Wet ducks in cold weather - no heat in duck house?????

[newbyduckmom]

My ducks discovered our pond has started to fill again for the winter and promptly went for a swim. Two of my drakes are still pretty ratty looking from molting and came out of the pond looking pretty wet. It was in the low 30's last night and starting to get dark now. I am worried about them being wet and getting cold. There is now heat in duck house and one side has an open window area. Should I make other arrangements for them for the night???

 

[newbyduckmom]

I may be a worry wart, but husband is rigging up a heat lap for them. They are flapping there wings just a little, contiually, so it would appear they are cold. (I could be wrong). Guessing it will be a long night of going to check on the ducks for me....nervous nelly~

 

[evansacres]

I don't think that you need to worry too much...not sure how cold it actually gets where you are but it has been down to -6 Celsius or 21 Fahrenheit here. I let everyone out in the morning and their water tubs are frozen, the first thing they do is get a drink of water (I do give them some warm water...) then they go down to the small water hole and go for a swim. There has been a thin ice on it the last several mornings and they jump right in. My pekin's were a little ratty looking too, but they certainly weren't concerned about it...as long as they have somewhere to go that is dry, they will preen and get themselves sorted out. Every time I put them in at night they are wet after playing in their water - but their house is dry and clean and I don't have any heat at all. At the most, if you are really concerned would be to put something over the open window area to limit any drafts. We're going to have much colder days and nights to come

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[GrannyCarol]

As long as they are out of the drafts and wind and have some bedding and friends, they should be fine. If they are molting and really do wet down to the skin, they might need a little heat to dry out. Bathing is good for them though and will encourage good feathers, which will cause them to become water proof. I give my ducks lots of fresh straw and they are very happy. They don't have heat in the winter (only when I have ducklings do I use heat) and they do bathe, even when it is very cold. I've never had a problem with it. They have pretty good shelter though and I don't put out bath water when its really really cold or windy.

 

[Going Quackers]

It's been quite cold here.. and all seems to be ok.. i mean, i think the key is ensuring they have access to shelter.. Mine are still playing in the water, even though we were below freezing the other day(-4C) I think they are a lot more hardy than we realize...

 

[newbyduckmom]

Thanks all. We did put a heat lamp out. They were really wet. The house they are in isn't optimal. Afraid it may be too drafty. And right now they have livestock mats for flooring and no other bedding. They seemed to make it through the night all right. Didn't get as cold as we anticipated.

 

[jbourget]

plenty of food keeps them warm.

 

[ChickInDelight]

When I have hay (bedding) in my house, I can feel the warmth it provides. It is easy to rake out too. My ducks /chickens don't eat it, and it is softer than straw. I buy low quality like orchard grass. Bales can also block drafts.

 

[Miss Lydia]

The only concern i would have is wet ducks wet bedding and then heat, may cause respitory trouble. especially if you don't have good ventlation.