Too Cold for a 5 Week Old Duckling

[weebles&wobblesmom]

This is actually a question. I have a 5 week old Pekin duckling and he's getting too big to keep in my house. (MAN do they grow fast........

) I have him in a rabbit hutch but I usually let him run around in my bathroom during the day so he can get excerise. He makes a HUGE mess in there. I am going to get an outside dog kennel and some how build a "house" for him.
But I don't know if it's still too cold for him. It is still only in the 40s to mid 50s here. I would have shaving in his house, but since he still doesnt have all his feathers I dont want him to get sick.

Any advice is welcome. This is my first and, right now, my only duck.

Thanks

 

[SillyChicken]

Hi

Is there a way to put a light bulb (60 watt) in the dog house?

 

[Amiga]

I would want to have an area that's 70 degrees, with slightly cooler (down to 60 or so) nearby.

Having a light bulb may help, but there are safety issues so be sure that whatever you might use for heat won't cause fire or electrocution.

I strongly recommend a thermometer, used before the duckling is put there, in any new area. You need to know before the duckling spends hours in a place that is not healthy for it.

Are the temperatures you note the daytime or nighttime temperatures? A single duck doesn't have buddies to help it keep warm (as you know), so be careful of advice about okay temperatures that may assume you have a flock.

Ducklinghood does not last long - before long the duck will be feathered out and more able to manage cooler temperatures and drafts. But please don't rush it.

 

[loubapache]

I moved my Pekin ducklings to the outside when they were 4.5 weeks old. They have a 10' x 16' roofed pen and an attached duck house. I am in Michigan and the lows had been 25 - 35 degrees during the night. They are 6 weeks old now.

I lock them up in the duck house during the night and there is a 100 W ceramic radiant lamp in there.

They have been fine. I let them out to the pen in the morning and the first thing they did was jumping into the pool. The morning temps had been around 30 - 35 degrees.

Today our high is in the higher 40's to low 50's and they are playing in the pond very happily. We have two different ponds and the ducks play in both. The Cayuga in the picture was hatched last year but the two Pekin are 6 weeks old.

 

[MissusDee]

It was still winter here when I moved my pekins outside at sooner an age, and some nights it was below freezing. I had quite a few of them though. I think this time of year, even just the one duck, she will be ok. Put some straw for her to curl up with. I have 2 5 week old mallards out there now, and had them in a cage by themselves for a week or so and they were feathered out enough.

 

[Fawnibecca]

We have five five week old Swedish blue ducklings and it gets down to 28 degrees at night here in Oregon right now. At four weeks we transferred them from the house to the outside and I placed them in their modified dog crate (under the carport), surrounded by straw bales and a warming light- and they also have a nice run that’s caged in around the crate, during the day, with a choice to dip their heads and wash in a large container of water. The ducks are thriving and when it’s too cold will lay under the heat and when hungry and thirsty, or just needing some exercise, will run all over the pen in cold for a few minutes to wash and eat, then back to the heat lamp. We have a three month old chicken that was dropped off at our home by someone and in need of some friends since the older flock hasn’t yet accepted her, so Peepers has a family of ducks to hang with right now. The temps get up as high as 50 during the day, but freezing at night. With a heat lamp, the five ducklings are doing great. As long as they have a warm and dry place to lounge, plenty of water and food to consume and are safe from predators, it seems fine. The ducks are growing out adult feathers but still mostly down/fluff- so I avoid putting them in water unless they initiate getting wet and then lay under the lamp after, on their own. As long as they are dry and have some heat, they do well. I have learned that ducks don’t have the ability to regulate their own body temperatures until between 7-9 weeks old, so waiting a bit longer before introducing the baby pool- as these winter ducks will be reaching adulthood long before warm spring. But over all, transferring ducks outside in the winter if you have a decent place with a heating lamp- by four weeks- seems safe and good-