getting ready for winter

[SundownWaterfowl]

I use those fortex rubber pig feed bowls you get at tractor supply. Fill them up. When the water freezes, I just take a rubber mallet ( or stomp on the bottom of the bowl) turn the bowl over, bang out the ice, and refill it up. These work the best, since its really easy to get the ice out. They dont need heated water. I have had call ducks for several years, and never used a water heater.

Give the call ducks some whole corn in their feed, as it creats heat during digestion. Also, make sure you have a draft free shelter filled with lots of straw for bedding. The ducks will nestle down in the straw and keep warm. Straw is hollow so the straw absorbs the ducks heat and holds it in, keeping them warmer than hay.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
Adapted from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs3243

Corn is sometimes favored as a winter feed because it is mistakenly thought of as a "heating feed." If "hot" implies high energy, yes, corn is a "hot feed." However, corn is not a "hot feed" if "hot" implies heat production.

 

[veronicasmom]

The heated dog dish works better if you put it in a larger rubber feed pan, then you can break the ice out.
My ducks love their swimming water all year round, I would feel bad if they didn't have it. They especially like it when it is really cold and the water is the warmest place. I usually keep a few buckets of plain sand in the cellar and take a little out each day to spread around the pool so they don't slip, plus they like to eat the gritty sand.

 

[protodon]

My ducks and geese get drinking water everyday in the winter. Some in the morning and some in the afternoon since i have no way of heating it. They get swimming water maybe once a week or so, of if they look too dirty. It also has a lot to do with whether my outdoor water line is frozen. Such a pain!

 

[DuckyBoys]

I do swimming water everyday it is practicable. Which is almost everyday. The geese could go without, but the ducks - they are too spoiled. I can't bear to watch them beg for the pool so even if I have to haul the water in a 5 gallow bucket, I give it to them.

It isn't a long haul - I have a system.

One year I had a wter heater and it worked fine but last year the one I had broke. I don't know if it is worth the price it the donkeys will just eat it anyway, so I guess I will stick to the 5 gallon bucket method.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

This is my first winter with ducks and I, too, have been wondering what to do about the drinking water. I plan to buy the 'horse' water bucket. I would have to build a platform on one side because I have Pilgrim geese down to the little banty duck that wouldn't be able to reach.

I would rather they didn't swim in it. They are housed with my turkeys. If weather permits, I will fill the kiddie pool when I can. Any other suggetions out there?

 

[Cottage Rose]

You can get heated dogs dishes and smaller buckets or simply a heating device to put in the vessel of your choice.
I don't even use anything heated and manage.
Its not as difficult as it may seem.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Don't make the mistake I did by trying to use salt or other chemical deicers!!!!! excessive salt can be fatal to ducks.

 

[ChickenToes]

I bought a 5 gallon black rubber bowl, I want to say they are made by Little Giant. Every morning I fill it with warm water, and the black rubber keeps it from freezing until the afternoon. The ducks drink out of it and swim in it. When the water freezes in the bowl, you can just tip it over, kick the bottom of it, and the ice falls out in one big chunk without damaging the bowl.