Ducks in the snow

[spencedasavage]

Will my ducks be fine in the snow? We haven’t had snow in years, and were not supposed to get any today, but here we are. They have been out for about 30 minutes, but I wanted to know if they could stay out all day. They do have access to their house, which has a heat lamp, although they don’t seem to like going in there, but they will probably have to because their food and water is in there so it doesn’t get snowed on.

 

[casportpony]

Will my ducks be fine in the snow? We haven’t had snow in years, and were not supposed to get any today, but here we are. They have been out for about 30 minutes, but I wanted to know if they could stay out all day. They do have access to their house, which has a heat lamp, although they don’t seem to like going in there, but they will probably have to because their food and water is in there so it doesn’t get snowed on.

@Miss Lydia, can you help?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yes they will be OK just make sure they have a shelter they know they can get into.

 

[3bird]

How old are your ducks?

Our adult silver Appleyards (large breed) will usually head out into the snow at least two times per day. They like to make the trip to one of the spots they can swim, and they'll spend an hour in the water before trudging home to the run (often through the deepest snow by choice!). If it's not bitterly cold with wind, they will stand around on the snow preening without incident. If they get cold, they will either tuck a foot up or get down on the snow and tuck both their feet up. If they get too cold, they'll go in. In other words, they are pretty good at doing the right thing in our experience.

We live in Maine, so we can get quite a bit of snow, but because we're on the coast, it often melts quickly. When there is lots of snow on the ground, we let them out to swim and play in the morning and the evening, but they spend the rest of the day by choice in their covered run and duckhouse. If they have options, I would not worry about them. Just check on them.

You might consider removing the heat lamp. Heat lamps can be problematic in the duckhouse, and healthy, adult ducks don't *need* the supplemental heat. If you do choose to provide supplemental heat, perhaps consider a radiant heater (we use a Sweeter Heater in the duckhouse). They are much safer both in terms of fire risk and animal health. Also, you might consider moving the food and water out of the duckhouse. It's important that they have dry bedding out of the wind during cold temperatures. Ducks produce a lot of moisture through both respiration and their poop, so it's also essential that the duckhouse is well ventilated.

Post some pictures of your ducks in the snow for us! Here's a video of our guys:

 

[Stipenvlerk]

My ducks just experienced snow and it was not nice for them. I asked advice from Locals and they said
- provide a shelter for them to sit dry and out of the wind.
- not possible? Get a big tyre ( for instance from a tractor) and fill it with straw. A layer the size of the duck so they can sit with their feet of the ground if they want to.

my ducks survived just fine!