Winter

[htwin1]

i need some advice for winter for my 6 ducks! one of my females just hatched a duckling on her own, i seperated her from the 5 others and the duckling is doing fine. im worried about leaving the coop door open so the others go in and out.. will it be to cold in the coop for her and the baby? shes also is laying on 5 other fertilized eggs. she has food and water inside on her side of the coop and the others have their water outside and their own food dish on their side. I also seperate the 3 males at night from the other 2 females because all the males do is attack and mount the 2 other females. their necks are so very raw and bloody.. should i seperate them during the day too? i am looking to re-home two of the drakes
( tractor supply ducks )

THANK YOU

 

[Miss Lydia]

i need some advice for winter for my 6 ducks! one of my females just hatched a duckling on her own, i seperated her from the 5 others and the duckling is doing fine. im worried about leaving the coop door open so the others go in and out.. will it be to cold in the coop for her and the baby? shes also is laying on 5 other fertilized eggs. she has food and water inside on her side of the coop and the others have their water outside and their own food dish on their side. I also seperate the 3 males at night from the other 2 females because all the males do is attack and mount the 2 other females. their necks are so very raw and bloody.. should i seperate them during the day too? i am looking to re-home two of the drakes
( tractor supply ducks )

THANK YOU

Is she letting the duckling get under her for warmth? is there anyway to block cold air from getting inside since you have mama and duckling on their own side. what kind of temps are you talking about? when one of my Muscovy's hatched in April one year temps were going down below freezing I loaded mom and her 4 babies up in a large dog crate and my dh and I brought them inside for a couple days till the temps moderated some we put them in a back bedroom where it was cool so they wouldn't get to use to the heated part of the house. Problem i see is duckling not being kept warm or getting wet and chilled. I'm sure if she is sitting on the eggs they are fine.

As for the drakes I would diff keep them separate from the girls if they are abusing them like you say. Keep them separate till the 2 are in new homes. and the girls have had a chance to heal.

 

[htwin1]

she does keep the duckling under her im sure for most of the time. whenever i go in there it comes out from under her to see whats going on. the temps in the coop very during the day from 35-45 if the coop door is open and 45-55 during the night when the heat lamps are on and the coop door is shut. i put two peaces of plywood in the coop to seperate her from the others, she has room to get up and move, her water, food for the baby, and food for her is on her side. the males go in a dog crate during the night and the two other females are left be inside with everyone else. im just worried about during the day with the five others being outside with the doors shut.. i dont have access to a dog house do to 3+ feet of snow in the way. im very worried about the females because they are bleeding and raw and horrified of the males. i dont know what i should do next because during the day when they are out, the males just attack and mount them, try drowning them in the water bowl when they are trying to drink. thank you

Is she letting the duckling get under her for warmth? is there anyway to block cold air from getting inside since you have mama and duckling on their own side. what kind of temps are you talking about? when one of my Muscovy's hatched in April one year temps were going down below freezing I loaded mom and her 4 babies up in a large dog crate and my dh and I brought them inside for a couple days till the temps moderated some we put them in a back bedroom where it was cool so they wouldn't get to use to the heated part of the house. Problem i see is duckling not being kept warm or getting wet and chilled. I'm sure if she is sitting on the eggs they are fine.

As for the drakes I would diff keep them separate from the girls if they are abusing them like you say. Keep them separate till the 2 are in new homes. and the girls have had a chance to heal.

she does keep the duckling under her im sure for most of the time. whenever i go in there it comes out from under her to see whats going on. the temps in the coop very during the day from 35-45 if the coop door is open and 45-55 during the night when the heat lamps are on and the coop door is shut. i put two peaces of plywood in the coop to seperate her from the others, she has room to get up and move, her water, food for the baby, and food for her is on her side. the males go in a dog crate during the night and the two other females are left be inside with everyone else. im just worried about during the day with the five others being outside with the doors shut.. i dont have access to a dog house do to 3+ feet of snow in the way. im very worried about the females because they are bleeding and raw and horrified of the males. i dont know what i should do next because during the day when they are out, the males just attack and mount them, try drowning them in the water bowl when they are trying to drink. thank you

 

[Kaessa]

she does keep the duckling under her im sure for most of the time. whenever i go in there it comes out from under her to see whats going on. the temps in the coop very during the day from 35-45 if the coop door is open and 45-55 during the night when the heat lamps are on and the coop door is shut. i put two peaces of plywood in the coop to seperate her from the others, she has room to get up and move, her water, food for the baby, and food for her is on her side. the males go in a dog crate during the night and the two other females are left be inside with everyone else. im just worried about during the day with the five others being outside with the doors shut.. i dont have access to a dog house do to 3+ feet of snow in the way. im very worried about the females because they are bleeding and raw and horrified of the males. i dont know what i should do next because during the day when they are out, the males just attack and mount them, try drowning them in the water bowl when they are trying to drink. thank you

Is there a way you could block off part of the run for the drakes to be in, separated from the ducks? A temporary fence of some kind?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is there a way you could block off part of the run for the drakes to be in, separated from the ducks? A temporary fence of some kind?

That is a great idea I use the plastic poultry fencing from Lowes and the $2.62 fiber glass fence posts they have a sharp point so they are easy to push into the ground,

Place an ad on craigs list for your 2 drakes hopefully you'll get them new homes pretty quick.

Some how you need to keep those drakes away for your girls.

Sounds like mama and baby are doing fine, main thing is making sure baby is being kept warm and baby doesn't get wet and chill.

 

[htwin1]

Is there a way you could block off part of the run for the drakes to be in, separated from the ducks? A temporary fence of some kind?

i did block off the drakes from the other females but im worried about it being to cold outside for all of them, i do shut the door so the coop stays warm for the duckling and the mother

 

[Miss Lydia]

i did block off the drakes from the other females but im worried about it being to cold outside for all of them, i do shut the door so the coop stays warm for the duckling and the mother

What are your temps? can you toss some straw or shaving down for them to lay on during the day, Ducks have a nice layer of down under their feather so they can take pretty cold temps as long as they are out of the wind and snow or rain. of course wild water fowl just sleep out in it.
What breed are we talking about you say TSC ducks what color? if Pekin they will be white. and are large ducks.
I contacted Amiga she is in Conn and asked her if she knew of a rescue around Conn.

 

[htwin1]

They are brown in color and I do put down straw and shavings.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are brown in color and I do put down straw and shavings.

How much do you think they weigh. Do they look like Mallards do the drakes have green feathers on their heads?I know TSC sells Pekin and Mallards but probably depends on what part of the country we're in as to what they get in.

 

[htwin1]

The drakes are a lot heavier then the females.. Idk probably 5-6 pounds. They don't have green feathers.. They are lighter on the top and get darker