Mandarin temperatures

[dainironfoot]

Hi guys, just wondering if you could tell me how Mandarin ducks are at handling freezing temperatures. I live in Oregon and we just had a week long cold spell down into the teens and twenties. Normally we get temps in the mid twenties at the lowest( and that's just overnight). Usually our winters aren't too bad. I would like to get some but don't really want to string an extension cord all the way to the pond for a heat lamp for the winter. Will their little duck feet get frostbite? I know they are an Asian species so I wasn't sure that they would handle the cold too well. Thanx for the help in advance!

 

[JJRS]

They are temperate/northern lat birds, no heat required. There is an established feral population in NorCal.

 

[destinduck]

They are temperate/northern lat birds, no heat required. There is an established feral population in NorCal.

Wish they would get established here and all over.

 

[3BirdGirlz]

Mine survived -20 and -30 this past week! They do have an insulated shed though.... But I could tell they were much happier when it hit above zero They are doing good in our cold Montana weather.

 

[dainironfoot]

Great! thanx for the replies guys. I have a few pair of White faced whistling ducks and they didn't do so good in our recent cold spell. I figured they would have been smart enough to move off of the icy rocks and over to the heat lamp I hung in the back of the shelter. But no, they stayed out there until I locked them in by the lamp. I think a few of them have some frostbite now and I was just thinking of switching to Mandarins if they handle the cold better.

 

[BYC-user-174785]

Mine survived -20 and -30 this past week! They do have an insulated shed though.... But I could tell they were much happier when it hit above zero They are doing good in our cold Montana weather.

That is good to here!

My mandarins are fine in the cold, but the are usually outside. Usually only the white mandarins go inside with some wood ducks. I am pretty sure the White Faced Whistling Ducks are a tropical species, but my tropical species do not do well in the cold. They get ice balls hanging off of their feathers, and they do not go inside. Two hens had to be taken away from the aviary and be under a heat lamp. Mandarins are a fairly easy species to raise that handles the cold just fine.