Is your chicken coop that drafty?? If the wind can blow on them enough that the windchill will affect them, your heat lamp isn't going to do any good. If, however, they are in a draft-free, well ventilated coop, they will be fine without the heat lamp. Wind chill factors affect those out in the wind. Way different than actual air temp. No need to panic. Chickens (I don't know anything about ducks, so will refrain from comment there) can handle cold a lot better than they do heat. They are well equipped to stay warm with their little built in down coats. As the temperatures have gotten colder this fall and winter, they have acclimated by growing more down. They fluff up their feathers and that traps their body heat. Adding heat will likely cause them to be too warm, because they have acclimated to the cold. If they're not directly in the wind, they should be fine.Last night it was very close to 0 degrees and I put lots of straw in the duck house and they were fine. But tonight thru tomorrow we are under a wind chill advisory and are expecting wind chills 20-25 degrees BELOW ZERO!?? I am putting a heat lamp in by chicken coop mounted to a stud using some quick grip bar clamps. So heres my question: will the ducks be okay in their 2.5 By 3.5 duck house or should I set up a play pen in the coop for them?
Last night it was very close to 0 degrees and I put lots of straw in the duck house and they were fine. But tonight thru tomorrow we are under a wind chill advisory and are expecting wind chills 20-25 degrees BELOW ZERO!?? I am putting a heat lamp in by chicken coop mounted to a stud using some quick grip bar clamps. So heres my question: will the ducks be okay in their 2.5 By 3.5 duck house or should I set up a play pen in the coop for them?
What did you end up deciding? How did everyone do? We had the same weather here, and I was terrified that I would wake up to ducksicles! I would love to hope that that is the coldest that it will get this winter. Is it too much to ask? Probably
