important(?) question!

[Duck mommy 2019]

can i feed my ducks just whole corn?

 

[JadeFarms]

It is not very nutritious for them, get a good brand duck food.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

It is not very nutritious for them, get a good brand duck food.

they forage for their own food too

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

and also, would just a normal duck coop that is fully covered in wood and some bedding on the bottom be ok for the winter?

 

[EggWalrus]

You can feed them corn but it isn't a nutritionally complete diet. Better off with regular duck feed.
As for the winter question, it depends on where you are located. It would help to put your location in your profile.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

Do not feed them only corn, corn should really only be fed as a treat or to help build fat during winter.

It has almost no nutritional value, plus ducks need niacin. So make sure you feed them either a duck feed or an all flock raiser feed.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Make sure your pen is covered in hardware cloth so nothing can get in there and kill them because if you don't they will! Chicken wire is useless. All it will do is keep your ducks in but won't keep anything out.

They will need shelter from the wind, snow, rain and cold. A nice deep layer of bedding like straw, hay or pine shavings will be good. Where are you located anyway so we can give you better answers?

 

[Duckworth]

We have cold, hard winters here. Ducks in cold weather need

1. Shelter from wind

2. Shelter from rain and snow

3. Plenty of ventilation to prevent buildup of fumes and moisture. Moisture leads to frostbite and tissue loss.

4. Protection from predators (that become even more interested in ducks when other prey are hibernating or migrated for winter).

5. Dry, deep bedding for heat retention and insulation.

6. An unfrozen clean water source deep enough to dunk their head.

7. Nutritionally balanced food that makes up in nutrition for the loss of forage material and insects that go dormant in winter. Even free range domestic ducks need nutritious feed year-round to make sure they get everything their bodies need for health. They have been bred to be kept by humans and have different needs than wild ducks.

A duck house should be low to the ground and offer shelter from wind, rain, snow, etc., on the lower walls, while having a means of venting fumes and moisture higher up. Ducks expel a lot of moisture, both in poop and in breathing, so plenty of ventilation that is up higher, under an overhanging roof that protects from rain and snow, is good. I tarp the windward side of my duck house and run for the winter, leaving the rest of the ventilation open.

A duck house should also be predator proof, with ventilation windows covered in half-inch or finer hardware cloth to prevent predators from reaching through and grabbing and killing your ducks inside their house. Any opening larger than 3/4 inch should be covered in hardware cloth. If mice can get in, so can weasels and snakes. Once inside, any predator will probably kill or injure all of your ducks, even if they don't eat them and can't carry them away. The bottom of your duck house also needs to be protected from digging predators. If a two-year-old child can figure out how to get in, a raccoon can get in. Raccoons are deadly to ducks. I know this from personal experience.

I would encourage you to think about your situation in light of the information people have been providing and consider whether your current plan is likely to meet your ducks' needs or whether you want to make some adjustments to it. I don't know where you live or what your duck house looks like, so I can't give more specific advice.

 

[Miss Lydia]

 

[happy duck]

Feeding cracked corn would help them not chock but only for a treat. You need to give them so regular duck food(or give them duck food as a treat if you are wanting them to only forge for food).