Winterizing

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Klatimer

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Jul 17, 2024
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Good morning Everyone!
What does everyone do to winterize their duck coop? This will be our first winter with the ducks and it looks like the nights will be dipping into the 30’s.We live in Ohio and the first snow last year was on Halloween What are some suggestions?
 

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very cute coop i love the signs lol .
and your ducks look so happy there .
you want to shield them from wind with some kind of tarp or heavy duty plastic sheeting on two sides of the fencing you have for that run you don’t have to make it go all the way up to the top though. when it’s freezing during the day they don’t need the pools just the drinking buckets. if you can , get a heated water bucket. i run an extension cord out and use a heated bucket, with 15 ducks I need more than one bucket so until I get another heated one I just come out several times a day with boiling water to pour on top the other buckets to keep them from freezing.
the coop for overnight still needs the ventilation, don’t be tempted to cover any windows . they need the windows up high. my coop has high windows and also low windows with 2 layers of hardware cloth - because my coop gets very hot in the summer. i only cover the low windows for the winter .
add extra straw in the coop for warmth and never use a water bucket inside the coop overnight. moisture can cause frostbite. and s backache for you because they will always make huge mess with any water in coop overnight. My ducks have gone without overnight water since 2015..
also toss some straw around in the ground in their run if it’s below 25 degrees my ducks get cold feet . you can tell because they will lay down and tuck their feet in for warming
 
Jenbirdee said:
very cute coop i love the signs lol .
and your ducks look so happy there .
you want to shield them from wind with some kind of tarp or heavy duty plastic sheeting on two sides of the fencing you have for that run you don’t have to make it go all the way up to the top though. when it’s freezing during the day they don’t need the pools just the drinking buckets. if you can , get a heated water bucket. i run an extension cord out and use a heated bucket, with 15 ducks I need more than one bucket so until I get another heated one I just come out several times a day with boiling water to pour on top the other buckets to keep them from freezing.
the coop for overnight still needs the ventilation, don’t be tempted to cover any windows . they need the windows up high. my coop has high windows and also low windows with 2 layers of hardware cloth - because my coop gets very hot in the summer. i only cover the low windows for the winter .
add extra straw in the coop for warmth and never use a water bucket inside the coop overnight. moisture can cause frostbite. and s backache for you because they will always make huge mess with any water in coop overnight. My ducks have gone without overnight water since 2015..
also toss some straw around in the ground in their run if it’s below 25 degrees my ducks get cold feet . you can tell because they will lay down and tuck their feet in for warming
Click to expand...
thank you so much! Yeah we haven't given them water in their house since they were wittle babies. they love to knock stuff over. What do you do when it snows?
 
Klatimer said:
thank you so much! Yeah we haven't given them water in their house since they were wittle babies. they love to knock stuff over. What do you do when it snows?
Click to expand...
it looks like your run is already covered with something? i would just use a broom to knock some off if the snow gets too heavy. also my ducks love the snow but after snowing is done then temps drop to mid twenties or lower, I put some straw on top of the snow the ground in the areas where I know they like to stand.
hey i just noticed your poultry wire on the run just a heads up poultry wire will keep poultry in, but it won’t keep predators out. You can use hardware cloth if you want protection from daytime predators ( because at night your ducks are locked up in the coop, right?)
 
Jenbirdee said:
it looks like your run is already covered with something? i would just use a broom to knock some off if the snow gets too heavy. also my ducks love the snow but after snowing is done then temps drop to mid twenties or lower, I put some straw on top of the snow the ground in the areas where I know they like to stand.
hey i just noticed your poultry wire on the run just a heads up poultry wire will keep poultry in, but it won’t keep predators out. You can use hardware cloth if you want protection from daytime predators ( because at night your ducks are locked up in the coop, right?)
Click to expand...
Jenbirdee said:
it looks like your run is already covered with something? i would just use a broom to knock some off if the snow gets too heavy. also my ducks love the snow but after snowing is done then temps drop to mid twenties or lower, I put some straw on top of the snow the ground in the areas where I know they like to stand.
hey i just noticed your poultry wire on the run just a heads up poultry wire will keep poultry in, but it won’t keep predators out. You can use hardware cloth if you want protection from daytime predators ( because at night your ducks are locked up in the coop, right?)
Click to expand...
Yeah our coop is partially covered. We put our coop up in a hurry this summer because they were getting so big. Backstory… we rescued a duckling that was found in our yard this past summer and that’s how we got ducks. We had no idea what we were doing everything has been trial and error. This platform has helped so much especially with people like you who give us great ideas. We plan on redoing it soon with hardware cloth and expanding their coop.. I want more!
 
– Fantastic!! I know right ? -Ducks are addicting I love mine so much I have 15 now and 2 geese, +3 big chickens lol
i keep all my animals in separate pens because my chickens were scaring the poop out of my ducks . and my geese are big bullies too except to me though they see me as part of their flock because I spend so much time with them being retired I Stay at home and love being outside and gardening but lately, I mostly grow things just for my birds LOL lots of kale and lettuce
 
Jenbirdee said:
– Fantastic!! I know right ? -Ducks are addicting I love mine so much I have 15 now and 2 geese, +3 big chickens lol
i keep all my animals in separate pens because my chickens were scaring the poop out of my ducks . and my geese are big bullies too except to me though they see me as part of their flock because I spend so much time with them being retired I Stay at home and love being outside and gardening but lately, I mostly grow things just for my birds LOL lots of kale and lettuce
Click to expand...
I want geese so bad but my husband won’t let me. We live in an urban neighborhood but we have an acre of land. Do you have the serama giant chicken? I know they are the size of a dog…I have a garden too, all the lettuce and cucumbers went to the duck!
 
Klatimer said:
I want geese so bad but my husband won’t let me. We live in an urban neighborhood but we have an acre of land. Do you have the serama giant chicken? I know they are the size of a dog…I have a garden too, all the lettuce and cucumbers went to the duck!
Click to expand...
chocolate english orpingtons they are 8 pound hens and so round and fluffy like beach balls .
I have to admit it was pretty hilarious when they would run towards my runner ducks. They were like huge bowling balls running towards the bowling pins. and scattering them ! poor little duckies though. 3 pound runner ducks were having prolapses so scared. i was finally able to get a separate area ready for the chickens I’m so glad I did and they actually love it too
 
Jenbirdee said:
chocolate english orpingtons they are 8 pound hens and so round and fluffy like beach balls .
I have to admit it was pretty hilarious when they would run towards my runner ducks. They were like huge bowling balls running towards the bowling pins. and scattering them ! poor little duckies though. 3 pound runner ducks were having prolapses so scared. i was finally able to get a separate area ready for the chickens I’m so glad I did and they actually love it too
Click to expand...
I wish I could see that!
 

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