Duck Housing & Winter

[BlsdMama]

We live in NE Iowa - it gets COLD. We do not have a barn for our chickens - we have a shed (a large single car garage) that we partitioned and use as a coop for the girls.

This year we bought ducks and I *hated* them as babies - always such a mess. However, it's summer, they're bigger, and they are foraging all over our two acres. They don't ruin my landscaping, scratch out all my mulch, kill my plants! Turns out that I LOVE ducks. Who knew?

But now that I know I definitely want to keep them, we need to start planning winter duck keeping. How does one keep ducks in a very cold climate?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Safely in a coop or barn or shed but something safe and where they can be protected from Predators and the weather. No food and water inside unless you want wet bedding but heated water buckets work for that outside. Even enclosed in a building they need good ventilation just like chickens to prevent respiratory issue and frost bite.

 

[chickens really]

Insulated House. I use deep straw in the winter and fluff it daily. Covered runs are best. I wrap mine with vapour barrier plastic and a tarp over top. It's the windchill that's hard on them...Extreme cold I run a heat lamp at night.
Good feed and access to water during the day.