Are my ducks warm enough?

[Tori1133]

Hey guys! I’m new to caring for ducks and I’ve found it pretty hard to find exact info on this topic so thought I should just post myself!
So, I have 4 Indian runner ducks that are 8 weeks old. I live in somewhat northern Ontario (Canada) and the temps are currently still dropping to around -1 Celsius most nights. Although there is a night coming up in the next week that drops to -10 which I am a bit worried about. My ducks have been living fully outside for about a week and a half now, we’ve been having a lot of very warm sunny days (10-18 degrees Celsius) and they sleep in a duck house which Is draft free and has a thick roughly 6” layer of hay in it and a heat lamp. When they are outside in the day they’re pretty active, foraging, swimming and running around a lot. But I do worry about wether or not they’re warm enough at night. Not sure if I’m just over thinking it though! My boyfriend thinks they are totally fine haha. I can’t really check up on them at night cause as soon as I come to look at them they wake up and move around so it’s hard to tell if they are huddling under the heat lamp or not. So I guess I just want to know people’s personal opinions if 8wk old ducks would generally be okay in these conditions or if I should bring them back inside for some nights until it warms up. And if so what temp would you put them back out at? Thanks!!! I attached a pic of my ducks and their house

 

[Yardmom]

They no longer need heat if they have feathers.

 

[Ratchnick]

Hey guys! I’m new to caring for ducks and I’ve found it pretty hard to find exact info on this topic so thought I should just post myself!
So, I have 4 Indian runner ducks that are 8 weeks old. I live in somewhat northern Ontario (Canada) and the temps are currently still dropping to around -1 Celsius most nights. Although there is a night coming up in the next week that drops to -10 which I am a bit worried about. My ducks have been living fully outside for about a week and a half now, we’ve been having a lot of very warm sunny days (10-18 degrees Celsius) and they sleep in a duck house which Is draft free and has a thick roughly 6” layer of hay in it and a heat lamp. When they are outside in the day they’re pretty active, foraging, swimming and running around a lot. But I do worry about wether or not they’re warm enough at night. Not sure if I’m just over thinking it though! My boyfriend thinks they are totally fine haha. I can’t really check up on them at night cause as soon as I come to look at them they wake up and move around so it’s hard to tell if they are huddling under the heat lamp or not. So I guess I just want to know people’s personal opinions if 8wk old ducks would generally be okay in these conditions or if I should bring them back inside for some nights until it warms up. And if so what temp would you put them back out at? Thanks!!! I attached a pic of my ducks and their house

I would not worry at all unless it gets colder then -18c.

 

[KaleIAm]

They look old enough to be without heat to me, but I understand worrying about them.

You may want to think about the fire risk associated with a heat lamp. I recently purchased a sweeter heater for my older sick duck who does need heat. It is supposed to be much safer. You might look into something like that if you are still worried about them getting cold. But I don't think you actually need it.

 

[Tori1133]

Okay thank you everyone! It seems like the general consensus is that I am over thinking it so thank you for reassuring me they are okay it’s so hard to believe they are comfy out there when it’s so cold outside for me lol. And in terms of a fire risk I do have the ceramic heat lamp instead of the light bulb one which I heard was less of a risk but maybe that’s not true? Either way I’ll take it out now since they don’t need it.

 

[lizzcowley]

This is a super helpful thread! We're in NE, and the days are nice but tonight's dropping down into the mid-40's (F) with a cold-ish North wind. We have two Appleyards (male is 8 weeks and female is 6 weeks old) and it's their first night in their own house. It feels like I just dropped my kid off at kindergarten for the first time!

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

They look old enough to be without heat to me, but I understand worrying about them.

You may want to think about the fire risk associated with a heat lamp. I recently purchased a sweeter heater for my older sick duck who does need heat. It is supposed to be much safer. You might look into something like that if you are still worried about them getting cold. But I don't think you actually need it.

X2! If you want to supply a bit of extra heat for them without the fire hazard, you could always get them a small animal heating pad. They will plop down on the pad and it warms them by contact. My ducks are suckers for the heat, they love to sit on it, even when it's warm out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't have ducks, I have chickens, but I just like to remind people that their feathered pets are birds, and when in doubt consider what your birds' wild counterparts are doing. They are not in a nice enclosed building, they are sitting outside next to a lake, and they are doing just fine. So try not to worry too much, your birds are fine, too!