Preparing for cold cold winter with Pekin Ducks

[Miss Lydia]

I use to haul water but having a neck injury put a stop to that. Now I just scrub out the heated buckets and fill no hauling any longer.

 

[PirateGirl]

Things I do different in winter.

Bedding in the duck house is deeper. As mentioned, it's good to fluff it, it dries out better.

Bathing water only once a week (or longer) on a day that is above freezing. The pool is smaller than in summer. It gets filled by bucket instead of hose. Some days I will chop the ice off the top. When it freezes solid I flip it upside down, the sun warms the plastic and the ice chunk falls out.

I found the Ducks do so much dunking in their water they are constantly breaking the surface ice. I no longer used a heated waterer. I give fresh water in a deep bucket 2-3 times a day. I bring the bucket in the house overnight so it doesn't freeze solid. I dump the dirty water down the toilet so I don't clog my drains or create an ice rink outside. I fill the buckets in the bathtub instead of the outside spigot.

I used to have a heated dog bowl. It didn't last one winter. I'm not sure if this is typical.

I live in a cold climate. It can drop below freezing any night of the year. We had our first snow on the mountaintops this past week and leaves are starting to change. We go months with frozen ground and long periods where it does not rise above freezing.

The ducks don't seem to mind much. They seem to tolerate the cold much better than the chickens. I am no longer surprised to see them hunkered down sleeping outside after dark in the snow. They don't wait for it to warm up to come out of their house to eat. They rarely use their house. They don't try to hop around the snow, but walk right through without hesitation.

I do not insulted the duck house or chicken coop. I do not supply supplemental heating or lighting. I do have a small solar powered motion light that helps me check on everyone after dark since it gets dark so darn early and is often still dark in the morning when I care for them before work.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's interesting how each of us deals with the seasons mainly depending on where we live in this big world. I enjoy reading how everyone has their schedule down and even tweaks it on occasion. We can all get something out of each sharing what works what doesn't.

 

[chickens really]

Yes..I hang Christmas lights on my Coops also that way I can see better in the dark..

 

[harmonymw]

It’s okay if deep litter gets wet in the run.

 

[harmonymw]

Because I use deep litter, I throw lots of yard waste into the run. And because the ducks and chickens share the run, it gets fluffed up pretty well and seems like good insulation. My birds do fine in the winter aside from the increased predator risk, but we are lucky to have built our run around a pine tree.

 

[harmonymw]

I probably wouldn’t cover the windows. Air flow is important in winter. You don’t want humidity because that will lead to frostbite.

 

[kenzietee]

Posting just to follow this thread! I live in Indiana and we have more harsh winters than people think. Temps last year -10F for about a month, along with one or two ice storms and a few snow storms as well. Our duck house is 4x8 and we have 5 total. I plan to use the deep litter method and a heated water bowl. Might add some dried up grass clippings in a few times as well, I've heard they put off a lot of heat.
I've got a different question now. The roof to our house is wood and opens on hinges for easy cleaning. The wood is about 1/2 inch thick. I am worried that it will fall in due to snowfall. When it snows here, it always seems to just be a TON all at once.