How to keep ducks entertained in the winter?

[m.kitchengirl]

I have heard of this "Flock Block" but it sounds like junk food to me. The chicken/duck equivalent of Cheetos.
I have heard ducks don't mind the snow, but what can I put in their enclosure that will keep them entertained on days even they don't want to / can't venture out?

I especially like D.I.Y. / Homemade things. They do have a small pool in there that I plan to keep running with a bird bath heater. In summer I have made the layered frozen kitchen scrap treats, and that has worked well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

m.kitchengirl :

I have heard of this "Flock Block" but it sounds like junk food to me. The chicken/duck equivalent of Cheetos.
I have heard ducks don't mind the snow, but what can I put in their enclosure that will keep them entertained on days even they don't want to / can't venture out?

I especially like D.I.Y. / Homemade things. They do have a small pool in there that I plan to keep running with a bird bath heater. In summer I have made the layered frozen kitchen scrap treats, and that has worked well.

I buy head lettuce sometimes and hang it so they can play tether ball with it. I know head lettuce isn't as healthy as Romaine but they enjoy playing with it and eating it. I have also done a head of cabbage.​

 

[lilchick]

For both my geese and ducks I toss in a few flakes of soft grass/alfalfa mix hay. They spend hours digging thru it for tender bits to eat and they even use it for a napping spot.

Easy to rake up the unused hay. But believe me there won't be much left!

 

[GrannyCarol]

I second the hay, I'm going to look for some this fall. My ducks LOVE it when I give them fresh straw in their pens to dig through. When it snows I toss some on top, so their big fat feet don't make it too slippery for them (and me!). They like to sleep on it like a new bed and drill through it looking for something - maybe insects? It smells nice too when its just too nasty out to try to clean for weeks on end, I just keep piling up the straw. It freezes hard here and they like a nice flake of straw more than their cozy house! Silly ducks.

BTW, I don't keep mine in very often at all. It has to be a heavy wind and very cold, or so snowy I'm not too sure I can get the gates open. They generally have access to the full small pens all the time, with a house to protect them from wind. I'll split them into two groups - one has a small storage shed that we put in double walls and a porch in front of and some outdoor space, the other has a good sized chainlink kennel with a large insulated plastic dog house, 1/4 of the kennel is covered and the back (towards the main winds) is tarped off to keep the wind out. They seem comfortable even to 20 below and wind, though they do hunker down in the house or straw beds when it gets nasty out.

 

[pekinsRus]

Our quack- pack (we have 2 boys & 2 girls) love the following: Bells. We hang them on the chain link or on a chicken wire divider. They also have 2 pair of fuzzy dice that we tied a bell on each. A dollar store mirror. They love material. We also tie up old socks.
A soft webkin. I just found a baby/toddler toy at goodwill for .49Cents. It is a busy type octopus with rattle type toys on it. Paper towel rolls are popular too. Music they love it! We started hanging a few plastic buckets of water from bungie cords a few inches off the ground & they like to drink & bop at the buckets.

 

[tbitt]

Quote:
Can we get pictures of these things?!?!?

 

[Amiga]

I do some of what tbitt does, securely hanging rope at eye level (making sure nothing that can be swallowed or pulled over). I toss straw onto the snow. I put chopped greens in a big bowl of water. I toss some peas into their straw in their pen. I take them for walks.

Last winter, the flock finally developed a fondness for eating snow, and that kept them occupied. I spent as much time outdoors with them as I could stand - they are very sociable.

 

[pekinsRus]

I will try & snap a few pictures this weekend to post for you. Posting is the problem I have, so please be patient
Thanks for the interest!

 

[ChickInDelight]

Post through the Uploads link. Patience? Alas, you ask too much.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I got a bunch of pumpkin today from the farmer's market to put in my root cellar. They were a great deal, so I can feed them to the ducks for several months. They seem to like the pumpkin better than peas!

I look forward to duck bobbers.