Worried about the cold

[skyjams]

Does anyone know if extremely cold weather will hurt my ducks?

We've had a cold snowy winter this year & tonight it may get to 5 degrees. I have 3 mallards, 5 runners, 3 Kahki's & 2 pilgrim geese. They stay on the pond or on a little island at night . I absolutley cannot catch or herd them to a barn. I built a little
lean-to shed for their food bowls & put lots of straw in it, but they dont seem to know to stay in it except to eat. Will they be ok in extreme temps? When they were younger I was able to put them up at night, but once they discovered the pond, they rebelled & refused to go to their pen.
Thanks

 

[Msbear]

beautiful pics... just sad about the 5 degrees!! I would think they would be fine ....especially if they all huddle up. Do they stay in the lean-to?

 

[tia]

They look pretty happy in their little paradise. I would think if they got too cold they would go to their shed.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Colder the better when it comes to waterfowl. They love it. They are built differently than we are and never really notice it, especially if you have open water still for them to get on, unfrozen water if much warmer than the air temps. Their feet are the only thing to watch, their bodys are so well insulated that that part of them can go well below zero with absolutely no trouble. That's where open water helps a lot, their feet. But they will often sleep on that island I'm sure, and just suck them up into their warm feather layers, and tuck a bill under a wing.
A lot of my great lakes area waterfowl breeder buddies keep theirs out all winter, and it's way harsher than we get this way. They keep aerators on their pond to keep the water from totally freezing over, and are good to go. You should be just fine!
Nice place by the way!
Aubrey

 

[skyjams]

Quote:
Thanks for the info, I'm feeling better now about them. Ducks & geese are amazing animals, God designed them well!

 

[poultrypatch]

Skyjams...............Love that pic of the duckies !!!! Another GREAT Christmas card for next year !!! Very pretty setting you have there for them !
Liz
Rochester, MA .....where's snowing...AGAIN !

 

[headred]

Mine also don't seem to mind how cold it gets. We had -1 last night and I saw them sitting right in the middle of the yard last night. This morning they were fluffing their feathers like it was 80 degrees. I'm trying not to worry about them, but I still do!

 

[suburbanduckmom]

They remind me of penguins out on the island. They could totally see an igloo out there. My spoiled California ducks refuse to get out of bed when there is even a hint of frost on the ground

 

[davony's chicks]

Wow! I love that pic! I too was worried about mine in the single digits. I built a large dog house for mine with a hinged roof so that I can easily get the eggs and they seldom use it! They do lay eggs in there but that is it. Freezing rain and they are sitting in the middle of the pen!

 

[Ducks-R-Us]

Cold???

You have open water, it can't be that cold. Our water has over a foot of ice on it now and getting thicker everyday.

The temp here this morning was -31F. My ducks do go outside but only for a while and then go back into their huts. We are months away from any open water. When it gets all the way up to 5F, I fill the pools for them to play in.

Nice pictures of your beautiful birds.