What water is too cold for ducks?

[wealdooo]

My mom claims that the 3 week old ducks shouldn't be allowed in water outside. My dad say it's fine. It's about 68 degrees out (Texas) and the water wasn't really even cold but not warm either. What temperatures are okay for ducklings (1 mallard, 1 black swedish, 1 white pekin)? They seemed fine in it, they love it. And I'm makin' sure they dry off okay.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My mom claims that the 3 week old ducks shouldn't be allowed in water outside. My dad say it's fine. It's about 68 degrees out (Texas) and the water wasn't really even cold but not warm either. What temperatures are okay for ducklings (1 mallard, 1 black swedish, 1 white pekin)? They seemed fine in it, they love it. And I'm makin' sure they dry off okay.

Are they with a mama duck, ducklings raised by mama duck are better at coping with temps than hand raised ducks by humans, if they aren't fethered in all the way I don't think I'd let mine be in 68* water at 3 weeks old, but thats just me.They can chill which can lead to illness or death.

 

[wealdooo]

They're hand raised, got them from TSC. Even if they seem okay in it? They're not shaking or anything and where they're at there's plenty of sun and they seem to dry off real quick. But if you still don't think that's okay, I'll trust your word for it. - Thank you.

 

[Amiga]

I am with Momma on this one. Here is my reasoning.

Ducklings can "handle" alot of things. Colder temperatures, inferior nutrition, inadequate water, exposure to disease . . . sometimes. Maybe even more than half the time. But not without some effect. It depends on the duck, and the frequency of less than ideal conditions.

At worst, they will sicken and die. At best, their development may be delayed or impaired. We cannot see much of what their little bodies are doing, because it is organ, skeleton and neural development.

Three week old ducklings need to be at around 75F, give or take a few degrees. I cannot trust my "hand" thermometer because I found, by experimenting, that the air temperature really affects my perception of warm and cold. When it's 30F out, like today, 50F water feels nice and warm. When it's 60, the water feels cool, and you get it, the warmer the air the colder the water feels. Also, I am used to New England weather, so 60F is balmy, and for my relatives in Tampa, it's bone-chilling cold.

So the short response is, I don't think you have committed a crime, we (I) can get very overprotective. But I still have nine of my eleven runners, and the docs say we could not have saved the two who died - one from egg yolk peritonitis, and the other from a not-sure, but probably peritonitis.

I would go with warmer water based on a thermometer reading. You did great by drying them off. What temperature is the brooder?

 

[wealdooo]

**Edit**:
I didn't dry them off, lol. The sun did. I just went out and checked and they're already completely dry and they got out of the water about 8 minutes ago. They're not sticking around each other like they do when they're cold, either. And they usually just use room temperature when they're in their bin inside. They rarely need a heat light except for colder nights and mornings when it's closer to 30/40 degrees. And this is Texas. It may be in the 60s, but in the sun it feels like the 70s. And they're in the direct sun right now. I get a bit overprotective of them, too. They're my "babies". One Pekin died a few days ago, from what we believe to be Bot C (diarhea, inability to move legs, wasn't able to hold neck up in it's last 2 minutes, and then just "stopped"). So you can say I've been a bit paranoid/overprotective the past few days. - Thank you.

 

[wealdooo]

I assume they're actually kinda warm now cause they're sitting under the tarp (for a shady area).

 

[jdywntr]

I agree with Amiga's post. They may seem fine but that does not mean there will not be lasting effects. If you just lost one, I would be a bit more careful, just in case. Theoretically they shouldn't even be out in 68* temps at this age. Ducklings do not always do what is best. Just because they are in the shade doesn't mean they are warm. The signs of chilling are the same as overheating. They become tired and lethargic.

 

[wealdooo]

Bot C is a bacteria carried on bug carcasses. Just a duckling being outside and eating grass is enough for them to get the same thing. I'm not gonna lock them up inside just to keep it from happening to them too. I remember seeing many people on these other forums saying basically 'you're the one raising them, you know these ducks better than anyone else". They're not in the water and haven't been for about an hour. I'll pull the water out, but I'm still gonna let them have their time outside. They don't even have any interest in the water at the moment. Thank you all for your feedback. I'll limit their water time and also watch the temperature of it for now on. I don't want to completely take it away from them, cause even since the first day we got them (they were about 3 days old), they already knew they loved playing in water. But I will definitely limit it and won't let them in anything not as warm as what you said. And I will make sure they get completely dried off every time, because I have read that they can get sick if they stay wet at such a young age. Thank you very much, all of you.

 

[jdywntr]

Are you meaning Clostridium botulinum?