Ducks okay without water on long winter nights?

[Annawiez]

We got our ducks this spring and have felt comfortable with our routine so far. We don’t have food and water in the coop but plenty in the run during the day. But now that it’s getting dark so much earlier are the ducks okay to be cooped up from like 6pm to 7am without food and water? Or should we just prepare to change the bedding more often and add food and water in there?

Thanks!

 

[Isadora]

They'll be fine without water for that amount of time. It's really not worth it to deal with all that water in the coop. Im sure you've seen 1st hand how much of a mess ducks make with water.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Mine go in the coop around 7:30 now, and don't come out until around 8 or later. During the winter, they were inside even longer. They will do fine.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I think they would be just fine. I lost all my ducks before they were able to go to the coop (long story in itself). But the plan was to leave the food and water outside during winter. The mess they would make in the coop would create a bigger problem. My chickens are out of the coop at 6:30 am to 7:45ish every night. So my ducks would have been about the same. If they aren’t spending a whole lot of time in the coop during the day, they shouldn’t need the water or feed until they are out of the coop.

 

[fatty and friends]

give them water but they don't need food. i give mine food and water at night but they don't seem to eat the food so yours should be fine without it. hemp bedding is also stays drier for longer than wood shavings, so maybe switching to hemp would help

 

[HollowOfWisps]

It's really personal preference on whether you want to deal with water in your coop or not. Many people keep water out in the run only during the day so the coop stays dry. If you have a way to offer your ducks water, but keep the coop bedding dry that is also an option. Either way, as long as they have a draft free dry coop at night to sleep in the choice to provide water at night is optional.

Edit: I would however, highly recommend giving electrolytes every now and then in the winter especially if the temperature is below zero. Ducks can become dehydrated just as quickly in extreme cold temperatures as they can in overly hot ones.