When is it too cold for ducks? - it's freezing in Portland, OR

[Cerelia]

Duck slaves, LOL! Glad I am not alone here!

Well....Daffodil, the rescued duck (with a shattered hip) does not have another duck to cuddle with. You know, the vet painted a grim picture for her...she said the only reason she wasn't putting her down was because of her will to live, that she should not have babies or another duck around because it's all she could deal with (the hip), that she would not make it to old age, that we needed to keep her warm, etc., etc., etc. That was eight months ago. Her wing feathers have come back (if you saw my thread on her way back when, you know the neighbors clipped her wings, and she is a Pekin!), she walks pretty well (hobbles a bit), she has grown taller...basically, this looks like one healthy duck! She rules this roost! She is still producing an egg a day; she is also broody (what happened to "Pekins aren't broody")?

Daff will not go into the large dog house in her pen. Sigh. So, for the next couple of days (we're holding at a windchill of 20 degrees this morning), she is in the utility room in a "fenced off" area. Time for the shop vac! She just had some lettuce, and I expect her to order cavier at any minute.

I have a 4x4 "pop-up" (ripstop fabric) greenhouse coming to put in her outside pen. We are going to build a supporting structure for it so it doesn't collapse due to snow or wind. I hope we can train her to go into it. Going to put a protected light bulb in there, too.

Jimeny, the things we do....!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yep sounds like you have one spoiled duck and happy to hear she's doing so well

 

[Kalsti]

Great thread here! Loved reading all these comments. I have a duck and a goose-- and worry when the temps get down into the 20's-- like NOW. They have an outdoor shed with about 8" of shavings and hay mixed, with fresh hay on top to snuggle down in. But it is not insulated-- Can anyone recommend a good (or the safest) way to warm the outdoor shed? I've heard different opinions about dangers of using heat in pens.....Thanks for the information!

 

[Going Quackers]

Great thread here! Loved reading all these comments. I have a duck and a goose-- and worry when the temps get down into the 20's-- like NOW. They have an outdoor shed with about 8" of shavings and hay mixed, with fresh hay on top to snuggle down in. But it is not insulated-- Can anyone recommend a good (or the safest) way to warm the outdoor shed? I've heard different opinions about dangers of using heat in pens.....Thanks for the information!

I don't recommend it, fire is a massive concern most livestock bedding goes up in flames at a rather alarming rate. If birds have good vented shelter, food and so forth most do fine, only the very young and very old require an aid or an unusual breed not suited for your climate.

We are Celsius here but i am -10C with a windchill taking that to -18C .. i have ducks who are not even inside, they choose to stay in very large cedar tree hedging, or doghouses. They are fine, and i have mainly Muscovy so quite a bit of fleshing on that breed. The rest go in a house, not insulated and not heated. I have bantam calls, they too no insulated housing nor heat.

Based on your description i would let things as they are, seems they have good shelter and good bedding. Ducks are generally very hardy, even moreso if raised it in. I have some birds who have never known more than a doghouse as they were brooded outside in that only.

 

[Kalsti]

Thanks! Appreciate so much all the information on BC! My goose (Joey) does have a keel wound (5" long by 1" wide) that has never healed, and the vet says she is around 9 years-- older, apparently. This open scabbed area she has had for as long as I have had her....It is like a pressure sore that debilitated people can get from lying in one spot for too long. I am leary of getting surgery for it as a lot of the vets say it will not work due to the constant stress put on the chest muscles.....It is for this reason mainly that I worry about her-- as she is not young still and I feel this problem makes her more vulnerable, etc.
BTW---Does anyone have experience with this and how best to deal with it? I have been using Veterycin on and off as needed. I keep the hay and shavings as clean and dry as possible. And a woman with horses told me to use a charcoal-type powder in the wound and leave it un-bandaged overnight. (She used it effectively for her horses with open cuts.) There is not much data online about these types of keel wounds-- so I wondered if anyone online has a good recomentation.

 

[missmitiep]

Hello Everyone!, So I've read this thread and it seems I shouldn't worry to much about my ducks this winter but it is getting -30 C (-22 F) at night tonight and for the next couple of days, their pen runs along the side of an above ground pool which is full and frozen solid. they have about 2 feet of straw on the ground of their pen which is covered with an insulated roof and the the remaning 3 sides (which are cage) have been polytarped to block the wind except for one small section to release moisture and some holes for air flow, there is a small hutch in their pen which is raised off the ground and has about 1\2 foot of straw on the bottom, I have 7 Ducks in there, Cayugas and Rouens, today is the first day they haven't left the pen to do their daily duckie business. I have been checking on them regularly and they seem okay....just a little covered with ice from splashing in their water bucket, is this okay?? they are snuggled in the straw but not all huddled together so I am taking that as a good sign that they are not too too cold, are there any warning signs I should look for that would signal they are too cold? how do I check for frost bite on black cayuga feet?
Thank you for any help or advice!!

 

[Mudbillkisses]

A few questions about ducks and the winter. I have had ducks for 7 years in upstate ny winter. But, my ancona doesn't seem to be as cold tolerant as our others were in years past. I need a good water heater for night time...can anyone recommend one- something without a cord maybe? I have tried corn but she refuses to eat corn...actually both my ducks don't like it. People say the coop needs to be well ventilated- can you describe how to determine what is "well ventilated"? Our coop/run is a big box with plenty of room for 2 birds, with hardware cloth on all sides, with wood board and batten siding lining it. This is not air tight- as I'm sure most outdoor shelters aren't. There's a window that can be opened and has seams around it that let air in. The front side of the coop is also the door so during the day, I usually leave the front off so that leaves a 3 sided, covered and well protected shelter with shavings and straw. How does one know the balance between good ventilation and not drafty? Thanks in advance for the feedback on my questions!

 

[Mudbillkisses]

Also, my ancona shivers during the day when it gets to be single digits or below. They hunker down in the coop but I see her shivering sometimes, and I'm not sure if that's normal or means she's too cold?

 

[3bird]

A few questions about ducks and the winter. I have had ducks for 7 years in upstate ny winter. But, my ancona doesn't seem to be as cold tolerant as our others were in years past. I need a good water heater for night time...can anyone recommend one- something without a cord maybe? I have tried corn but she refuses to eat corn...actually both my ducks don't like it. People say the coop needs to be well ventilated- can you describe how to determine what is "well ventilated"? Our coop/run is a big box with plenty of room for 2 birds, with hardware cloth on all sides, with wood board and batten siding lining it. This is not air tight- as I'm sure most outdoor shelters aren't. There's a window that can be opened and has seams around it that let air in. The front side of the coop is also the door so during the day, I usually leave the front off so that leaves a 3 sided, covered and well protected shelter with shavings and straw. How does one know the balance between good ventilation and not drafty? Thanks in advance for the feedback on my questions!

We use a heated livestock water bucket, but it does have a cord. We blocked off some of the top with a piece of ply so they couldn't really get in it. It works great!

When it's this cold (-5 to -10 F at night with days in the single digits), we are feeding a "soup" 2x/day. The soup is a mix of split peas, greens, oatmeal, corn, pellets, etc. It changes each day based on what we have. They also have free choice pellets and cracked corn. We have been locking them in the duckhouse at night, and they do not have food or water in the duckhouse.

Our duckhouse is elevated and connected to the run. It is pretty airtight but not insulated. It has 4 windows that can slide open or shut.

We now have straw bales banked up around the whole side facing the camera in this pic to give them more wind protection in the run. We use straw on the floor of the run and a combination of shavings and straw in the duckhouse. Because the duckhouse is elevated, they love hanging out underneath, which is very sheltered with deep straw.

We are pretty new to ducks, so we're just watching them very closely, soliciting lots of advice and doing what we think is best. Good luck! BYC has been a great help to us.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You want your ventilation up top not where the wind is blowing through your house right over your birds.
That way moisture can be released out of the vents. I open the top of my windows facing east and south to give plenty of ventilation . Similar to how 3bird has windows up high that is what you want.