snow and ducks

[critterranch]

i am getting 4 eggs a day now out of my runners they are putting to shame my cuckoo marans that are 5 weeks older! only getting 2 eggs aday out of them

today has been the warmest day in a while

29 f today
windchill 17f

 

[ejctm]

Hey Guys, I have been offline for a while, but am back now!

We have had loads of snow here in England during December and a white Christmas for the first time I can remember.

My ducks did not mind the snow a bit. Problem was that their bathing water froze every day, and some days I could not break the ice as it was 4 inches thick, so they had to make do with a large dog's bowl of water refreshed several times a day with warm water. Anyway, it rained today and the temps are up to about 3 degrees Celsius during the day (it had been as low as -15 degrees C!). I noticed the ducks' feathers were soggy from the rain, so obviously they have not been able to keep their waterproofing up with no bath to clean themselves. Luckily, due to it warming up a bit, I could fill their bath today and they could have a good wash.

Waterproofing feathers is something to keep an eye out for if they can't have access to their usual amount of water during a big freeze, is what I have learned from this. They are all fine though, but my garden is wrecked!

I'll try to get some pics up soon, as we took some of them in the snow - very cute!

 

[Suzie]

Hi ejctm!

How are your runner ducks doing?

I now have 16 of them - mad, crazy and so lovable ( 14 of them were bred here )

I still crave Cadbury's Fruit and Nut Chocolate - I am on my last bar here.....

Seems most of England had a white Christmas - it was very cold and snowy here in France!

Minus 16 degrees brrrrrrrr.......
Suzie

 

[critterranch]

inspecting nanny berry filled hay i just mucked out from goat shed dirty little things

marching in formation

george is my crested drake on left and crested female on lright martha she is not that upright she is relaxed in photo
i am going to breed martha to my most up right non crested drake and george to my most up right non crested female
my crested runners are from double d supply out of florida
many people have been asking locally about duckling
so i have decided to start hatching in feb. their is quite a market for them around here

duck in front she is inspecting the nanny berries the ducks love hangin with the goats

we are going to have a high of 33 today so i can actually fill pool today my outside spicket in thawed out
their white is dirty it is starting to look like fawn coloring lol
first swimming water in 3 weeks they need it

 

[ejctm]

Hey Suzie, they are fine, and have grown so much! I posted some pics on another thread yesterday. How about your ducks - sounds like France has had the same weather as us.

Hey Critterranch - love the pics! Yours look a bit meatier than mine, and better insulated against the cold!!

I also love the phrase "nanny berries"

not heard this before, but it made me chuckle!

I remember that some family friends had a pony when I was growing up, and they used to call it "donkey doovers"

 

[critterranch]

yes they are chucky i try to feed them good when its cold. they will thin out as soon as spring comes when they free range.
plus they are hatchery birds. the nanny berries never dawned on me its just normal for me lol. i can them up in coffee cans and sell them lol 5 dollars a can
i try to scoop up the nice fresh piles. eeewww the sounds grouse. sorry

 

[DuckyMom]

I personally put an area of hay down to cover the snow so they can get their feet out of the cold. I also set up a few wind blocks and some tiny shelters. (old plastic bins turned upside down with a whole in the side.) this way they can get out of the cold. (the little bins heat up quickly) i dont leave them out long though. I worry about my babies alittle too much!

I know theyre fine, but they dotn particularly enjoy the snow and i dont wanty them to be unhappy!
Emily

 

[AdamD77]

My runners have seemed to cope very well with the all snow here in England. Like ejctm said, lots of taking sheets of ice off of their pool to let them swim. What amazes me is the fact that I take about an inch of ice off of their pool and as soon as I'm done they hop in and start splashing around having a great time! Funny animals

Before I got back from uni my mum said she changed their pool water with the hose, went inside to change their drinking water and in the time it took her to do that the water in the hose had frozen! Not good but funny

The main problem we've had is their waterers freezing inside their house which is not good, although luckily it has warmed up the past couple of days and nothing's been frozen. We tried putting a tub of snow in for them to get moisture if their water froze and if nothing else they played with it because it's all gone.

EDIT: Thought I'd add a couple of pictures in - any excuse to show them off

The girls splashing about in feeezing cold water.

The boys running around in the snow.

 

[ejctm]

Adam, yours are just adorable! Your black boy with the little white patches looks exactly like one of my girls.

Where did you get your paddling pools from? I have been trying to find ones like this (in the summer) but couldn't find any. We currently use an old tin baby bath and a plastic storage tub, but those pools are better.

thanks,

ejctm

 

[AdamD77]

Hehe thanks, my lovely little Toby

We got them from Argos, sold as a sand pit in one tub and water in the other, but I don't think the ducks would've appreciated a sand pit

We used to use both bits but unfortunately one of the bits got a crack down it. I looked on the Argos website to find a replacement but it seems they don't sell them anymore!

I have seen them on eBay though so its worth having a look there, think they have different shapes available too... Our's is an apple shape and I think I've seen the same shape but in bright pink, although not sure it that would scare the ducks

I wore a bright orange hoody once and they wouldn't come anywhere near me so I had to change