I am new to BYC so sorry if this has been covered already. Today was our first snow of the year. We have 2 Pekins and 1 Roan duck. they are 5 months old. In the coop I have put a heated waterer and a food bowl and beefed up their bedding. They usually forage but with the high winds and snow, I keep them fenced in during the day now. Their coop has an infrared heat lamp. How close does that lamp need to be to the ducks be effective? Also, I feed 1/2 pitcher of 16% protien feed and a handful of cracked corn. Is this ok? Do I need to supplement? Thanks for any help.
Ducks are very cold hardy birds. I have call ducks and don't provide any heat source for them. The only time they are in their shelter is when I force them in when the forecast is for zero and/or lots of snow at night. I make sure they have a dry area with hay or straw to nestle in out of the wind. Also keeping their drinking water free of ice is important. Getting too warm is more likely to harm them than the cold weather. You don't say where you're located or how cold it is.
I am in Blair, NE. it is 19 degrees right now. I have the heat lamp about 5 feet off the ground and about 5 feet away from their "snuggling space". This is the first night with the lamp and heated bowl. I just ran outside (very quickly) to check in on them and they seem fine, walking aorund the coop, just looking around. I have heard that they have so much fat that they generate a lot of heat on thier own so I don't want them to cook in the coop!
I have a heat lamp and a straw bed for them...........and I find they don't even bother to use it.........they pecked on the lamp and tore the straw apart is about it.....guess God's creature are okay in the weather is all I can figure
I agree, DO NOT start using the heat lamp so early in the winter. I have only used a heat lamp for my black east Indies when the temp gets down in the single didgets and I know it will dip below zero then I add a 125 red heat lamp at night only. I found the 250's are to hot. It needs to be 3 feet off the ground if they can stretch and reach the light either raise it up or get rid of it. My ducks have a covered run with plastic on 2 sides to block the wind. I give them rubber matts to sit on they like them. I also give them cloth feed bags to sit on. they like rags, when the temps go way down you can give them your old t-shirts Ducks have a lot of fat to keep them warm.