Do my ducks know something about the upcoming winter that i don't know? ☃

[WannaBeHillBilly]

A couple of days ago i noticed that some of my ducks who recently went through their molt have really massive looking necks and heads. It seems they have developed an unusual thick feather "fur" this fall. Could that be a harbinger for a severe upcoming winter?
Have you made similar observations with your flocks or other animals?
I will try to snatch some pictures tomorrow.

 

[chickenlittle21]

My ducks have their usual feathers but I'm in Florida so...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My ducks have their usual feathers but I'm in Florida so...

Well... maybe your ducks have developed more and longer toenails to anchor themselves to the ground during the frequent storms you have?

 

[chickenlittle21]

Well... maybe your ducks have developed more and longer toenails to anchor themselves to the ground during the frequent storms you have?

Their toenails are very long... during storms they are normally dancing in the rain though so...

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

mine always get fluffier in the winter, even though they sleep in the sunroom and are allowed inside so they won’t ever get too cold lol

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Captured this video of Pinball, Pommes and Blanca Duck this afternoon. Those three have completely finished their fall molt and look really fluffy! They haven't looked that fluffy during the last winter. Look at Pinball's thick neck and her cheeks, her head and neck look more like a drake's head and neck!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Their toenails are very long... during storms they are normally dancing in the rain though so...

Yup! Ducks and rain, don't get me started… The area around the house looks like the surface of a golf ball.

 

[TLWR]

I don't know - after 20" of rain, even the ducks were kind of sick of it. Chickens looked like drowned rats. Sure none of them appreciated being locked in their house while Sally parked on top of us for hours.

My ducks always seem to molt right before the winter and again during. Seems odd to m.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I don't know - after 20" of rain, even the ducks were kind of sick of it. Chickens looked like drowned rats. Sure none of them appreciated being locked in their house while Sally parked on top of us for hours.

My ducks always seem to molt right before the winter and again during. Seems odd to m.

Well the ducks molt twice a year, in spring and in autumn, but this year a lot of my ducks go through a really hard molt, where they develop bald spots and look like porcupines for days and their winter coat is way thicker than the last two winters.
And now there are several long term forecasts predicting below average winter temperatures for the eastern USA…

 

[416bigbore]

A couple of days ago i noticed that some of my ducks who recently went through their molt have really massive looking necks and heads. It seems they have developed an unusual thick feather "fur" this fall. Could that be a harbinger for a severe upcoming winter?
Have you made similar observations with your flocks or other animals?
I will try to snatch some pictures tomorrow.

I believe most wild animals have a 6th sense for predicting current weather and hash winter weather ahead. All except for the little Ground Squirrel on February 2nd, who only has a 39% average of being correct on the arrival of an early spring or not!

https://www.livescience.com/32974-p... right,going by the groundhog's predictions."


http://www.almanac.com/news/gardeni... has long been,used to predict winter weather