Notes on Frostbite from Storey's Guide

[Carcajou]

I have 21 Aylesbury cross ducks here in Lincolnshire UK. They have a variety of small houses and pens in the garden. They are bedded on straw, and the hay that the horses turn their noses up at, but I also put a thick layer of straw to completely cover the ground in their pens. I think this is beneficial in winter as it keeps them warmer when outside. It is also easy to change the straw when their little houses are cleaned, so that they stay in good condition. That and extra food, seems to keep them well throughout winter and they are just coming back into lay now.

Thanks newfoundland. I also keep hay down on top of the snow in my ducks' enclosure and put down a layer of fresh shavings in their coop each day. I also make sure I have hay or sand down where they come out of the pond to go to their enclosure as tracking water on the snow makes it icy and I surely don't want them to slip and injure a leg. All in all my Khaki Campbells are faring quite well with their heavy down and a pond to spend the days on.

And thanks, Amiga, for starting this informational thread. I suspect it will be useful for many duck keepers.

 

[GrannyCarol]

It can get quite cold here, though not yet this year. I have a mixed flock of ducks, Silver Appleyards, Welsh Harlequins, Saxonys, Anconas, Khaki Campbells and a few crosses. I bed down their "house" (a converted storage shed) with oat straw and also their night time pen. If it gets really cold, icy or snowing, I toll straw down where they are likely to go, they love the fresh straw in any case.

So glad it warmed up this weekend and we were able to muck out the house and pen, rather than just putting more straw over the ice and frozen droppings! The straw gives them better footing and a place to cozy down and something fun to dig in.

If it becomes extremely bitter and windy, I can lock them into the shed, which is insulated, and keep the wind out. So far my ducks have wintered very well. I even put out a small bathing pan any time the temperature isn't much below freezing, clean feathers insulate better!

 

[newfoundland]

Here is in interesting fact for duck keepers in the UK. Have just heard from a cousin that it is illegal to keep ducks without providing adequate water for them to bathe in. This can of course be a paddling pool, baby bath or any other sufficiently large receptacle. Although I agree that ducks should be able to bathe/ swim, I am sure that I have heard that there are some ducks that do not need a pool/pond. My ducks do have this facility but I am wondering what is provided for ducks raised commercially for meat?

 

[Haunted55]

Here is in interesting fact for duck keepers in the UK. Have just heard from a cousin that it is illegal to keep ducks without providing adequate water for them to bathe in. This can of course be a paddling pool, baby bath or any other sufficiently large receptacle. Although I agree that ducks should be able to bathe/ swim, I am sure that I have heard that there are some ducks that do not need a pool/pond. My ducks do have this facility but I am wondering what is provided for ducks raised commercially for meat?

I was reading an article on raising ducks for meat on the web last summer. Can't remeber where or if I even saved the link but i do remember they showed an overhead misting system for the birds. I thought it was kinda neat that they had this built into the watering systems. The ducks were Pekins and if I am remembering this correctly, the misting took place in the morning so the bedding could be raked and dried after by workers and overhead fans. This was a huge operation, 100s of ducks in this building. Sorry I can't be more help than this.

 

[Valntyn]

Valntyn, I witnessed one of my Muscovy girls do that. She was sleeping on the concrete floor inside our shop garage next to the rug she normally sleeps on. When I went in to feed one morning, she went to stand up and her poop had frozen to her feathers and floor. She had to use wings to free herself, tearing off a good amount of feathers on her butt. I felt bad, but she acted like it was no biggie. However, I noticed that she is careful to only sleep on the rug since then. Guess she learned not to make that mistake again.

Thanks for sharing this!! It's good to know what probably happened. How I didn't think of a situation involving POOP makes me laugh... Isn't it all about poop once you get ducks?!

None of ours seemed like they had anything wrong, either, so I didn't go into panic-mode, just dumbfounded-mode!