Eggs about to hatch in cold whether

[pleasespeaklion]

I have a white Muscovy hen whose eggs should be hatching soon. Unfortunately, the temperature is forecasted to be below freezing each night this week. The nest is in a little duck house with plenty of hay and she has been diligent in her sitting but the duck house is on an island and I don't have the equipment or facilities to bring the chicks inside. Is there a battery powered heat lamp I could put in the duck house or something else that might help the chicks survive this bought of cold weather?

 

[brahmabreeder]

Could you move the mom into a basement or garage where it wouldn't be freezing?

 

[pleasespeaklion]

The only way I could possibly do it is if it were a very simple project, not requiring much space or investment in equipment. Unfortunately, I'm a caretaker for the place I'm at and don't really have the prerogative to do anything too major. Also, the duck house is built onto an island--so it couldn't be moved. The ducks are normally just left to fend for themselves and my understanding is the chicks just never survive (with a few rare exceptions). I'd like to help if there's something simple I can do.

 

[Frank Phinster]

How cold is it going to be? The mother duck can keep her offspring warm so if it doesn't get below 21 °F ( -6 °C) the ducklings should be fine. I made the same experience with my hatch this year.
Maybe you could provide some shelter by putting some insulation on the walls to fill the gaps? It might be that drift going through these gaps causing windchill is more of a threat than the actual temperatures.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How cold is it going to be? The mother duck can keep her offspring warm so if it doesn't get below 21 °F ( -6 °C) the ducklings should be fine. I made the same experience with my hatch this year.
Maybe you could provide some shelter by putting some insulation on the walls to fill the gaps? It might be that drift going through these gaps causing windchill is more of a threat than the actual temperatures.

I agree, if you could put up some kind of plastic or scrap wood on the outside to keep the wind from getting inside. Mom will keep ducklings warm, if she has a large amount of eggs there and they all hatch she may have problems keep them all warm and you could lose some, but lets hope she can take care of them all. Do you know how many eggs she is sitting on?

 

[jdywntr]

Depending on how many she hatches, she should be okay but you need to block the drafts. As suggested, plastic, wood, cardboard, or a tarp could be used. That will be the biggest thing that you need to fix. If she only hatches a few, they will be fine. I would say if she hatches 10+ you may need to preovide supplemental heat in a week or 2 because they will be too big for mom to cover.

 

[Going Quackers]

I agree, if you could put up some kind of plastic or scrap wood on the outside to keep the wind from getting inside. Mom will keep ducklings warm, if she has a large amount of eggs there and they all hatch she may have problems keep them all warm and you could lose some, but lets hope she can take care of them all. Do you know how many eggs she is sitting on?

Depending on how many she hatches, she should be okay but you need to block the drafts. As suggested, plastic, wood, cardboard, or a tarp could be used. That will be the biggest thing that you need to fix. If she only hatches a few, they will be fine. I would say if she hatches 10+ you may need to preovide supplemental heat in a week or 2 because they will be too big for mom to cover.

I agree with what has been said. My mama duck got through Feb incubating her brood and i am in Canada we went awful cold too. Now i will say afterwards i moved her and the brood to a stall with a heat lamp which is where the still reside today. They are coming out in the barn but not outside as our temps are still dropped.

A follow up concern, she's on an island, so the only access is through water? that would concern me for young with frigid temps.