Ducks and heat, mine don't need it, why do yours?

[Cuttlefishherder]

There are 4 seasons? Lol

This is an interesting topic! Its hot here in Arizona already and we are planning on getting a few goslings and ducklings, our house warms up during the day and is nice and warm at night for the most part. It is nice to know that they wont need the heat lamp as long as chicks, but we will keep it as an option if they look like they aren't getting enough warmth.

 

[Back on the Farm]

I've had 2 pekin ducks for about 2 weeks now and they are in the brooder with my chicks. I still have the lamp on 24/7. During the day they are all over the brooder, but when I come down in the morning - the two ducks are sleeping right under the lamp and my chicks are on the roost.

Not sure if they really need the lamp or not - but they seem to be enjoying it at night. We've had a cold spring - so it'll be a bit longer before they go out to the coop (plus, I've got to get the coop and build the run first

)

 

[FenDruadin]

Whether they need heat or not depends on your climate, the time of year, and what kind of access they have to water. Wet ducklings will appreciate (and even need) a heat lamp more often than dry ducklings.

Ducklings ARE much hardier than chickens and quail in regard to temperature. In summer, mine stay in the house only a couple days to make sure they are healthy and strong, then out they go to a brooder. I leave a lamp on for a couple weeks, and then decide whether to leave it on based on whether they act cold or not, and what the weather forecasts.

Winter ducklings must stay indoors much longer and require heat much longer also.

It is possible to brood ducklings without a heat lamp at all even in cool to cold climates, if you provide them with a very snug space (i.e., their brooder is only just slightly larger than necessary to contain them), carefully dry access to water (i.e., they can't slosh all over themselves), and insulation (if it's cool outside the brooder). Give them the ability to escape the warm area, and they'll keep each other warm when they need to. Consider how well ducklings survive trips across country in early spring in tiny little cardboard boxes.

However, people with cold winters and cold-hatched ducklings who do not use a heat lamp will lose a lot more ducklings for reasons already stated.

The other thing to keep in mind is that ducklings grow much faster than chicks. In the wild, by the age of 2 weeks, they will no longer fit under their mother the way a chick still can. However, in the wild, they will be hatched in Spring and if they hit a cold snap, they may very well die. Survival rates in the wild are extraordinarily low, so you can't use that as an accurate gauge of good practice, unless your goal is to develop a strain of exceedingly hardy birds and you don't mind 90% death rates along the way. However, the fact that they *can* survive without supplemental heat, under the right conditions, does mean that many people *can* get away with not providing the supplemental heat.

For me, it's only pennies in electric cost for significant peace of mind. If they don't want the heat, they can move away. When they stop using it or behave as though they are too hot, I reduce or remove the heat. That works for me; other people prefer other methods.

 

[Amiga]

ditto iamcuriositycat.

Sometimes I see we write in general terms, and that does not give much information. My ducks, full grown, don't have a heat lamp. But it's 45 degrees where they sleep. When they were little, they had extra heat - sometimes with a lamp, sometimes just being indoors. In the summer I am more concerned with their overheating, so I make sure they have access to clean (okay, not pristine after five minutes

) water at all times.

Ducks can get hypothermia and die. Ducks are hardy. Two of my ten cannot manage cold as well as the other eight. Just like people, they can have different metabolisms.

 

[Terese]

I just read on Back Yard how some of you care for your duck in the hot weather. Our weather here in Ill is hot and dry and the sun is shinning on my Drake who is nesting on 9 eggs. She was panting. So I took some of your suggestions. I took my hose and put it on mist. When I saw she wasn't scared I put it on a stronger setting. She stopped panting and seemed to like the water washing down her. Her only shelter is a hosta she chose to nest under. She stopped panting and started pecking on some brush (maybe bugs?), As suggested I also put out some frozen peas and ice cubes. Am anxious to see if she gets up off her nest to get the peas and ice.

 

[KansasKid]

Quote:
You mean your hen was nesting on 9 eggs? If it is your drake on the nest i need to see some pictures,

Sounds like putting the mister on helped a bunch. Lately i have been hitting the ducks and chickens with the water hose once in a while to cool them off. doesn't look like the heat is going to let up anytime soon.

 

[countrydream7]

1. have ducks and chicks a few days old garage cold live up north can I safely put out in garage with heat lamp or are they too young yet? thanks

 

[Amiga]

Age of ducks and chicks, do you have a thermometer? Set it up in the garage, without ducks or chicks, with a thermometer and monitor. Can you keep it the right temperature?

Is the problem a messy brooder? You may need to manage water differently. The ducklings need it 24/7, the chicks you may need to separate, since a wet brooder is rough on them.

 

[countrydream7]

I separated ducks and chicks still in home. ducks are doing fine without heat lamp but we still have wood stove going near them.. chicks still have heat lamp..ducks are very messy ....first time with ducks ...

 

[FlomatonsFlocks]

Mine are 10 days old. It's sunny and 71 out. I'm gonna try taking them outside for most of the day. Let's see how this goes.