How cold is to cold?

[yarnchick]

How cold is to cold for my runner ducks. They are one yr and 7 mos. I brought my 6 "babies" in to the garage last week as I had some frozen eggs. Oh my word, they are rank now. The tell me when and where they want treats. But I checked the duck hut this morning and it said 22 degrees. That is still to cold in my book. We are to have near zero temps at night and below that wind chill. I know that this summer I have to do something to make their hut warmer. Insulate under that thing good. Husband said to insulate the walls also. How warm do you folks keep your duck housing and how do you keep from frozen eggs.

 

[tatswell]

I have 5 ducks, this my coop- actually I've extended it 3 feet to give them an extra 30 sq. feet. I put a tarp where the fence is to cut down on drafts but it is not insulated- although I'm sure being next to the house throws off a little heat. Anyway we are in New England and it has been bitterly cold for weeks straight. Only 17 right now and expecting -10 tonight, not including windchill. They have been okay. They are cold, of course, but I think as long as you have thick straw laid down and maybe even some bales as a whole in there for them to lay behind/in they should be fine. I also provide them a little more scratch and corn in the winter to bulk them up for the cold.

 

[Going Quackers]

It can be a rather difficult thing to judge, most ducks well fed, provided with shelter can withstand quite a bit they do afterall have down coats. That said depends some breeds struggle more than others and some the weak, the young, the old can succumb to bitter temps.

We've been brutally cold here too, just came off another cold advisory again. Mine are okay, but i don't own any runners... so cannot personally give input based upon that breed.

Egg wise? tough, other than collecting in around when you feel they are laying it's hard to stop.. i have a few pekin laying on/off but my scovies have not returned, nor the buffs or calls. Bedding where they lay extra may help with a touch of extra insulation so to speak but it's pretty common for the eggs to be lost during the extremes.

 

[solarpup]

Our ducks (three mallards in two coops attached with a screen between them – so they can see each other without fighting – and an open front door so they can get out to their heated water buckets) have been down to 0 F without any problems. But, it's the usual provisos: make sure they have plenty of food (they will be burning extra calories to keep their body temperatures up), shelter out of the wind, with plenty of dry straw to sleep on. The floor of the coop should be off the ground both for purposes of ventilation, and because the ground can be a pretty big heat sink, even through the straw.

Tonight, however, we're due to get down to -6F, and at that temperature, we break down and bring them into the basement for the evening.

I think you'll find Canadians on this list who will scoff at bringing them in for anything warmer than -15 F (-26 C). But our threshold is usually about 5F, maybe 10F if it's also going to be very windy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

How cold is to cold for my runner ducks. They are one yr and 7 mos. I brought my 6 "babies" in to the garage last week as I had some frozen eggs. Oh my word, they are rank now. The tell me when and where they want treats. But I checked the duck hut this morning and it said 22 degrees. That is still to cold in my book. We are to have near zero temps at night and below that wind chill. I know that this summer I have to do something to make their hut warmer. Insulate under that thing good. Husband said to insulate the walls also. How warm do you folks keep your duck housing and how do you keep from frozen eggs.

@Amiga has Runners and lives in S New England hopefully she can weigh in on how to care for Runners. Since they have slim upright bodies I think there is a bit of difference in how to care for them over winter.

 

[yarnchick]

My hut is off ground so they have a hiding place under it and a place to keep cool in the summer. Ducks get plenty of food and heated water. Treats galore. Pine chips and straw about 4" thick. It is just that if the egg freezes me thinks it is to cold. We have snow and ice everywhere and I don't know where they will go outside. Maybe it is just me and I don't want to mess with it outside. I do feel so very bad when I see them out there all fluffed up and feet under wings. They are so nice and comfortable in our mildly heated garage. Hurry up spring.

 

[Amiga]

I went with my ducks' behavior and body condition and now I house them in a shelter that remains above 40F. I won't say that any particular temperature is okay for all ducks. I have four or five ducks who barely survive temperatures below freezing. I want them to thrive. So I made room for them in the walkout basement, and now they all thrive.

Each person has different resources - I understand that. But as I wrote, I want my ducks to thrive.

Certainly, lots of dry bedding is a big help - keeping them out of the wind, but with decent ventilation (too much moisture can lead to lung problems).

I have used an indoor-outdoor thermometer for monitoring temperatures inside the duck shelter. Really helps, as I don't have to open the shelter at all - and I can know what the temperature is.

 

[yarnchick]

My son put up sheet insulation on the insidw this afternoon. Wed I am going to get the 4 inch thick insulation to install under the hut.i will close off from under neath the water hole spot. We just put pine chips over it for winter. I kick myself that I didn't have better prep for my duckies cute little house. The air vents at top will have covers for winter. I have a 4 inch wide screen vent all around their house. To much I think for winter. Anyway I hope I can get it to be more livable. Still working on what to do for the lot.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My son put up sheet insulation on the insidw this afternoon. Wed I am going to get the 4 inch thick insulation to install under the hut.i will close off from under neath the water hole spot. We just put pine chips over it for winter. I kick myself that I didn't have better prep for my duckies cute little house. The air vents at top will have covers for winter. I have a 4 inch wide screen vent all around their house. To much I think for winter. Anyway I hope I can get it to be more livable. Still working on what to do for the lot.

Just be ware they may chew on the insulation so make sure to cover it with something they can't chew on and eat. and air ventilation around the top is good they need ventilation when closed up to make sure hot humid air is going out.

 

[tatswell]

What Miss Lydia said- Here is a video of me catching my duck, Tegan, red handed eating the insulation off of my house- and Tegan having something to say about it!

(Their coop is built next to the walk out basement where the insulation is. I had to stack bricks there to deter them from eating it!)