Winterizing duck summer house??

[FernbergFarms]

Hello!
This is my first year with ducks and when we were building the coop we didn’t really think about how we were gonna keep them in the winter so now since it’s getting colder we are really trying to figure out what to do! In Minnesota it gets terribly cold like -30 F and last winter it got -75 with wind chill!!! The house they have is very small and not insulated!! But they’re run is pretty big. Now, We don’t have a lot of ducks. We only have 3. But I would REALLY like to keep them this winter without them freezing to death! I have two drakes and one Hen. I’ll attach pictures of the coop down below! ( we use hay bedding) and how will i keep they’re water from freezing???

We have 2 pools now.

The bottom is filled in now.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

It is not as cold where I live but I use hay or straw bales and tarp. You want to block the wind and add insulation. A wall of hay can do both plus I give mine extra loose hay to snuggle down into.
They do not need the baby pool in the winter. For a treat on warmer days, fill a oil drip pan or a horse feed dish.
I use a heated dog water dish to keep their drinking water from freezing, but it is a lot warmer here. I would check with your local feed store.
Ducks have wonderful down jackets already on and can take the cold better than people might think.

 

[FernbergFarms]

@cheezenkwackers thank you!! This helps a lot!!!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

We use what are technically translucent heavy duty tarps on the run to block the wind and as others have suggested you can use hay in the box. When I was around 14 I built what looked very similar to your coop part for the feral cats that people dumped almost monthly (I found a wild cat frozen to death so I decided to build small shelters to put out in the woods). In the winter I took a staple gun with some insulation on the walls. After I took some old vinyl flooring rolls, cut to size of each wall and attached them over top of the insulation. It wasn't prettiest, but we lived near lake erie on top of a very large hill (named Hill Road of course) so not only did we get the lake effect weather, but also the high altitude weather. I tested it out by crawling in the house wearing a t-shirt and shorts when it was around 5 degrees outside and let me tell you that little house was warm! The nice thing was as long as I was careful removing the staples the vinyl and insulation came off pretty easily for summer. https://www.amazon.com/Translucent-...99952214&sprefix=clear+tarp&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1

 

[cheezenkwackers]

AstroDuck you are clearly very creative! I would just be very careful with ducks and any kind of insulation they can, but shouldn’t, eat. My ducks will eat styrofoam if they get the chance . Any artificial insulation would have to be completely and securely covered.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

AstroDuck you are clearly very creative! I would just be very careful with ducks and any kind of insulation they can, but shouldn’t, eat. My ducks will eat styrofoam if they get the chance . Any artificial insulation would have to be completely and securely covered.

Agreed! That is why I was sure to mention the vinyl over top. If properly secured the ducks won't be able to get anywhere near the insulation. I placed a nail about every 3-4 inches when I originally made the boxes which created a nice seal. When I went back to visit my parents the boxes were still there (still being used by the fer cats lol) and not a piece of insulation or vinyl was out of place.

 

[FernbergFarms]

Ok! @AstroDuck thank you!! That’s very helpful! My duck will eat styrofoam too!! I don’t let them eat it tho.

 

[3bird]

For our guys, we cover three sides of the run with 6mm plastic and leave one side open. We used to also bank with straw bales, but we don't do that anymore.

We secure the plastic with staples and then 1x2 strapping, which then becomes kindling for the fire the next summer.

Our ducks have 24/7 access to the run from a 4'x8' elevated duckhouse. We only lock them in on the absolute worst nights (maybe 3 or 4 times in the last as many years). Our duckhouse is uninsulated, and we use the deep litter method. On cold nights, we load them up with extra straw. The windows on our duckhouse have plexiglass slides inside the hardware cloth, and the window facing the worst weather has shutters too. Ventilation is essential! In the run, they have a 5-gallon heated bucket for water. You can see the bucket in this video:

Last winter, we also installed a Sweeter Heater. As the girls age, a few of them seem to appreciate a little extra warmth. Heating in a duckhouse or coop is very controversial. We really like the Sweeter Heater, as it is fairly low-level, radiant heat with an extremely low fire danger. Supplemental heat is NOT necessary, even in an uninsulated house as long as they can get out of the wind. You can see the inside of our elevated duckhouse here:

 

[FernbergFarms]

@3bird nice! Is your duck house insulated?
So if I were to put hay bails in my house to insulate it would I have to completely stack them to the top? Or just a couple bails high? We were thinking about that plastic too. Does it hold well?

 

[3bird]

@3bird nice! Is your duck house insulated?
So if I were to put hay bails in my house to insulate it would I have to completely stack them to the top? Or just a couple bails high? We were thinking about that plastic too. Does it hold well?

Our duckhouse is NOT insulated. We no longer bank the duckhouse with straw bales, as it doesn't seem to provide a lot of benefit in our situation. They have deep bedding in the duckhouse, and they are protected from the wind--that's the most important. The 6mil plastic holds up for us for the whole winter. As I think I mentioned, we staple it on and then cover the staples with strapping that is screwed in place.

Good luck, and keep us posted!