Real temp lows hitting -18.

[21hens-incharge]

That's what I'm saying; when you're 'relived' to see them come down the ramp in the morning, you clearly had reservations about leaving them in such an extreme temperature.
I'm sure that my Shepherds could have slept in that shed together and been alive in the morning.
Would I do that?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!

Technically they came out first thing this morning then went back inside after getting a drink.

My relief was in seeing them decide to come on out and eat, drink and preen at 2 pm.

They were checked on every hour of the day. While I have to go out there to check on them in their house I can see them in the run from the kitchen window.

For real my chickens range from 1 pound bantams to 6 pound hens. I have zero worries leaving them to do the chicken things they do so well.
I need to trust the ducks to do the duck thing....even if it IS different than the chicken thing.

 

[DukesDucks]

Maybe the use of the word "relieved" was not the best word choice for 21hens-incharge. I like to think the thread is reassuring others about what kind of temperatures and conditions ducks are ok with. I make sure my ducks have food, water, deep bedding, and a protected coop for the night. I'm not sure what other option you would have suggested. Unlike my Shepherd, they are not coming in for the night.

 

[21hens-incharge]

So the purpose of this thread was some sort of group permission to go against your better judgment for what reason?

Not in the least. My better judgement has been telling me that they have open water, good food, dry bedding in a secure wind proof structure and to let them be ducks.

To gain information from people who see these temps and also have ducks and make sure all the boxes are checked on duck requirements in below zero temps.

 

[Pollo Blanco]

I'm not sure what other option you would have suggested.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/i-hear-that-ducks-are-very-cold-tolerant-but.1444967/

 

[DukesDucks]

Not providing a heater for my ducks is for the same reason I don't heat my barn. Yes my horses get very furry in the winter time. That's how they adapt. I think it is healthier for my animals to not have to cope with the change from heated area to the freezing outdoors where they spend their days.

 

[Trisseh]

@Pollo Blanco ..I... don’t see how this is helpful? The OP expressed concern because the temps were much lower than their ducks have been used to and was looking for a bit of reassurance from those who are in a similar situation... It is sometimes harder to tell with poultry than it is with dogs or cats, when they’re truly cold... but they generally seem to know what they can and can’t handle. Giving them the option to choose is usually sufficient.

I haven’t used supplemental heat for my ducks at all. They have their draft free but ventilated house, a pen with a windbreak, and deep bedding. No issues whatsoever, but if I had obvious signs of them being “too” cold, I’d provide them with something to adjust that, without going overboard.

and, just to bring in a bit more perspective from over here in the North... my shep/husky dog spend every moment outside if at all possible, by her choice. She wears her coat in the -40 or lower overnights on my insistence, but beyond that, she’s totally fine. It’s much worse for her coming into even the unheated porch, and then going back out, because the temp difference is just too radical. She’s never been a house dog... every situation is going to be different.

 

[21hens-incharge]

@Pollo Blanco ..I... don’t see how this is helpful? The OP expressed concern because the temps were much lower than their ducks have been used to and was looking for a bit of reassurance from those who are in a similar situation... It is sometimes harder to tell with poultry than it is with dogs or cats, when they’re truly cold... but they generally seem to know what they can and can’t handle. Giving them the option to choose is usually sufficient.

I haven’t used supplemental heat for my ducks at all. They have their draft free but ventilated house, a pen with a windbreak, and deep bedding. No issues whatsoever, but if I had obvious signs of them being “too” cold, I’d provide them with something to adjust that, without going overboard.

and, just to bring in a bit more perspective from over here in the North... my shep/husky dog spend every moment outside if at all possible, by her choice. She wears her coat in the -40 or lower overnights on my insistence, but beyond that, she’s totally fine. It’s much worse for her coming into even the unheated porch, and then going back out, because the temp difference is just too radical. She’s never been a house dog... every situation is going to be different.

Exactly!
I can tell when my dog is cold or a chicken is cold but ducks are a bit new to me since I hadn't kept any in nearly 20 years.

So far I have yet to see a duck actually shiver.


Bringing them in the house would make my 5 big dogs very happy.
Not to mention the human house would be a temperature shock.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

if he ever tells me again that winter makes you appreciate spring, I’ll have to throttle him.

You have my blessing (and in case you feel you need it) my permission to boot-his-butt.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Yeah.....but we are talking 70 degrees colder than that.

I hate to say it, but in nature some animals DO die of cold and they do not live long lives. Living in the cold takes a toll.

I lived for many years in a drafty unheated house and it was miserable. Just because you don't die from it the first time does not mean you thrive.

I suspect that there are some times that you are better giving them a moderated cold, a range of what they are used to feeling, not just whatever nature does. Some cold-snaps are killing cold. The recent artic vortex is unnatural, and has brought us temperatures not seen for decades, and they lasted longer than ever before.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I hate to say it, but in nature some animals DO die of cold and they do not live long lives. Living in the cold takes a toll.

I lived for many years in a drafty unheated house and it was miserable. Just because you don't die from it the first time does not mean you thrive.

I suspect that there are some times that you are better giving them a moderated cold, a range of what they are used to feeling, not just whatever nature does. Some cold-snaps are killing cold. The recent artic vortex is unnatural, and has brought us temperatures not seen for decades, and they lasted longer than ever before.

This is very true.
The trick is knowing when cold is to cold and learning to read their behavior. Reading them is what I am working on.