. But so far I love ours. But I don't get the impression drip dispensers are good enough for ducks?
I did see one cool thing-insulated water hose bags. The guy I saw bought his for 1=2 price on ebay.