The Quack Shack

[Supercow]

Ducks encountering a little bit more serious snow for the first time... They are enjoying it - playing in it, eating it, generally looking more upbeat than in dry cold.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Ducks encountering a little bit more serious snow for the first time... They are enjoying it - playing in it, eating it, generally looking more upbeat than in dry cold.

Beautiful Ducks and I love your setup. How do you keep the water from freezing?

 

[Supercow]

I really don't, at the moment... I refill the water in the afternoon before freezing temps start but after the ducks are already done with most of the mucking up. In the morning I kick and poke the buckets / basins to break the ice. If necessary I repeat this during the day.

I empty out the electric water pump every afternoon and set it up again the next day. Thankfully it's not a very involved process.

We're talking about 0 to -10 C temperatures for now so all of the above is manageable. The biggest DOH! moment so far was that I forgot water can also freeze inside the rubber hoses, so now I have one lying around in the (non-frozen) garage for such situations.

Sometime in Jan-Feb we will probably get to the point when there are 2-3 weeks of freezing temps all over the day - that might be somewhat trickier. In a pinch I can carry hot water from the house but I'm sure that will get old very very quickly. So I'm looking for a way to safely heat a basin or two, probably with a submergible low-wattage electric heater.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I really don't, at the moment... I refill the water in the afternoon before freezing temps start but after the ducks are already done with most of the mucking up. In the morning I kick and poke the buckets / basins to break the ice. If necessary I repeat this during the day.

I empty out the electric water pump every afternoon and set it up again the next day. Thankfully it's not a very involved process.

We're talking about 0 to -10 C temperatures for now so all of the above is manageable. The biggest DOH! moment so far was that I forgot water can also freeze inside the rubber hoses, so now I have one lying around in the (non-frozen) garage for such situations.

Sometime in Jan-Feb we will probably get to the point when there are 2-3 weeks of freezing temps all over the day - that might be somewhat trickier. In a pinch I can carry hot water from the house but I'm sure that will get old very very quickly. So I'm looking for a way to safely heat a basin or two, probably with a submergible low-wattage electric heater.

I bought another one of those cloth hoses that fold up after the water is turned off. They extend from the water pressure. Since it is smaller then I put it in a bucket and keep it in a room in my house so that it stays nice and warm and will work again. The only time I have to carry water is when the spigot freezes which was 3 times last winter. It wasn't too bad but I hated it. Your setup sounds great. I have heated water buckets and the little buggers get in it and bathe when they are supposed to use it for drinking only. lol I give them fresh daily so it works out well. Our temperature right now at 4:24 AM here is 33 degrees F so it is just one degree above freezing which is good. It will get colder tonight but January is usually our coldest month along with February.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I bought another one of those cloth hoses that fold up after the water is turned off. They extend from the water pressure. Since it is smaller then I put it in a bucket and keep it in a room in my house so that it stays nice and warm and will work again. The only time I have to carry water is when the spigot freezes which was 3 times last winter. It wasn't too bad but I hated it. Your setup sounds great. I have heated water buckets and the little buggers get in it and bathe when they are supposed to use it for drinking only. lol I give them fresh daily so it works out well. Our temperature right now at 4:24 AM here is 33 degrees F so it is just one degree above freezing which is good. It will get colder tonight but January is usually our coldest month along with February.

What type of Ducks do you have? I thought I saw a Mallard and a Khaki Campbell in there but wasn't sure.

 

[Supercow]

They are Khaki Campbells, well, at least 5 are, and the 3 that we got additionally I'm not really 100% sure about, I think one might be a runner cross and one possibly a Rouen cross, they just don't look full KC. We''re looking to get a couple more and/or a drake.

The possible runner cross has laid eggs in the summer but now looks and behaves somewhat like a drake... orange feet, dark neck, runs after me screaming if I take a hen away.

I have found that if I use just regular buckets instead of low basins, they are low enough for drinking but too tall for hopping in. Also they are in general a bit more sturdy than household washing-up basins. None of the buckets are in the video though.

 

[Luv Ducks]

They are Khaki Campbells, well, at least 5 are, and the 3 that we got additionally I'm not really 100% sure about, I think one might be a runner cross and one possibly a Rouen cross, they just don't look full KC. We''re looking to get a couple more and/or a drake.

I have found that if I use just regular buckets instead of low basins, they are low enough for drinking but too tall for hopping in. Also they are in general a bit more sturdy than household washing-up basins. None of the buckets are in the video though.

I have the taller heated buckets and my stinkers still get in to wash off. I don't mind though because they do not have wash basins and this is how they clean themselves. Your Ducks are really pretty. I have an assortment myself and just managed to get what was called a Runner Drake but looks like a Mallard with a bluish green head and no ring around his neck. Very unusual looking so he must be a mix. He stood erect as a duckling but now is more horizontal. He came from a local Rural King store.

 

[Supercow]

Our possible runner/KC also walks more upright and is generally slimmer and a bit smaller. Don't really know if that's due to genetics or the fact that it came from a bad situation and was undernourished when young.

Overall we're very happy with our ducks but we really want to go through a full winter season before deciding to buy or hatch more. So far it seems that we will likely survive the experment

 

[Supercow]

 

[Miss Lydia]

They need some cross country skis lol