How do ducks fair in the winter???

[Going Quackers]

To many numbers for my brain lol We have had our heat lamp on for months my weather is a freakin' yo-yo anyways, i have noticed no massive increase in my hydro and feed use varies... mine still attempt to forage only on bitterly cold days does it cease because they either stay in the barn or cuddle under the cedars. I do not consider them expensive to feed but I only have 8 and again allow foraging to take place year round.

 

[Haunted55]

“Has anyone tested what cold temp will kill a duck?” Yes, in fact someone did.

All this talk of ducks in arctic temperatures got me to thinking, someone, somewhere must have done some experiments to see what kinds of cold temperatures a duck can tolerate. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with temperatures as low as -30, but if ducks can thrive at -30, what temperature is too cold? So, I did some digging, and I found an article from 1967 in the Journal of Wildlife management that looks at cold temperature survivability for mallards and black ducks.

Apparently, back in the 1960s, when environmental rules were soooo much less stringent, people noticed that ducks that were covered in oil tended to die more frequently in the winter. From the article:

“Most heavy losses of waterfowl due to oil pollution occur between October and April. A number of authors have suggested that exposure to cold is a very important factor contributing to the observed mortalities among oiled waterfowl during the winter”

Oh the things we take for granted these days! Imagine a time when the link between covering an animal in oil and its death was not clearly established. And apparently, oil spills were a lot more common in the 1960s.

Anyway, so the authors test the impact of covering ducks in a variety of petroleum products and putting them in a cage in a freezer at controlled temperatures. They also test the impact of cold on mallards and black ducks without any oil. Because ducks are warm-blooded, the scientists were very concerned about how the cold affects metabolic rate, because they thought (correctly) that oil makes it harder for a duck's feathers to keep the animal warm, which would impact the fat reserves of the animal as it worked to stay warm. Unfortunately, some ducks died in the experiment, but not as many as you'd think. The unoiled ducks "were able to survive exposures of -26 C for up to 36 hours [in a cage] regardless of their physical condition at the beginning of the experiment” and the article indicates that the unoiled ducks left the experiment with ample fat reserves.

The very interesting thing they found was the precise relationship between temperature and metabolic rate:


So this got me to thinking: My ducks will be just fine at very cold temperatures, but is it more economical for me to turn on the heat lamp, or pay for the additional feed they would need to keep themselves warm?

I buy commercial feed. My ducks forage in my small yard, but there's not much to eat in the dead of winter. Commercial feed for one duck costs me around $0.19 per day. According to the article in the Journal of Wildlife Management, when the temperature drops from 0 C to -20 C, there is about a 42% increase in a duck's metabolic rate. So, it stands to reason that they'd need to eat about 42% more--which would mean that feed would cost me an extra $0.08 per day.

Electricity costs me around $0.115 per kWh in Chicago. If I leave my 250 watt heat lamp on all night (about 10 hours) it will cost me around $0.29 per night. But more than one duck can use the heat lamp at a time.

It turns out that if I have 4 or more ducks (at -20 C), it is more economical for me to turn on the heat lamp at night, then to buy the extra feed that the ducks would need to stay warm without a heat lamp. Feed would be 4 x $0.08 = $0.32 per day, but the heat lamp is $0.29.

This makes perfect sense to me. This is how I view all of my poultry, need versus cost. Thanks for this.

 

[DuckMamaNH]

The ducks are enjoying our first big snowstorm of the year

 

[Haunted55]

We got up to 28 degrees today and I let my ducks and geese out into their pen to trample down the snow. They liked it for a while but when I told them to go in, they were quite happy to do so.

 

[ppimf]

i have 17 ducks and everyone one them want to be outside not locked up. i live in kansas and it have been down to 5 to 10 at night and not much over 25 during the day this last week or so. they all come out in the am like its not even cold. now i do see them setting on there legs alot more since it cold but they are still outside. the coop is a two part setup, the first room is a feeding and watering room and the back room is the sleeping area, with heat lamp on (i use for more eggs) they still want to be outside other than back in the warm room.

 

[countrygirl74]

i have 17 ducks and everyone one them want to be outside not locked up. i live in kansas and it have been down to 5 to 10 at night and not much over 25 during the day this last week or so. they all come out in the am like its not even cold. now i do see them setting on there legs alot more since it cold but they are still outside. the coop is a two part setup, the first room is a feeding and watering room and the back room is the sleeping area, with heat lamp on (i use for more eggs) they still want to be outside other than back in the warm room.

Mine are exactly the same! I have 4 ducks (2 Pekins, 2 Rouens) that are all now about 10 weeks old. They have been outside now for about a week. The temps here are barely 40 during the day (sometimes lower with wind chill) and drop to the teens at night, usually around 15. We made them a nice little shelter full of straw. They will nap in the straw during the day but all night long they prefer to sleep outside by their water bowl. When I go out in the morning to break the ice and give them fresh water, their backs are completely frosted but they are running around, and as soon as I break the ice, they immediately get into the water! The whole time I am thinking, "You guys are crazy!"

 

[laughingull]

We have VERY mild winters here (Coastal Southern California- rarely drops below upper 30s) but I am still happy to find how much happier the ducks are about our winter weather than our chickens... Ducks love rain, chickens hate it. My wimpy chickens hole up in the coop at the slightest precipitation while my ducks are out foraging up a party in a downpour.

 

[DuckyGurl]

It has been about 20 degrees here in the daytime, teens and below at night. I have two calls. They are in 6" of bedding, and in closed up area so it is very warm. They don't want to play in the snow, but other ducks I have owned loved the snow. As long as they have a warm place and bedding, they do fine. They have so much down, they have their own coat! So, as a general rule I would say duckies are VERY cold weather hardy.

 

[Carcajou]

My six Khakis seem to enjoy the winter (teens at night and twenties in the daytime) but with over a foot of snow on the ground they stick to the pond, spring run, and areas I have shoveled for them. They have become reluctant to go in their coop at night, probably because of the short days, preferring to sit on the fenced part of the pond but they do go in when I approach their enclosure after dark. They bolt out the door when I open it in the morning and head straight to the pond for a time of frolicking, bathing, and getting their fill of water. I do feel blessed to have a spring-fed pond that doesn't freeze over in the winter.

 

[dennin7418]

Mine stayed out pretty much through the entire night of our first snow storm. No idea why, but they are smart enough to go in if they needed to so I figured they are ok. Biggest problem is that they pat down all the snow and slide down the slope so I have to keep sand at hand so they can get a grip. I locked them in their shelter last night as it was in the low teens...I have 9 ducks and when they are locked in it seems to stay above freezing which is plenty warm for them...