Young ducks in the winter

[Lilybljm]

One of my calls got broody really, really late in the season, in early September, so the two that survived didn’t hatch until October and had to be raised indoors due to the climate. I live fairly far north and it’s starting to get very cold out, but they’ve outgrown their brooder (5 weeks old) and I need to put them in the coop soon. Problem is, they don’t have winter feathers due to their late hatch, and I’m worried it’s way too cold out for them. (Only about 20 F at night). Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do with them or how I can keep them warm? Or an estimate on when they will get enough feathers in?

 

[fatty and friends]

amazon sells pop-up pet playpens that would make a good “brooder” for two older ducklings until spring when it’s warm enough for them

i have a few of them and they are easy to clean

 

[Lilybljm]

amazon sells pop-up pet playpens that would make a good “brooder” for two older ducklings until spring when it’s warm enough for them

i have a few of them and they are easy to clean

That would be a last resort. I’m living on my college campus currently and raised the girls at my apartment (definitely against the lease agreement, but whatever). I can’t bring them back there as they are way too loud and I’d get caught. My family is unwilling to care for them separately from the rest, and I’m only back on weekends to clean the main coop. Might have to do that though if their feathers will take that long to come in :/

 

[Quatie]

Their feathers won't be in fully for about a couple of weeks. If you have electricity out by the coop, you can give supplemental heat. People use heating panels to provide extra warmth. Essentially you make it an outdoor brooder. Other than that, I am not sure what you can do.

However, if these ducks have not been raised with the other ducks, they may not be able to just go with the other ducks. They will need to integrated, which can potentially take weeks.

 

[Lilybljm]

Their feathers won't be in fully for about a couple of weeks. If you have electricity out by the coop, you can give supplemental heat. People use heating panels to provide extra warmth. Essentially you make it an outdoor brooder. Other than that, I am not sure what you can do.

However, if these ducks have not been raised with the other ducks, they may not be able to just go with the other ducks. They will need to integrated, which can potentially take weeks.

I started integrating them a few weeks ago, so that’s not a problem thankfully. I have electricity by the coop so I’ll see if I can work something out. Thanks!