when to put ducks outside full time

[2txmedics]

Ok, temp about an hr ago was 76 and now its 68....I put them outside, this is there first night out...

Im so worried about them....I hope they do ok, I made sure the tarp covered the whole little coop I fixed up for them...and I put water and food in there...then I got a light blanket and put it over the front of the coop as the tarp didnt cover that....

Im worried, but am told they will do fine ...temps are suppose to be not lower than 65 tonight, next week we drop due to the cold front to mid 40s, and by then they are almost 4wks old and I will have a heat lamp in there....

 

[AnaD]

They will be fine! I slept in the livingroom the first night my ducklings were out. I could hear their every sound and our night temp was 42 degrees and they didn't act any different than when they were indoors...I know because I sat in my chair and watched them! LOL

 

[mogrl840]

right now its 71. Its 830 and shouldn't drop too much more. I am worried about them but every time I check on them they are in the pond swimming. They wont let me take them out, if I do they just go right back in. They have a heat lamp on but they are nowhere near it

 

[2txmedics]

lol, oh gosh! there is no way I can hear them from here...we live on 4 acres and they are at the back...that is what worries me!....when I first got chickens, I lost 2 to a possum!!! Pulled them through the fence as they slept outside there coop.....

Now all coops/runs...are triple chicken wired, or gauge panels 1/2 way up the run....every crack covred also....

 

[mogrl840]

my ducks are right outside my window. I can hear and see them

 

[2txmedics]

I love the way AnaD has her area fixed up...

are those baby gates? how are they connected to stay like that??

 

[firsthouse_mp]

Mine are outside (well in garage) with heat lamps and are two weeks and four weeks. My DH built a moveable teen brooder for our chickens and now I use it over the duck pool. They seem to be actually plenty warm because they don't really hang out anywhere near the lamp. During the day, both the boxtop fencing and the pool can be carried out to the yard. Been raining and cold here in NorCalif so I haven't done much except occasionally open the garage during the day.

 

[2txmedics]

Love that set up!!! Because can be left outside if the weather permits with a tarp over it.....how neat.

 

[AnaD]

Quote:
We got the gate at a garage sale for $5! We used it to block the exsits of our livingroom to keep our baby in. Now she is free ranging so we used it for outdoor time with our youngest chicks and, for now, it is a duck enclosure. It has two more segments that I took out to make it smaller. Each segment can be locked into the next or taken out we have 8 links. I love it! I never new it would be so usefull a year and a half ago!
Wow, I had no idea how exspensive they are! I'm pretty sure this is what we have.
http://www.target.com/Superyard-Play-North-States-Industries/dp/B00020L78M

 

[2txmedics]

HECK YEAH!!!! Thats what you have alright! I want one, gonna check out craigslist!!!! and Free cycle....