Winter feeding/ watering in cold weathe for Ducks & Geese

[hjpointers]

Hello. I am new to raising poultry and I got 17 chickens, 6 Khaki ducks, and 4 toulouse geese this past June. The chickens are in one coop and the ducks & geese in another, both have access to artificial lighting. I live in Alaska and the weather is starting to get cold(1 degree at night). Anyway, I am feeding the chickens laying pellets, corn and oyster shells plus they free range all day and get fruit/veggie scraps, while the ducks & geese get duck & goose maintenance pellets along with free ranging all day with fruit/veggie scraps.

The chickens started laying, but the ducks/geese have not started. Am I suppose to give them some of the chicken layer pellets? Also, do I need to give the geese/ducks anything extra for the winter- oats, barley, alfalfa, corn? Currently all poultry have access to pellets all day- but they are always free ranging so they only eat the pellets at night. I have read that you should not let them have access to pellets 100% of the time. Is this true? If so what is the reasoning?

Another question- I give all the poultry water in the morning & again at night- is this good or should I get a heated bowl?

I would appreciate any insight... I will keep researching online. THANKS in advance.

 

[Amiga]

Hi!

I may not have read this right, but the ducks could use some free choice oyster shell, too.

Are all the ducks and geese girls? If so, a layer mix would be good if you have it. Else, the maintenance plus oyster shell on the side should do them well.

I like to give my ducks access to water all the time. I am told they can do without for eight to ten hours overnight, but otherwise it is best for them to have water, especially whenever they have feed available, to avoid choking.

The KCs ought to be just about ready to lay . . . . with one caveat. It's getting on toward winter and some ducks will wait it out. Not all of them read the rules about light, by the way. My runners (kind of cousins of Khakis) care more about temperature than light, as far as I can unscientifically tell.

Steep sided pots help reduce mess, if that is a concern. I have a watering station that the pot sits in to catch splash as well and reduce the size of the area that needs tending.

 

[Miss Lydia]

One thing you have to watch for if your keeping a light on 24/7 is they may start pecking feathers out of each other. I know most folks want eggs especially if your feeding them alot of feed but it's really not good on their systems to not have darkness to rest their minds and bodies. And like Amiga said when eating they need to have water to keep from choking and also to keep their faces and eyes cleaned out[ducks/geese] Heated water buckets are great. I use them for all my flock including the chickens I just build up pieces of scap wood for steps so my chickens can get to the top of the buckets. Forgot to say

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

geese are seasonal layer, they lay in the spring only each year and nothing (normally) the rest of the year. For us here in FL we get goose eggs from the africans first (last year was December) and Sebastopols started laying in January.

Khakis if they were early spring girls should be laying yet this fall normally. If you have ganders and drakes in the flock you will want to do as Amiga suggested and give a multi flock pellet with oyster shell (for calcium) on the side for the girls to free choice from.

I dont recommend forcing laying from chickens or ducks by artificial light. Their bodies need rest and we need to allow them that rest time so they give us nice eggs and stay healthy.