Winter living?

[KariBunny]

Do they need a heat lamp on winter time? i live in Texas, just got a pair of pekins and don't know what am i going to in winter time.

 

[chickens really]

My answer is no....I never run heat for my Ducks...Only my chickens...They do well in the winter as long as straw and shelter is provided to get out of the wind...

Good luck

 

[lomine]

Agreed. As long as the ducks are fully feathered there is no need for a heat lamp.

 

[WaddleWagon]

Hey lomine

i am out here in parker CO too, first time for ducks in the winter. Where did you guy your heated dog bowl, i google and all the reviews I find are poor. do you have any other CO winter weather advice? i know last year we got some good snow in march/april which is typical out here.

 

[lomine]

Hey lomine

i am out here in parker CO too, first time for ducks in the winter. Where did you guy your heated dog bowl, i google and all the reviews I find are poor. do you have any other CO winter weather advice? i know last year we got some good snow in march/april which is typical out here.

Well hello fellow Coloradan. Check out our state thread to chat with other folks from CO. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68894/colorado

I purchased my heated dog bowl at Big R because it was on sale right at the time I was looking at options. So far I have only used it for one winter but it worked well. While the bowl works well to keep water from freezing, the ducks will still splash water out. I put my bowl on some scrap siding so that the bowl wouldn't get frozen to the pea gravel. I also put a cheap dollar store bucket with holes cut out on top of the bowl so the ducks can't get in the bowl. Even with all that its still make a mess and is probably the worst part of keeping ducks in the winter.

I don't think there is much else that hasn't already been mentioned already. At least not that I can think of right now.

 

[Going Quackers]

Mine are left out 24/7 with access to a small barn, smaller coops and doghouses..(they are part of a large mainly scovie flock)... i do NOT heat troughs for winter, i do heated buckets but since i have sheep and horses the odd duck has gotten into a heated lower trough, that just leads to duck by the fire to melt...

in my experience Pekin are not agile( actually had one drown in the horse trough the other year) so they often can only use the very low kiddy pools unless you create some method of ramp... mine survive pretty brutal winters... i'm not in the worst part of my country but still 30 below or worse is quite possible.

I find mallard kinds to winter pretty decently, my calls for instance are insanely hardy, so keep water deep enough for nares, bedded shelter and food and they get through it just fine. Better than us lol.

 

[Going Quackers]

Do they need a heat lamp on winter time? i live in Texas, just got a pair of pekins and don't know what am i going to in winter time.

I use no heatlamps here for anyone, the only time i do is with babies... most of my ducks don't even go into shelter... you know it's a really, REALLY bad day when they are all inside buildings, barns and so forth lol.

 

[NanaKat]

Do they need a heat lamp on winter time? i live in Texas, just got a pair of pekins and don't know what am i going to in winter time.

My answer is no....I never run heat for my Ducks...Only my chickens...They do well in the winter as long as straw and shelter is provided to get out of the wind...

Good luck

No, ducks and geese don't need a heat lamp. I use one only over the water to keep it from icing. Their pen was large enough to move into the straw to keep warm and comfy.
My babies that are hatching today have at least 6 weeks before frost to fully feather out. Will make a decision on their winter housing before that time comes.
Am considering a heated dog bowl with a modified water jug set down inside it and only supervised bathing in the big bath tub inside until spring.

 

[chickens really]

I use a heated Bucket....Mine live in a Dog house at night with straw...I lock them in at 8:00pm and let them out every morning during the winter...I put tarps on the outside of the run to keep out wind and put down straw in the run to keep their feet warm...They do very well in the cold as long as wind and snow on them is not a factor....

Cheers