Keeping WARM

[dixygirl]

Help I am worried about my babies. I think my chickens are ok because they are in a cement shed that stays kind of insulated.
My ducks I have in a wooden shed at night and I wonder whether they will be ok.

They have pine shavings on the floor and I dumped 2 large trash bags of leaves in there all around them around the walls for insulation and so they can snuggle together from the cold a bit with a blanket of fluffy leaves.

It is going down to 25 tonight and they seemed a bit confused. Any other tips.
Thanks in advance

 

[shelleyd2008]

Mine live on the pond, do not bother to use a shelter, and it was snowing last night, so I think yours will be fine

 

[snowydiamonds]

I am not sure about moldy leaves and their health but its been 2 degrees above and 2 degrees below zero here while my five Cayugas have a wooden shed with straw bedding, deep litter method and they sleep outside all night like the geese, then sleep inside all day like the geese so the ravens (very large) do not prey or torment them while I'm at work. I was going out and shutting them all in their coop/barns but it was much warmer then. I decided with the lessening daylight hours that the amount of time they were shut inside was too much for our long winters and the geese will not let any predators nearby without alerting the dogs and I. Yours should be fine if the leaves are not moldy. I wouldn't use any bedding or feed that is moldy...

 

[dixygirl]

Thanks so much. No they are not moldy. Fresh off the trees. I will probably get a few more bags of pine shavings tomorrow for them to bury in instead.

 

[Judymae]

We are only getting down to the low 30s and upper 20s and I have mine in an enclosed coop with 2 heat lamps pointed at the roosting pole. They do seem to huddle right in front of each lamp. But there is no drafts and when I let them out at 6am it is fairly nice inside. Not warm by any means but not freezing. My ducks sleep under the roosting poles nestled down in the shavings on the ground.

 

[Wildsky]

There are so many - "are my chickens going to freeze" threads, I think I've responded to at least 5 or 6.

really - they will be FINE

Our temp went down to 5 degrees last night - everyone came FLAPPING out the coop bright and early to look for scratch, at that point it was 13 degrees out. The ducks went straight to stand on the ice of their little "bath-tub" I dumped out the ice to refill and they hung around the ice, all new and exciting stuff.

Edit to add: I do not heat my coop - and they have a window open into the horse barn to get some fresh air.

 

[12 Acres]

Ducks are incredibly well insulated. I WISH I could be as warm as they are outside. Honestly, they'll be just fine without any help. Ducks have been surviving winters for eons and yours are no different. I have a flock of 8 and they spend every night on the pond regardless of the weather. I honestly don't think ducks or their kind even feel the cold. They have so much fat and feathers on them it's amazing. I worry about them in the summer when it's hot because they're so well insulated, but then they have the pond to cool off in.

Don't worry--your duckies are very cozy in their down jackets.

 

[yopperchick]

how cod is to cold ? my duck have a large dog house filled w/ straw it was -5last night & gets around -20 here. do they need more I know there bodies stay warm what about there feet.

 

[Wildsky]

So I had to dump out a bucket that had water and froze, and also one of the ducks little bathing tubs....

They were there a while - snuffling around in the water that got caught in the funky ice cubes!

 

[redhen]

my poor Plucky duck had ice on her this afternoon!..she must have tried to swim..and the water froze on her!..i keep feeling so bad!..thinking they are freezing!!!!..

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