Winter Shelters for Ducks

[Cklass90]

This is my first winter with poultry. I've got the chicken winter situation pretty well figured out but I'm not so sure about my ducks. I have a wire cage that they go into at night and I have a tarp over the top and sides, the back side is sheltered but not tarped, i.e. it's not going to get direct wind but isn't directly covered with the tarp. The front isn't either, is a bit less sheltered than the back but I'd be surprised if it got direct wind. I do have a piece of wood I can put in front of the doorway. I live in Idaho and it gets really cold in the winter. I'm just curious what I should be doing for my ducks for the winter. They have food and water all the time and I have a pond deicer so they can swim even when it's cold. I know they need some ventilation hence why I didn't tarp the whole thing of their cage. It's a small cage but big enough for all 5 of my ducks. It does get warm in there because on cold mornings I see condensation under the tarp (which is clear) I'm just worried that that condensation might lead to frostbite? I have a very small chicken coop they could go into but in all the time I had it next to their pond they never once went in there. All 5 would not fit in there. So i'm kind of waffling on, hopefully someone can make sense of it and give me advice.

 

[PirateGirl]

A photo of your setup would be helpful. Are you saying there is no actual duck house other than a wire structure with some tarps on some sides?

Ducks are quite cold hardy, but will definitely take advantage of a good wind break or duck house when the weather is nasty. We got about 8 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, when I got home from work yesterday, all the chickens were hiding in their coop and most of the ducks were out in the snow. I did a little work and added about 6 inches of fresh straw in their wooden duck house and they all went right in, so while they don't mind the snow, they are happy to have somewhere warm and dry to hang out. This morning I opened their house up and they all barreled right out into the snow, but when I opened the chicken coop only one brave one came out slowly.

Long story short, if you give them a wooden house to hang out in with some deep straw they will certainly appreciate it, but overall they are quite tolerant of the cold and snow and seem to fare better than chickens!

 

[PirateGirl]

My duck house is an AFrame built on a pallet. The ducks go in and out all day. One side hinges down and becomes the door (white panel in photo), I can fold it back up and lock it shut.

 

[chickens really]

Hello. A picture of your set up would help. I wrap my pens in vapour barrier plastic and tarp the tops of my runs too. In winter I use pine shavings and straw in the houses. I also have straw down in a corner of my Run for them to lay on.

 

[Cklass90]

So this is their cage they go into at night, sometimes I put wood over the entrance sometimes I don't. It's a clear tablecloth type material over it. The picture makes it look very small but it's actually fine for my 5 ducks. As you can see it's in a sheltered spot.

 

[Cklass90]

This is another structure they have, not big enough for all of them. At least 1 duck has decided this week to start laying her eggs in there. This also has a 'door' but I never close it as they don't go in there except to lay.

 

[Cklass90]

This is another option I have. In my original post I said all 5 ducks wouldn't fit in there but perhaps they would? It has a very small run that can be attached to it. But it's currently in a very exposed spot and the doorway is facing the direction we get most of our wind. I can move it but I'm not sure to where as the pond takes up most of the space and I don't really want it on my lawn. They are free range all day so these solutions are only for night.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Are your ducks safe in there enclosure ? Can a predator climb up and inside? These are things you have to think about when making a shelter for our ducks. Keeping strong wind from blowing inside their enclosure so you might want to put wind blocks up where the wind is strongest. They don’t need something pretty just something safe from weather and preds.

 

[PirateGirl]

My first thought was maybe you can take some of the wood from the second structure and make more solid walls on the cage.

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

My ducks don’t go into their shelters at all unless we herd and close them in.