Mallards vs the cold

[Ratchnick]

Plastic bulbs actually are good too. They are shatter proof. I honestly never heard of ceramic bulbs but ceramic fixtures .

Shatter resistant bulbs were designed for the food industry. They are glass with a plastic coating to prevent shattering. Some manufacturers use teflon in the plastic which emits a vapor that is extremely toxic to all birds. I just read an old post yesterday, the OP lost 7 birds in 4 hours.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Could you cover the run with plastic or a tarp? So that snow can’t get in? And then put hay on the ground maybe.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Shatter resistant bulbs were designed for the food industry. They are glass with a plastic coating to prevent shattering. Some manufacturers use teflon in the plastic which emits a vapor that is extremely toxic to all birds. I just read an old post yesterday, the OP lost 7 birds in 4 hours.

Only plastic bulbs I could find on Amazon actually looked like light bulbs but were candy dishes an party favors thank for clarifying that. I was wondering how a heat lamp bulb could be plastic

 

[HuffleClaw]

The actual light isn’t plastic. I think it’s the part on the back that reflects the light... kind of like this one:

 

[Jpat]

Shatter resistant bulbs were designed for the food industry. They are glass with a plastic coating to prevent shattering. Some manufacturers use teflon in the plastic which emits a vapor that is extremely toxic to all birds. I just read an old post yesterday, the OP lost 7 birds in 4 hours.

Wow! Definitly avoid those, Great tip


What made my bulbs shatter (i tried 3 different kinds of glass and glass/plastic and shatter resistent) was the ducks getting water on them. Even a drop on a hot bulb can break it

The shatter resistent made the biggest mess, it blew into the tiniest shards. i almost cried when my 9 ducklings were coated in glass

 

[ColtHandorf]

They make heated dog beds. Why not try one of those in one of the water resistant/proof liners? They could sit on it and be toasty warm.

 

[PirateGirl]

Regarding heat lamp bulbs bursting... any hot light bulb that gets wet, like a duck shaking off and a water droplet hits it, will explode/shatter. Traditional heat bulbs with ducks are far trickier than with chickens. I had a vanity light bulb explode on me once when I was cleaning the mirror in the bathroom, it really doesn't take much sometimes.

As I'm sure others have likely mentioned by now, if your ducks have a good house with dry bedding to hang out in, they should do just fine without heat. On particularly cold days/nights I do like to double check the bedding and give it a bit of a fluff and add some dry. The other day I went out and they'd managed to get it wet enough the that floor bedding was frozen in a large lumpy sheet... so just be vigilant, but ducks do tolerate cold quite well.

 

[casportpony]

Shatter resistant bulbs were designed for the food industry. They are glass with a plastic coating to prevent shattering. Some manufacturers use teflon in the plastic which emits a vapor that is extremely toxic to all birds. I just read an old post yesterday, the OP lost 7 birds in 4 hours.

DO NOT USE shatter-resistant bulbs ever!

Everyone should read this:
Polytetrafluoroethylene Toxicity in Chickens

 

[MallardMomx2]

Thanks everyone!
I definitely don’t want to deal with shattered bulbs again so I’m going to try to avoid that route. It’s good to know to avoid shatter resistant bulbs, as I was looking into those. I’ll be sure to avoid them. Hopefully they stay warm with their straw then. It just makes me nervous because they’re mallards and would normally fly south for the winter, unlike most other ducks who tolerate cold just fine.

So here’s another question, how cold is too cold? I try to keep them locked inside on days where it’s too cold and windy, but at what point should I do this? They’re locked inside now because it’s 32 degrees, 13mph winds, and we’re expecting 4 inches of snow tonight. They absolutely hate being locked inside the coop so I hate to do this more than I actually have to.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I give mine a choice by leaving their pop door open they do come out but they go in too. I don’t have bantam duck though. I do have Bantam chickens. Also our ducks have very nice down under their feathers and will lay on their feet to keep them warm tuck their bills in their feathers and be toasty.