Are ducks smart enough to get out of the cold?

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Do you have a way to herd/flush them in/away from the water? If you are worried then yes I would force them in. I use long sticks and a trusted dog.

 

[Jeniep]

I tossed some kibble and cracked corn out near the edge of the water. The pond is not totally frozen, we have it aerated. They are staying right in the middle where it is not frozen. They were not interested in cracked corn or the kibble. Guess I will just let them do what ducks do.
Thanks for your help
Jeniep

 

[Going Quackers]

Mine won't eat anything like oatmeal... etc.. they get whole corn which they definitely lean towards in these frigid temps vs the staple complete feed.. but it's there too as an option.

and if it matters at all, the roos were fine!

 

[Jeniep]

Well they made it through another night. They still won't come off the pond. The spend quit a bit of time in the water ducking there heads in and out. I can't imagine they are getting much food out of the pond at this point. There corn is still out there and they won't come off the pond to eat out of their food bowl. Strange, but obviously I don't know much about ducks.

 

[Jeniep]

Just FYI, My ducks made it through the -33 degree wind chills here in Ohio. I don't recommend it but they seem to be back to their regular routine. I am so happy they made it, they would not use the shelter and I could not herd them in off of the pond. They are going to boot camp this spring so we can put the in a shelter next winter!

 

[Amiga]

So relieved!

Uhm, what is ducky boot camp like?

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

X2

So relieved!

Uhm, what is ducky boot camp like? 

 

[Jeniep]

Ducky boot camp is training to follow their leader into a shelter. I will have to do this when my husband can help. I was thinking of trying to net the lead duck and see if everyone else will follow to the shelter. Unfortunately it sounds like we won't have time before the next cold snap gets here.

 

[Amiga]

Ours is on the way as we write . . . . winter storm warning, tomorrow into the next day, single digits overnight, even during the day for a day or so, and very slow movement back up toward freezing later in the week. ouch.

 

[Jeniep]

I am watching our ducks on the pond. There is still a small place over the aerator that is not frozen. They spend much of there day on the water and dipping their heads and bodies even though it has been single digits with below zero wind chills. There is a shelter right near the pond but they don't go near it. I would think their feathers would freeze?? Does anyone else have this situation?