Extreme cold weather ducks

[Galaxyfalcon]

Hello everyone!

I'm in the north and it can get pretty cold here. I know the ducks are generally fine with cold temps in winter. Normally I don't worry about the ducks too much, but we're having a snow front/cold front move in and temperatures are dropping to the low teens. The ducks have a coop/run with lots of straw, food, and a heated dog bowl with water and a little tub with a de-icer in it so they can get in and swim around. It's going to get down to about 12°F and I want to see if they ducks might need anything else. Part of the run is covered—this is the part where their duck house and straw is at, and part of it is open to the sky; this is the part where the water and rocks, etc are. The ducks tend to spend more of the time over by the water (off the straw). Partly I think it feels more like a natural "duck" environment so they tend to cuddle up over there at night.

Should I fence them off so that they have to sleep on their straw, is a heat lamp worth it, or are they going to be fine at those low temperatures?

 

[Gallinarium]

Hello everyone!

I'm in the north and it can get pretty cold here. I know the ducks are generally fine with cold temps in winter. Normally I don't worry about the ducks too much, but we're having a snow front/cold front move in and temperatures are dropping to the low teens. The ducks have a coop/run with lots of straw, food, and a heated dog bowl with water and a little tub with a de-icer in it so they can get in and swim around. It's going to get down to about 12°F and I want to see if they ducks might need anything else. Part of the run is covered—this is the part where their duck house and straw is at, and part of it is open to the sky; this is the part where the water and rocks, etc are. The ducks tend to spend more of the time over by the water (off the straw). Partly I think it feels more like a natural "duck" environment so they tend to cuddle up over there at night.

Should I fence them off so that they have to sleep on their straw, is a heat lamp worth it, or are they going to be fine at those low temperatures?

I don't have ducks, but it's -2 here and gets a lot colder at night. My chickens are fine except for some minor frostbite, and they're layer types.
I know ducks handle cold weather a lot better than chickens, so personally I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[SolarDuck]

I dont think 12 f is too low, you should be fine.

 

[3bird]

We live in Maine and keep silver Appleyard (large breed) ducks. They have no trouble with cold temperatures (it's been single digits every morning the last few mornings) if they have the right set-up. The right set-up is:

Draft Free Duckhouse (with plenty of ventilation!)
Wind Protection in the Run
Open Water (large enough to dunk their heads)
Good Diet

When it gets to negative numbers (F) and gale force winds, we'll consider locking them into the duckhouse for the night, but 99% of the time, they are fine. We do offer them soup (peas, greens and mealworm crumble) 2x/day year-round. In the winter, the soup is warm, and we'll add corn on the coldest evenings. We'll also mix in cracked corn with their feed on cold nights. In the winter, they get extra straw in the duckhouse when its cold. They have a five-gallon heated bucket in the run that we change 2x/day. On days in the teens with no wind, they will have no hesitation to tromp out through the snow to go for a swim in one of their little ponds, but we don't provide swimming water in the run ever.

We did add a Sweeter Heater to our duckhouse last year. It's a radiant heater that does not pose the same risks associated with heat lamps. It is not necessary at all (many of the things we provide for our domesticated animals aren't!), but it is nice for the older girls, molting birds and for eggs.

 

[Galaxyfalcon]

Thank you for the replies! They have a 50-gallon tub on the far end of the run they can get in and splash around in, and we usually let them decide whether they want to be in the more exposed part of the run or over in the padded, sheltered part with the duck house etc (the run is 10x30ft).

They've been getting peas and corn at night so I'm glad to see that is a good idea! I was just hesitant since one of our ducks is old and limpy, she survived an attack by raccoons before found a home with us, and 2 of my others this is their first winter and it hasn't gotten this cold yet, so I just want them to be as comfortable and safe as possible.

 

[3bird]

Thank you for the replies! They have a 50-gallon tub on the far end of the run they can get in and splash around in, and we usually let them decide whether they want to be in the more exposed part of the run or over in the padded, sheltered part with the duck house etc (the run is 10x30ft).

They've been getting peas and corn at night so I'm glad to see that is a good idea! I was just hesitant since one of our ducks is old and limpy, she survived an attack by raccoons before found a home with us, and 2 of my others this is their first winter and it hasn't gotten this cold yet, so I just want them to be as comfortable and safe as possible.

If you are going to continue to offer swimming water in the run, just make sure they are drying off. They should have no problem, but it's worth looking out for, especially with an older duck that may not be in tip-top shape.

Good luck and post pictures!