Will ducks die without water to swim in during winter?

[PhantomSlayer]

I know ducks will swim anytime they want even in really cold temps. I was babysitting for my brother and my niece for some reason brought two of their ducks in and filled their kitchen sink with water for them to dunk their heads under. I asked her why she didn't just empty their frozen pool or the black bowl thats big enough for one to two ducks to sit in at a time and she said the hose was off and her mom told her that the ducks need enough water to dunk their heads under or they'll die? While I know ducks love water but is it even really possible for a duck to die because it doesn't dunk its head?


I'm still wondering why she didn't just fill pop bottles or pitchers to fill the bowl or pool.. Heck why not the bath tub instead of the sink... But anyways yeah It just doesn't feel like that's a real thing.. My only guess is either she hasn't researched ducks enough or she told her that thinking my niece will fill the pool or bowl everyday.. But then again her mom put them in the sink when they were ducklings so who knows... I just want to know if thats true or false.

Death because its unable to dunk its head?

 

[nuthatched]

They need to dunk their heads to clean their nares (nostrils) I don't think they'll die because of it but a build up could create an issue like a sinus or respiratory infection.

 

[Isadora]

The head dunking is to clean our their nares (holes in the beak).
They won't die from not being able to swim but definitely need water deep enough to keep their bills clear.

 

[CoriM]

And they need deep water when they eat too, they put their whole bills into the water. If the hose is off, just keep buckets that you fill inside the house and bring out to them.

 

[AnnieDuck]

Obviously you can read the other replies, so I’ll skip repeating that and just a add on that you can tell if they’re having a hard time swallowing their food if they seem to be sort of stretching their neck in and out and swallowing a lot. (very different from the head bobbing flirting thing)

Hope that helps a little!

 

[Aunt Angus]

One more tidbit: Deeper water helps maintain feather quality. They don't *need* to swim, though.