How cold is too cold to ducks?

[loofa]

Okay, so my ducks just want to sit on the ground, little duck lumps, keeping their legs/feet warm - they aren't eating or drinking other than a sip or two of water when I lure them to the water bucket with peas. It looks like it's actually painful for them to stand as they will hardly walk a few feet without plunking back down. It's 18º here, which I know isn't as cold as some other parts of the country, but they are not just going back into their cozy coop as people say they will, yet they are clearly unhappy. I've put pine shavings down on top of the snow since it's stopped coming down for the moment, just hoping to give them a bit of a barrier to sit on.

 

[MshellFox]

Mine got some small areas of frostbite on their feet during the awful cold spell. I’ve just been watching it and they seem to be ok. I am worried and wondering what I need to do in the future to keep this from happening. It very rarely gets that cold in Arkansas. I had put extra straw in their house and put up a wind break etc. They barely came out of their house at all the worst couple of days

 

[Miss Lydia]

If and when we get those frigid temps again, make sure there isn't any water they could sit in overnight. Putting up a windbreak and plenty of bedding is a very good idea. sounds like they were using their heads as far as not coming outside.

 

[DuckMom2022]

The temperatures are supposed to go down by about 19 degrees tomorrow, I would like to know how cold is too cold to ducks.

As long as they have wind break and a nice dry shelter they will be fine. We have a house insulated with a thick layer of straw. They get fresh water ever few hours to be sure it doesn't freeze. They mostly stay in the house on extremely cold days. But they do like to go out to the coop for food and to wander a bit. We don't keep food and water in the house, as the water can create a mess, and extra moisture which is not good for them at night. On snowy days, they will actually run to the one area of the coop that gets a bit of snow and lay in it. We have gotten down to about 10 at night so far. They have done well.

 

[DuckMom2022]

My 2 little ducks have a 3 x 4 house with styrofoam insulation. Straw on the floor. The roof is about 3 foot high. Will they be ok if there are a few really cold nights? We are supposed to be -2 in a few days. They have been good with the teens at night. But today is a high of 10 and a low of 2. I have read you should not put a heater in the house because of moisture and fire hazard. I have also read if you bring them inside, they will not get used to cold temps.

 

[MGG]

My 2 little ducks have a 3 x 4 house with styrofoam insulation. Straw on the floor. The roof is about 3 foot high. Will they be ok if there are a few really cold nights? We are supposed to be -2 in a few days. They have been good with the teens at night. But today is a high of 10 and a low of 2. I have read you should not put a heater in the house because of moisture and fire hazard. I have also read if you bring them inside, they will not get used to cold temps.

They'll do just fine outside, if they need to go in they will. Do not use a heater. -2 is not cold for ducks. I only sometimes bring my ducks in if it's windy, snowing, and with a wind chill below -30. They can handle cold weather much better than hot weather.
Make sure they have water, food, and shelter and they'll be ok in even the worst weather.

 

[DuckMom2022]

They'll do just fine outside, if they need to go in they will. Do not use a heater. -2 is not cold for ducks. I only sometimes bring my ducks in if it's windy, snowing, and with a wind chill below -30. They can handle cold weather much better than hot weather.
Make sure they have water, food, and shelter and they'll be ok in even the worst weather.

Thank you so much! Good to know!

 

[MGG]

Thank you so much! Good to know!

No problem!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

The first year we moved here the thermometer outside read -26F and the wind chills were -50F. In town it was saying -18F that day, but we live way out of town near the river (only fields in-between the river and us) so we have the super icy wet winds blowing across our property. That was the coldest we have experienced here, but still about 15-20 days out of the year we have sub zero days. I think -12F with -40F wind chills has been the coldest this year so far. My ducks are kept in the barn (unheated) with a good 6" layer of pine chips and then when it gets below 10F I put another 6"-12" of chopped straw on top of that. When it gets cold ducks need a dry, draft free place along with deep bedding to burrow into and keep their feet warm. So far I have had no ducks with frostbite or any cold weather health issues.

 

[NDCGrove]

Ducks over 8 weeks can tolerate -15 Fahrenheit, so long as they have fresh bedding in a not drafty building. Draft is crucial for you to control.

This'll be the second year I've not supplemented any heat in my coops as I’ve not needed to. I've 4 40x100 uninsulated coops with 1400 ducks in each.

This next bit is lengthy but since I am seeing a common theme of people asking here, I figure this post may be worth writing to provide a method people can assure themselves a bit more than what some guy may say elsewhere.


Technical knowledge:
This is some knowledge from cross disciplines and real-world experience. Your mileage will vary, depending on the factors identified below and whether you use a similar method.

Note: please read about the bird before you raise it. Your responsibility as a farmer is the wellbeing of your birds and the animal’s quality of life. The information provided below is to give you a rough estimation of the available heat your birds emit and what they can utilize.

I am going to structure this to be educational where I explain what you're looking for and how it applies to you. Then I'll run it through my real-world scenario to show you how it performs and to give you a way to understand how to calculate it for your scenario.

Animal heat emissions:

• Ducks emit about 12-14 btu an hour.
  • Ducks need 3 sq ft.
• Chicken is 6-10.
  • Chickens need 2 sq ft.
• Goose is 14-16.
  • Geese need 4 sq ft per bird.

The bigger the bird by weight, the more heat it'll emit. Comparably, all birds will minimally emit 3 btu per sq ft. You can find this by taking the emission btu divided by the needed space requirement. 3 is what I am going to use.

You may think it doesn't matter but relative to the size of your operation, it does. I also always do my calculations based on the most conservative values as it’s better to be prepared for the worse versus only planned for optimal conditions.

My scenario:
I've 1400 Ducks, times 3, equals 4200 btu.

Deep Litter Method (a heat source):

A deep litter bedding system started in June that is at least 6 inches by August will emit 18-24 btu/hr per sq ft. Any additional depth is inconsequential, so long as the method is maintained; additional depth will however aid in sustaining heat for prolong cold snaps (greater than 5 days). So, for the process, assume 18.

My scenario (continued):
I currently have 9 inches of deep litter in place using pine shavings. So, 18 btu times 4,000 sq ft equals 72,000 btu. Now add 5,200. I have 77,200 btu.


Regional effect:

Find your region btu per zone and divide it by 5. 5 is a number used in hvac calculations to quickly determine the base btu requirement to sustain an interior number to a seasonal exterior temperature.

Then take that number times your available interior space. If that number is greater than what your total # animals emit, you may want to consider supplementing heat when temperature falls below -10 F to avoid frostbite.

My scenario (continued):
Where I'm at in WI, 50 btu divided by 5 is 10 btu. Now take 10 times your available sq ft. I've 4,000 sq ft, times 10, equals 40,000 btu as my base heat load requirement. Per the prior step, I am 77,200 btu or 37,200 btu higher or 9.3 btu sq ft above needed. Today, where I'm at, it's 0 F with a constant 20 mph wind from the North, so a lot of wind. Coop interior is 12 F on one of my central thermostats.


In conclusion, my ducks are fine, I know why, and I know how much tolerance they have before I need to help them.

Optional:
Now, if you have the time and money, adding panel insulation to your walls and ceiling will dramatically improve your heat. 2 inch thick 4’ x 8’ rigid foam panels would take your heat up to 20 F in my scenario as it would seal the building better and apply thermal resistance but at a cost of like $15k. However, when you air tighten up a building, mold, especially with ducks which emit a ton of moisture, this will become a new problem if you are not doing enough air exchanges and cleaning effectively. You can use heat exchangers if you really want to keep as much heat in as possible or the more cost-effective way is to use variable fans with carbon dioxide & CFM sensors to sustain a specific CFM in your facility.