posted 13 years ago
Hi Alison, What you have said is so true - ducks prefer to be 'out in it'. However, they are not impervious to cold, hence the whole flying south thing.
The two types you've listed are NOT flyers, and there in lies your problem.
If it were me I would fence them in, using chicken wire, somewhere like the south side of a building. Provide good wind block, hay piles and cover from rain/snow. bushes are what they prefer to use.
I've hand raise all my ducks. So when I put one of their eggs in hay inside a large dog igloo with a heat light taped to the inside they will spend some time inside, but this isn't easy, and I don't believe more wild ducks would use it at all. So managing a warmer area is the best you can do. I've had friends heard their ducks into their barn, but containing ducks gets stinky fast so deep litter is really needed.
Ducks feet/toes can get frostbite. Watch how they are walking. When they are only taking a few steeps, then sitting and repeating this their feet are in danger.
For your convenience use a couple buckets for their water. Swap them out several times a day with warmish water. Feed clabbered milk, if you have a milk supply, to beef up their protein and fat levels which helps them off set the cold. Make sure they have kelp/mineral source.
They will probably still stay out in the cold, but with lots of insulation in the form of dry straw/hay/leaves, and wind/rain/snow blockers, they will make it through just fine.
