winter time... expertees needed :b

[silkielover92]

I don't have an actual house for my ducks...I have a bog white dog house, anyways for the winter time would that be okay? Of course I will put some hay in there for bedding... and possibly a heat lamp. We get some cold days where its 0 degreese or do I need to go build an actual house for them. Their will be four ducks living in there... ideally I'm trying to save up to build a HUGE chicken/duck barn in the spring.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Thats better that what I was planning on doing! Lol I was going to get some rubbermaid bins and glue styrafome inside, lol. But we dont get very cold winters here, we get cold ones but not as cold as it would get up there. But I think that would be good enough. Hope this helps.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I don't have a "duck house" per say. My ducks like sleeping on the ground or they will go in the stalls that I have and sleep. You get some pretty cold weather huh?

 

[silkielover92]

Last winter we got 22 inches of snow and it was soo cold the horses whiskers and manes of the horses had ice on them. They had blankets and a ton of hair so they were fine they had the opportunity to go in their stalls as they stood out in their paddocks freezing. but this year is the first year I have chickens and ducks so this should be interesting.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
They have a nice down coat that has been provided for them, as long as you give them opportunity to go into the house for shelter then they will choose to or choose not to. Too me having them in a secure place where predators can't get to them is more important. My Muscovies stay in a secure house of a night but prefer by choice to stay outside in the most extrme weather of a day.

 

[toadbriar]

We get... lots of winter.

it was -29F one night last February! And the ducks are fine. Mine have a secure pen with a roof, and inside the pen are shelters and wood shavings for bedding inside the shelters. My pen is between our house and the hay shed, so it is blocked from the wind. That's important - they need to be able to get out of the wind. They go in the shelters to lay, but mostly mooch around in the pen. I put hay over the gravel for the sake of their feet. And I put an immersible de-icer into their water pan, and change out their water every day just like in summer. It's important they still get to bathe, because that keeps their feathers oiled and waterproof. You don't want them getting soaked to the skin, in the bitter cold - their fluffy down only works when it's kept dry. Other than that, I give them extra sunflower seeds and veggies. They like hunting for treats in the hay. They don't need a heat lamp, I'd be scared of fire, and I do think it would be detrimental for them to be exposed to sudden temperature changes every time they go inside and outside the shelter. Cold stimulates their feather development, if I recall correctly.

 

[Amiga]

I have a couple of less-than-hardy ducks, so they all spend nights in the walkout basement pen. Works for me, too as I don't have to shovel three feet (yup - that's what we had last year) of snow to get to them.

I found egg production increased with them at 40F instead of 20F.

(Indian Runners)

 

[agregg15]

Quote:
Sounds like the last winter we had here...except it was 4 feet...in one night

They need a coop or they could go into the barn with your horses, but that depends on if your horses like them or not.

 

[ZoeS95423]

Quote:
How do you still let them bathe in the winter?

 

[agregg15]

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How do you still let them bathe in the winter?

Breaking the ice in their kiddy pool and adding hot water or getting a water heater for their pool.