info please

[pjklugh]

hello, i have 2 young ducks and im wondering should i leave them oitside when its cold out. as of now i bring them inside a little dog cage at nite. and how doni keep their drinking water from freezing ?? any info will ne greatly appreciated.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

do they have a PREDATOR PROOF coop

 

[416bigbore]

Cute little babies you have! Where are you located? What do you have set up for them outside right now?

 

[pjklugh]

do they have a PREDATOR PROOF coop

I am buying a coop this week. how this ?

 

[pjklugh]

do they have a PREDATOR PROOF coop

I have a big fenced in yard.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Grenade coops are poor quality and too small most times unfortunately.

You can buy a heater for their water or you can just replace it a few times a day with fresh, slightly warm water (hot water freezes faster than cool water)

I would wait until they're at least fully feathered

 

[LT71689]

a common recommendation is 4 sqft PER bird inside the coop This looks like it's only about 2x2 feet? Pekins are big fat birds, they overheat easily, and could really benefit from a space big enough to open and flap their wings freely.

I would definitely give them a bigger space. If you're handy enough, building just a plain well ventilated box that keeps them protected from the weather and predators is all they need - ducks generally dont go for fancy nesting boxes and they dont roost, so the bells and whistles of a chicken coop are wasted on them. They're also a bit too clumsy to navigate steep inclines and long ramps very well (they can, but they're also just as likely to fall right off and then decide its more trouble than they want to deal with and sleep under the house instead of in it)


As for moving them outside permanently - how old are they? They look like they dont quite have all their adult feathers all the way in yet. Just how cold are your overnight temps right now? Full grown ducks are pretty hardy but they definitely need some kind of shelter from the elements

For keeping drinking water from freezing you can get bird bath heaters that are intended to be submerged, or heated dog bowls (if you can find one deep enough for them to get their whole heads in) but they'll of course both require somewhere to plug in

 

[pjklugh]

right now its like 40’s and 50’s.

 

[3bird]

We live in Maine, where it gets pretty chilly. Our ducks (silver Appleyards) have an elevated duckhouse attached via a ramp to a predator proof, covered run. We allow a little over five sq ft per bird, but as others have said, four sq ft per bird is a pretty common target for most folks. Ducks do great in cold temperatures once they have their adult feathers. The most important thing is to make sure they can get out of the wind. In the winter, we wrap three sides of the duckrun with 6mil plastic to give them wind protection. We don't bank with straw anymore like in the picture below, as it was really unnecessary, but you can see the plastic. We staple the plastic in place and then screw wood strapping over it to hold it in place. Even in serious blizzards and gales, it holds up great.

Our duckhouse is uninsulated, and we use the deep litter method. We start with several bags of shavings and then add straw as needed. We spot clean 2x/day and clean out once or twice a year.

All of our windows in the duckhouse have plexi sliders so we can adjust based on the weather. Ventilation is critical (especially when it's very cold!). We have four windows in the duckhouse. The two that face into the covered run are almost always fully open, and the others are adjusted for weather.

We installed a Sweeter Heater in the duckhouse this past winter. External heat is NOT necessary. We decided to add the heater to give our girls a little boost in the winter as they age. Some of them really like it, while others ignore it. We would not use a heat lamp or other heat that is high fire danger and too intense of a heat. Sweeter Heaters are radiant heat that just warm the birds that are directly underneath it.

In terms of water, we use a heated 5-gallon bucket in the run. We change it twice a day. On very cold nights we supplement their feed (we use Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance) with corn or scratch.

Keep us posted, and feel free to reach out with other questions!

 

[pjklugh]

thats really nice.