Ducks in the winter...

[Oakly24]

I live in Minnesota where it gets pretty cold during the winter, any tips on keeping ducks during the cold months?
I'm hoping not to have to use a heat lamp all winter if possible.

 

[HEChicken]

You won't need a heat lamp with ducks. They are even hardier than chickens (which are extremely cold hardy). When ducklings hatch, they don't seem to want to spend near as much time under heat as do chicks and poults.

I live where it routinely gets into the single digits at night and sometimes even the day time high barely makes double digits. I have never provided supplemental heat to any of my birds and I've never lost one to cold. That includes keeping seramas and silkies - both said to be more fragile than LF.

What you will need is a heated dog water bowl for their water. Since ducks need to be able to get their whole bill in the water to drink, you need something deeper than your typical gravity fed chicken waterer and getting the heated bowls allows them access to water throughout winter. Don't be surprised if they jump in it to bathe and swim though. (Nothing more frustrating that hauling water down to the coop from the house, cleaning out a water bowl, refilling it with nice, clean water for the chickens and turkeys to DRINK, only to turn around a moment later and see a duck happily splashing all the water out while she bathes, knowing that water will be ice for me to slip on within minutes.)

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

What about when it gets into the negatives? In WI last winter we got a lot of those days.

 

[HEChicken]

We had a few negative degree nights this year. The poultry didn't seem to notice. Here is a link to a blog post I wrote this past winter. I had a hen go broody in November and hatch out the one egg I gave her in December. When the chicks was only 12 days old, I woke to see that the thermometer read 3 degrees. The hen and chick were in a temp broody pen with no heat. The blog has pics showing how concerned the 12 day old chick was about the cold morning. http://selfsufficiencyandotherassor...013/12/09/what-3-degrees-f-or-16c-looks-like/

Ducks care even less.

 

[DuckyGurl]

What about when it gets into the negatives? In WI last winter we got a lot of those days.

I'm in the SW area of WI. I have three Calls, they did great this winter! No issues at all, I just bedded them down with 5" of shavings and fluffed it daily.