Ducks First Snow and Prep Question

[Ronnie_]

as long as they have good ventilation in their little nighttime coop, they’ll be fine

Oh yes, their shack has openings along the top 3 sides of the house (covered in 1/4” hardware cloth) before the roof.

 

[Jenbirdee]

Zero and colder I don’t put any swimming things out
I just use my heated buckets
My ancona ( cinnamon) decided she wanted a bath one day
She jumped right in my heated bucket
These are the sleds I use when it’s around zero or slightly above
It’s only a few inches deep
They stand in there and swoop the water over them
Anything over 5C I use my kid pools and ponds

duck in heated bucket is precious

 

[Ronnie_]

Zero and colder I don’t put any swimming things out
I just use my heated buckets
My ancona ( cinnamon) decided she wanted a bath one day
She jumped right in my heated bucket
These are the sleds I use when it’s around zero or slightly above
It’s only a few inches deep
They stand in there and swoop the water over them
Anything over 5C I use my kid pools and ponds

Thank you! Sorry I’m my brain I was think 0F. I need to remove their kiddie pool soon, but it has frozen over the top, so I need to wait for it to thaw to drain.

Is it particularly dangerous to have the rubber horse food bowls with water out below 30F? I typically fill them with warm water in the morning, and top it off midday. Is it just the risk of frostbite to the legs and feet? I was hoping they would be smart enough to not dunk in freezing/ icy water but .

Right now I just have universal bucket warmer disks to sit a bucket on top. I’m planning on getting a heated dog water bowl in the mail shortly too

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

We have some very cold weather coming next week getting as low as 8 deg F at night. The ducks have a big fenced area plus a secure hardware cloth run that has plastic sheeting on most panels to block wind. They have an attached house as well. The door has a window with hardware cloth on it. There are plexiglass windows with hardware cloth too but I have them closed most of the time for the cold temps. I usually have a lot of pine shavings in there but I think I’m going to clean it all out, put a thick layer of straw down, and then more shavings. I also thought I might put a Coleman cooler on its side inside the house with more bedding in case they wanted to huddle in an even smaller space inside. Has anyone tried that? I read someone put a sterilite container in his so they had the choice. I know they’re hardy animals and they’ll be out of the wind and elements but this is the coldest weather we’ve had and I want to make them as comfortable as possible.

That would be around -13 C for me
My birds so just fine in that
Right now we are -52 C windchill
My coop is insulated and I’m running a small electric heater
Temps are around -10 in the coop
They aren’t huddled together
I have dig crates in mine that my girls like to lay eggs in
They can go cuddle in there if they need to
I keep my layer of pine shavings on the bottom and my hay on top
My outdoor enclosed feed abd water area was -30 C last night and my birds were struggling to eat abc drink
But at -20 the night before in there they were fine

 

[Ronnie_]

We have some very cold weather coming next week getting as low as 8 deg F at night. The ducks have a big fenced area plus a secure hardware cloth run that has plastic sheeting on most panels to block wind. They have an attached house as well. The door has a window with hardware cloth on it. There are plexiglass windows with hardware cloth too but I have them closed most of the time for the cold temps. I usually have a lot of pine shavings in there but I think I’m going to clean it all out, put a thick layer of straw down, and then more shavings. I also thought I might put a Coleman cooler on its side inside the house with more bedding in case they wanted to huddle in an even smaller space inside. Has anyone tried that? I read someone put a sterilite container in his so they had the choice. I know they’re hardy animals and they’ll be out of the wind and elements but this is the coldest weather we’ve had and I want to make them as comfortable as possible.

Yes! I have a sterlite container on its side in the back corner, I added straw inside it and around the sides - they definitely use it too, I add first Saturday like daily to the coop bedding and fluff the top layer (adding more shavings and straw every other day) every morning you can tell one of my gals was inside it . My bedding is probably 12” thick rn as I’m doing deep litter method alternating with shavings and straw and aerating it slightly a few times a week - I started the deep litter beginning of November.

 

[FNF]

More bedding and a cozy hideaway. We’ll see if they like it.

 

[Ronnie_]

More bedding and a cozy hideaway. We’ll see if they like it.

Here’s my set up (new bedding today) I have 4” of pine flakes and then a few inches of straw hopefully it’s enough!

 

[FNF]

It was about 8 degrees last night. They seemed to be perky and fine this morning which was a relief. Wisely, they are staying in the shelter of the run this morning since it's only 11 degrees and very windy. I started putting flakes of straw down yesterday on the floor of the run (which is otherwise just grass) so they could burrow around and keep their feet warm. Apparently this was a big hit! They seem to enjoy napping on them even more than in their little house.

 

[FNF]

I hardly slept last night worrying mainly about my tiny bantam chickens praying I would find them all okay this morning and they were. I think we forget they are wearing a down jacket under their feathers. What state are you in FNF? we're in Western NC in the mountains. It got to 22 today after 5 this morning, tomorrow 17 it will feel like spring lol

Western VA, in the Shenandoah Valley - very similar weather! Making I through last night is encouraging as they all seem to be handling it just fine, but I’ll be much happier after this weekend.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Me too next week will feel like spring.

Pool time!!