Raising Chickens vs. Ducks – I Look at Every Aspect

When most homesteaders think of getting poultry for any purpose, the very first birds that spring to mind are chickens, naturally. And that’s with good reason! Chickens are cheap, highly productive, generally easy to care for, and a cinch to keep even if you have a small backyard.

But ducks are also quite popular, historically and today, and they are really gaining steam in terms of popularity lately. They can, after all, offer you the same things that your chickens do in the form of meat and eggs.

For this reason, some people think they are broadly interchangeable when it comes to care and keeping, but there are major differences that you need to know about before you bring home a flock.

I’ll be comparing every aspect that these two species share in this article so you can make a well-informed decision.

	Chickens	Ducks
Size	Generally smaller, 5.25-6 lbs on average	Generally larger, 6.25-8 lbs on average
Space Requirements	8-10 sq ft run, 4 sq ft coop per bird	10-15 sq ft run, 5-6 sq ft house per bird
Shelter	Elevated coop, roosting bars, nesting boxes	Ground-level, no roosts, open shelter
Water Requirements	Drinking water only	Drinking, eating, cleaning, swimming
Dietary Requirements	Omnivores, lower protein and niacin needs	Omnivores, higher protein and niacin needs
Cleanliness	Messy	Extremely messy, especially with water
Climate Tolerance	Good cold tolerance, better heat tolerance	Excellent cold tolerance, less heat tolerant
Vulnerability to Predation	More vulnerable overall, better chances of escape	Less vulnerable generally if on water, easier prey on land
Noise Factor	Noisy during day, quiet at night	Quieter overall, but active at night
Friendliness	Can be friendly, some breeds standoffish	Generally friendlier, more likely to bond with humans
Egg Differences	Smaller, 2 oz, oval shape	Larger, 3 oz, more elongated
Egg Output	Many breeds lay 300+ eggs/year	Generally fewer, some breeds match chickens
Lifespan	Up to 6 to 10 years on average	8 to12 years on average

Size

On average, chickens are smaller than ducks and weigh less, usually between 5 1/4 and 6 lb on average. Your average domestic duck, in contrast, usually weighs between 6 1/4 and 8 lb.

But, there are exceptions on both ends of the spectrum for both breeds. Bantams might weigh only a pound or a little more, while tiny ducks like the diminutive and noisy Call breed might weigh no more than a couple of pounds.

Large breed chickens like the Jersey Giant or Malay can easily clear 10 lb, while big ducks like German Pekins or Muscovies will weigh about the same or even heavier.

Space Requirements

As a rule of thumb, always plan on ducks needing more room than chickens inside their shelter, in the run, and on your property when allowed to free-range.

As a general guideline, your average chicken will need around 8 to 10 square feet of space in the run, per adult bird, and four square feet of coop space.

Ducks need significantly more space in their coop, anywhere from 10 to 15 square feet per adult bird in a run, and five or six square feet per adult in their house (the common term for a duck shelter).

And as always, more is better for preventing stress, lowering cleaning requirements, and improving overall well-being. For both species, larger individuals or breeds will need even more room, whereas you can get by with less room for smaller breeds.

Shelter

The first major difference we encounter when comparing the two poultry birds is their shelter requirements.

Chickens generally need a slightly elevated shelter that has elevated roosting bars for sleeping on the inside. That’s because chickens instinctively seek out higher ground when they go to bed at sundown.

Chickens, given any other choice, are not active at night. A good chicken coop will also feature nesting boxes so that hens can have a safe and consistent place to lay their eggs.

Ducks, on the other hand, are happy to sleep at ground level and can make do with a simple structure that doesn’t need roost bars and usually won’t need nesting boxes either.

Domestic ducks tend to lay eggs in out-of-the-way places or anywhere else that gets the hen’s attention.

However, ducks are typically active at night because they take periodic naps throughout the day. You shouldn’t shut ducks up inside a shelter at nightfall if you can avoid it because this can make them anxious and antsy.

An open three-sided shelter with overhead protection or a four-sided shelter with an easily accessible duck door is perfect for them, but this has other consequences we’ll have to deal with later.

Water Needs

Chickens and ducks both need water to live, of course. Both species must have access to an unlimited supply of drinking water in order to stay hydrated.

But as expected, ducks have even greater water requirements than chickens do because they need water in order to eat properly, clean themselves, and swim.

This doesn’t mean you need a lake or even a pond on your property, though the latter is great to have. You’ll need a small water feature or pool, or at the very least an in-ground water trough, that your ducks have unlimited access to.

You’ll notice ducks taking and dipping their food in the water to help them swallow it and routinely dunking their heads and bodies to help them stay clean and take care of their feathers.

Chickens don’t take conventional baths but instead take dust baths. They greatly prefer to avoid being immersed in water if they can avoid it.

Dietary Requirements

Both species are omnivores and eat a similar diet that consists of insects, grains, seeds, and plant matter. Ducks will also eat a wide variety of aquatic organisms, snails, slugs, and so on.

Nutritionally optimized feed is, as always, a great choice for both birds. Chickens can eat duck feed, and ducks can eat chicken feed with no ill effects as long as it’s not medicated, but neither is ideal for the other.

Specifically, ducks need more protein and a lot more niacin, or vitamin B3, compared to chickens.

It’s possible for ducks to subsist on non-medicated chicken feed as long as you give them supplemental protein and niacin to help make up the difference, though this practice is generally discouraged by seasoned duck keepers.

Cleanliness

I’ve got bad news for you here: both species are pretty messy as they poop often left and right. Left to their own devices without your intervention, both will turn their shelter and their run, and any other places they frequent, into a stinking, mucky mess.

But if you thought chickens were bad, you haven’t seen anything yet: ducks are incredibly messy. They splash water everywhere when they are eating and grooming, and when they take a dip in the pond or pool and get out, they will track water everywhere.

Mud and mold are two constant problems you’ll have to stay on top of if you’ve got ducks.

Climate Tolerance

Both of these birds are famously tolerant of cold weather, but ducks have the edge. They have a thicker layer of fat for insulation, generally, and their feathers are supremely waterproof.

This means that most ducks are more than comfortable well below freezing, and as long as they have a dry shelter to retreat to, you won’t have much to worry about…

You’ll need to pay more attention to chickens when the temperature dips towards freezing, but they are more tolerant of high temperatures compared to ducks.

Most chickens do okay at 80°F / 26°C or a little warmer, but keep an eye on ducks that are outside in the sun at the same temperature and ensure they have access to water for swimming so they can cool down.

Providing shade is a must for both species.

Vulnerability to Predation

More bad news: both chickens and ducks are highly vulnerable to ground-bound and flying predators, but chickens tend to stay on the menu more often.

All sorts of critters like foxes, coyotes, raccoons, possums, domestic dogs, snakes, birds of prey, mountain lions, bears, and more will love nothing more than to make a meal of either bird, though smaller predators like raccoons and snakes typically prey on chicks, ducklings, and eggs.

The larger size of ducks may prove a deterrent to some of the smaller birds of prey, and if they have access to a substantial water feature, they will readily take to the water to escape terrestrial predators.

However, they are clumsier and slower on land compared to chickens, and so are an easier target if they aren’t on the water.

Noise Factor

Both of these birds are noisy, though you’ll have to pick your poison depending on your preferences.

Chickens, particularly roosters, tend to be very chatty during the day, though this varies from breed to breed and flock to flock. Ducks tend to be quieter overall, but because they are active at night, you’ll have to listen to them quack and hiss even during hours of darkness.

Somewhat surprisingly, it is female ducks that tend to be a lot noisier than males. This is because females are more social and spend more time communicating with their flockmates and also with their humans.

Friendliness

Chickens and ducks can be quite friendly with people, given proper upbringing and interaction.

Once again, breed differences play a big part here: some chicken breeds are famous for friendliness, like the Buff Orpington and Faverolles. Ducks, though, tend to be friendlier and closer with their people than chickens are, all things being equal.

If you spend a lot of time with and baby your ducks, don’t be surprised when they follow you around whenever they can see you. In contrast, chickens are more likely to be standoffish or keep to themselves even if they do like you.

This is just a rough guideline, though, and you’ll find that individual birds and flocks have their own personalities and preferences in this regard.

Egg Differences

For so many keepers of ducks or chickens, eggs are the number one reason why they got into poultry in the first place.

Both can be great choices if you want a steady supply of the freshest and best-tasting eggs you’ve ever tried, but there are still considerable differences you’ll need to know about.

Egg Characteristics, Shape, and Size

Chicken eggs, as a rule, are smaller than duck eggs and are usually a little lighter, averaging around 2 oz. They have a tapering, oval shape with gently domed ends.

Duck eggs are bigger, though, they weigh around 3 oz or a little more, and are noticeably more elongated with a prominently rounded narrow end. Duck eggs are also more commonly colorful or speckled compared to chicken eggs.

Duck eggs have a markedly richer taste compared to those from their chicken cousins, and this is due to higher amounts of fat and protein.

Output

Chickens and ducks vary a little bit when it comes to output, and most chicken breeds are more prolific layers than your average duck.

Leghorns, Australorps, and Orpingtons can lay upwards of 300 eggs yearly for the first few years of their life as long as they are in good health. Still, some birds might stop laying in the wintertime when days get shorter.

Most duck breeds are not that prolific, though some, like the Khaki Campbell, can clear 300 eggs a year. Most ducks are also more likely to lay eggs year-round; something to consider if you’re worried about a winter stoppage.

Lifespan

The lifespan of these two bird species is similar, on average, but ducks tend to live a little longer. Most chickens will top out at around 10 years old, though those living older than that and in relatively good health are hardly uncommon.

Your average domestic duck breed will live between 8 and 12 years, or even older, in ideal conditions. However, some duck breeds, like the American Pekin, are known for a relatively short lifespan, around 6 years on average.

Raising Chickens and Ducks Together

All in all, it is possible to raise adult ducks and chickens together as long as you take care of the shelter and space requirements for each.

Trying to keep them in the same shelter, unless it is an oversized coop or a small barn, is probably not worth it considering how messy ducks are. They’ll make the bedding inside wet, and that will cause problems for your chickens, and fast.

Something else to worry about are pecking order issues between the two breeds, specifically if your chickens have one or more roosters in the flock.

Under no circumstances should you allow hens from either species to raise young in a mixed flock; ducks are likely to trample chicks due to their greater size, and aggression between protective parents is common.

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Preppers Are Not Safe from SHTF and Tragedy

All of us know that disasters great and small are dangerous. You don’t really prepare for things on this scale if they aren’t truly so… Natural or man-made makes no difference; any given event will carry with it dozens of ways to die.

And so we prepare. We train. We plan. We stockpile. All in the hopes that when the reaper comes around we can say “not today” and slam the door in his face. That’s the way these things go. Right? Right…

Or is it? Is anything ever guaranteed in life? Is our survival assured at any cost? How about the lives of our loved ones?

For even the most skilled and confident will have doubts. Small ones, grim ones, in the dark recesses of their mind. “What if I don’t make it? What if it isn’t enough? What if I am unlucky? Too slow? Too late?”

Fair questions, all. Hard to ponder. Terrible to consider. But understanding risk and facing fear head on is something all preppers must be able to do.

In this article, I’ll take a break from my usual instructive and skill building content to discuss the darker side of disaster. The side where, perhaps, your number comes up…

What Are The Odds?

If only I could answer that question, I would not only be a wealthy, wealthy man but would also surely forestall my own death.

The variables present in any disaster, especially a severe one, are so numerous, so mutable and produce so many cascading second and third order effects there is no way to calculate them.

Consider also how much influence you have over the event, and your response. Your training, plan and material preparations could certainly influence the outcome.

Broadly speaking, we know that unless something comes along and kills you outright, if you are prepared with the right knowledge, skills and equipment your chances of surviving most disasters are pretty good.

Consider your average tornado; a storm of such power it can wipe entire towns right off the map, leaving tattered remnants of civilization in its wake…

Even in very severe instances, deaths from tornadoes are rare. Surprising considering the sheer violence of the event. It goes to show a little preparation (shelter), early warning and acting before things get bad will see most people survive its passage with nary a scratch.

Deaths typically result from those caught in the open, exposed to airborne missiles or have no choice but to shelter in flimsy structures.

Your chances of survival in other events may not be so good. Plagues and pestilence are two classical disasters that can sow death far and wide before you have a chance to react and medical countermeasures can catch up.

How can you protect yourself against something before you know it has arrived?

The bottom line certain types of disasters will have a greater chance of killing you outright versus others. These usually inflict casualties in a “burst” of carnage. Some are slower acting, but no less lethal, and will kill the unwary, lazy or foolhardy should they remain in the area of affect.

Any regional or national-scale disaster may damage the infrastructure of society badly enough that death from follow-on effects or living in the aftermath is a real possibility.

I’ll talk about a few scenarios below that fall in either category as well as mishaps, misadventures or plain old bad luck that could lead to your untimely fate.

And Just Like That…

Some threats will arrive with little or no warning, and be so dangerous that anything short of immediate action may see you killed.

Events like these are likely to place you into the “wrong place, wrong time” category of death. Think high lethality, little or no time to react and rapid onset. Potentially these events may have a wide area of effect.

Disasters in this category are things like a nuclear detonation, large asteroid or meteor impact, quickly forming severe weather (blizzard, tornado, strong thunderstorm), car wrecks, flash flooding, landslides, major earthquakes, plane crashes and so forth.

Quieter but no less lethal instances could be certain chemical and biological agents released over a wide area discreetly affecting a large number of people and leaving no time to react before symptoms set in.

The basis is, if you are unlucky enough to be in “ground zero” when one of these events occurs, you’ll need serious luck on your side to survive. That’s the brakes. It happens to people every day, hapless bystander and hardened prepper alike.

1. Slower, But Still Deadly

Some disasters are either predictable, to a certain degree, building or moving slowly enough they afford you the time to formulate a response or implement you escape and survival plan.

Make no mistake, many disasters of this kind are still highly lethal, and not to be trifled with. One insidious element they sometimes manifest is instilling a “wait and see” mentality in some.

“Maybe it will stop. Maybe it will go around. Maybe…”

Disasters in this category include hurricanes, wildfires, conventional flooding and simmering social unrest prior to it erupting into full-blown rioting and Hell-raising.

Note that all of them give ample warning as to their approach. None of them erupt onto the scene out of nowhere. The wise will go while the going is good… if they have a choice. The brave or foolish will linger hoping to ride out the worst of it.

These events are typically survivable, no matter how severe they are, because you have time and opportunity to react and get away from danger!

Nonetheless, you will always see reports of deaths resulting from these and other similar events because someone who could have gotten out of the way chose to stay.

Perhaps it was simply a bad judgment call. Perhaps it was pride. It won’t matter when you are dead. Fires shift. Hurricanes intensify. Mass demonstrations turn violent and badly. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of safety because it hasn’t “turned” yet.

Mishaps, Misadventure, and Accident

Death may find you through far less exciting channels. Life expectancy in the modern world is so long only due to the prevalence and abundance of so much we take for granted:

Regular and emergency medical care, plentiful food and clean water, efficient and expert emergency services and miraculous technological solutions to problems our ancestors spent their lifetimes attempting to master.

When reacting to a disaster, you might find yourself in a situation that any other time would be an inconvenience or merely scary when you can summon aid with the press of a button.

In a time of uncertainty, fear, and chaos, even once minor problems may take on life-threatening, even deadly significance.

Consider what you would do if you were bugging out on foot through a remote area. Just you and your BOB. You pushed yourself a little hard and, with day turning to dusk, slip, stumble and badly break an ankle. If this were a pleasure hike, someone may eventually find you, or come looking for you.

Considering you are fleeing a situation on unbridled chaos, with power out and cell phone networks down, you will certainly not be able to count on that, and will be unable to call for help.

Stranded, basically immobilized and exposed to the elements, sheltering yourself will take on agonizing, life-and-death importance. Your food and water supply are both limited, and gathering more may be impossible. What will you do now? There have been tougher, better men die in lesser circumstances.

Alternately, lethal misfortune may arrive in the form of simple accident: a cut or gash becomes badly infected. Some of your food went bad and you contract botulism or dysentery.

You wind up catching a bullet in the brain from a gunfight occurring 5 blocks away. Falling debris impales or flattens you. You are struck and killed by a panicked motorist. What a way to go; you survive The Big One only to meet your end from so small a thing.

No prepper worth their salt imagines it will happen to them, but history has furnished us with plenty of examples t the contrary.

Old Age and Infirmity

It is a cruel truism and nature that the very old or infirm suffer the most when disaster strikes. Survival situations exact a terrible toll on brain and body, a toll that the elderly may not be able to bear in any case, but will probably not be able to bear at all on their own.

Injury, illness and exposure hit the very old far harder than the rest of us. A common bug that would only hamper or sicken a healthy adult in their prime or middle age will decimate a senior citizen, perhaps even kill them.

The same goes true for wounds; an aging, failing body will not sustain as much damage as a younger one.

No matter how motivated you might be, or how well prepared, if you are a prepper at or past your Golden Years you may be confronted with a situation you cannot hope to negotiate without aid. No force of will can overcome a failing body.

1. Taking Your Chances

Ultimately, a certain amount of risk and uncertainty will always remain when you are coping with a disaster.

Anything you do may get you killed, including doing nothing. Hindsight is, well, you know. The best you can do is manage what risks you can, and take steps to guard yourself against preventable death and threats.

If you have been prepping any length of time, you have likely already accomplished that. So much loss of life can be avoided with just a little preparation.

If you are truly well prepared with a stash of food, water, shelter items, tools and the grit and know-how to make use of all of it in a rough spot, you’ll have done much to mitigate risk to life, and hopefully, barring plain bad luck, you won’t wind up like those staring and lost souls clinging to the ragged edge of life wondering how all this happened.

Even so you’ll take risks. Some will be big. Others will be small. If you have prepared accordingly you don’t need to worry about the small ones very much. The big risks will be worth careful consideration, as no amount of preparation may prevent tragedy should you roll snake-eyes.

The decision to shelter in place or bug-out. Fight or flee. Help a stranger or take no chances. Who to trust. Things like that.

Some will be so big, your one-in-a-million chances, that there is not much you can truly do to defend against them at all.

Long-Term Concerns

After the smoke has cleared and the rubble has settled in the aftermath of a serious catastrophe, society may be fundamentally changed, along with all the things we depend on and take for granted in everyday life. Food, medicine, clean water, power, and more may be disrupted, intermittent or absent entirely.

Depending on the severity of the situation, your long term plan and assets, you may be living only as long as your supplies last. Lack of food, water or fuel may doom you.

Without the wheels of commerce to supply what we need, you’ll be relying on what you can scavenge, barter, grow, hunt, gather, harvest or make. Sustainment living, homesteading, whatever you want to call it, is doable but very hard work, and requires considerable skill.

Without the skill and the land, you’ll be alive as long as your supplies hold, and not much longer thereafter.

Fear and Faith

Dealing with fear and accepting the things you cannot change or influence will require a certain amount of faith. Believers will draw strength and confidence from God. Anyone can draw confidence from the amount of work, blood, sweat and tears they put in to prepare for this fateful day.

Believe in your own strength and skill. Have faith in yourself: you are skilled enough, smart enough and strong enough to not only survive but thrive in such terrible circumstances.

Visualize a positive outcome, with you and yours safe and sound. Race car drivers will tell you that you steer where you are looking, so you don’t look at what you don’t want to crash into. You can do the same thing mentally.

Don’t focus down on the things you don’t want to see happen. This will only serve to cloud your thinking and magnify fear and dread. Only focus on the things you can do to improve your situation now. If there is, very literally, nothing you can do, don’t spare it a molecule of worry.

Conclusion

Death will lurk around every corner when the SHTF, waiting for the slightest lapse in concentration, judgment, or focus. While there is much your work and preparation to this point will do to ward off risk to life and limb, you simply won’t be able to eliminate risk completely.

Understand this and get over it so your mind is not clouded by uncertainty and doubt when you need to be sharp and task-oriented when under stress.

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How to Care for Your Ducks in the Winter

Ducks are very resilient to cold. They can tolerate snow quite well because they have natural insulation in their bodies that help them keep warm. They have a thick layer of fat underneath their waterproof down feathers that helps them ward off the cold wet snow and rain.

Is this a guarantee that your ducks will do fine in winter with the same living environment you have provided for them all summer long?

No, definitely not!

For one thing, they can freeze to death if they do not have a warm shelter from the wind and the elements. They should have a fully enclosed coop with windows or ventilation openings to ensure the air they are breathing is clean and healthy.

Second, their feet do not have fat to protect them from the cold ground or snow. They can get frostbite if the ground is too cold, and they do not have a protected area with warm bedding or insulated ground on which to walk and lie down.

If they develop frostbite on their feet, they will not be able to walk to a safer spot to rest, their legs will not be able to hold them up to walk to safety, and they will literally freeze.

Domestic ducks tend to do better in the cold than wild ducks, who migrate every winter. The reason is simple: human intervention!

You, as a homesteader, are able to provide a standard of care that they become accustomed to, building trust towards you. They know that with you, they will have shelter, food, water, and comfort. They will therefore be comfortable enough to stay rather than fly off.

There are many things you can do to help keep your ducks comfortable in winter. Sometimes the easiest answer to a problem can be solved by looking to the wild animals to see what drives them south and then navigating through those issues to care for your own flock.

Can Ducks Stay Outside in Winter?

Domestic ducks will happily go out in the snow on warmer days, provided they can still get into their coop if they want to, and provided they have a windbreak to protect them from the wind.

You can make a windbreak by hanging a tarp or groundsheet, or by making a wooden wall to block the wind.

Many people block only the side that the wind comes from the most, I prefer blocking the wind from the exit on the coop on both sides. Give them corners where they can get out of the wind but still enjoy the sun’s heat.

You should also consider growing hardy shrub bushes along the inside of your windbreak. Trees and shrubs are great windbreaks, but if you live in a particularly windy area, nothing beats a constructed windbreak.

Growing the shrubs on the inside of the wall will add an extra layer against the wind, and if it is an evergreen shrub, it will give your ducks the opportunity to forage while they are out on the town.

Ducks will do fine outside up to a low temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is below that, it is better to keep them locked up in the coop where they can stay warm.

Signs Showing That Your Duck is Cold

If you are going to keep your ducks safe and healthy through the cold winter months you should understand a few things about a duck’s version of hypothermia.

Be alert for these symptoms that will show you that your ducks are at risk because they are too cold:

• If the temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 Celsius), your ducks will stumble or hobble on their feet. Remember the ground temperature will be colder than the air temperature, and those feet get cold easily.
• If they start developing black spots on their feet, they are in grave danger. The black spots are frostbite and require immediate attention. Frostbite can lead to amputations, or even death. Get the duck’s feet in a warm bath of water – not hot water – and give the feet some time to thaw out properly. Put the duck back in the coop with lots of hay or straw bedding to protect its feet.
• If your ducks look uncomfortable, constantly standing and then plopping back down over and over, if they are shivering, or if they are motionless it is important to get them indoors as soon as possible. Check the feet of each duck for frostbite before you put them in the coop and treat if necessary.
• If you see that your duck’s feathers are wet, dry them off immediately and get them into the warm coop.
• Finally, ducks are like humans in a surprising way: when they are cold, they eat! This is nature’s way of building up a layer of fat to protect their organs from the cold. If you see that your ducks are going through a lot of food, do not panic. They are building up their fat reserves. But do note that this is a sign that they are getting cold. Remove all wet bedding in the coop and add more clean dry bedding; make sure the ground is well insulated with a thick layer of hay or straw and that each nesting area has sufficient bedding in it.

Remember that your ducks will be doing what comes naturally in the coop which will leave the bedding wet and vulnerable to the cold. It will also cause a buildup of ammonia in the coop. Both of these could put your ducks at risk.

Clean the coop regularly, and replace the bedding or add fresh dry bedding on top of the old bedding. You should properly clean the coop at least once a month in winter. Watch for wet bedding or moldy bedding. If you see this, clean up immediately.

two roosters ducks and a donkey on the homestead

Tips for Keeping your Birds Warm and Comfortable in Winter

• Lay straw or hay on the ground in the pen and the coop. You can put straw or hay on top of the snow daily – on warm days when you open the coop – to protect your duck’s feet.
• Use wooden boards in the pen that you can lift when your ducks go to bed so that they are not covered in snow. This will help insulate their feet a little.
• Insulate the floor in the coop with treated boards on the floor under the straw or hay.
• Make sure they have access to clean water all day. The water should never be cold. Fill water dishes and ponds with lukewarm water every day. Check the temperature regularly and make sure it does not freeze. If they have a pond that is cold or frozen, use plastic, children’s shells as swimming ponds that you can fill with lukewarm water.
• Make sure you give them lots of food every day. In winter, ducks need twice as much food as they would eat in summer. They need the extra food because foraging is non-existent, and they need all the calories they can get to build up good fat reserves.
• Ducks need a lot of greens in their diet. Lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, spinach, kale, cabbage, and chard are essential to their diet.
• They also need plenty of fresh fruit and corn.
• You can add pellets to their diet to help build calories for energy and to boost their fat reserves.
• Provide a good-sized coop to shelter them from the elements – especially at night. The coop will also provide the ducks with shade in summer, so this is a very worthwhile investment. When building your coop, consider adding insulation in the walls, roof, and floor – but still add the hay or straw on the floor to keep the feet warm and to give the ducks a comfortable living environment.
• Your coop and pen should allow two square feet per duck.
• Build an outdoor shelter so that they can sit outside of the coop but away from the cold and damp.
• There is some controversy over this next one… Some folks say heat the shelter; others say the duck’s collective body temperature is all that is needed to keep your coop warm. If you live in an extremely cold area, I suggest you heat your coop with safe heating lights. This will just keep your ducks warmer. If you do use warming lamps, I suggest you have an electrician install them properly to reduce the risk of fire. Still, nothing is more important than that thick layer of dry straw or hay.
• If your coop has been properly designed with a proper power source to use safe heating lamps, ensure that they are high enough to be out of the reach of the ducks and that they are legal and properly maintained. The last thing you want is the coop to go up in flames while you are fast asleep or away from home. You can use a standard 250-watt lamp in your coop. Do not use floor heaters as these can be very dangerous – especially with the bedding.
• Duckling’s will definitely need to be under a 250-watt lamp as they are completely vulnerable to the cold.
• If you want your ducks to lay eggs or breed during winter, heating is also very important.
• You only need to turn the lights on for half an hour at the beginning and end of each day. You can set up a timer that turns the light on and off for half an hour before dawn and again half an hour after the sun sets.
• Unless you want your ducks to lay eggs and hatch them, artificial lighting is not 100% necessary. But it should be considered for the comfort of your cold ducks.
• Feeding your ducks with food that is high in protein is a must! The protein content should be 16% to 18%.
• Make sure the ducks have plenty of fresh drinking water, keeping it in the coop will protect it from freezing – but always remember to check it several times a day to make sure it does not freeze. Adding a few ping pong balls to the drinking water helps prevent the water from freezing by moving around in the water preventing an ice layer from forming.
• If they have a small pond to swim in, take empty gallon bottles and fill them halfway with ordinary kitchen salt. Put the lids on and let the bottles float around in the pond. This will also prevent the pond from freezing.
• Provide protection from the wind. Place straw or hay on the ground where the windbreaks are.
• Make sure your coop has windows or air vents. Keep these open a crack to let the moisture from their breathing outside. Make sure the vents are high up so that predators cannot get into the coop.
• Provide warm to cool water in wide pools on warm sunny days for the ducks to swim and play in. Empty the pools every night to avoid waking up to a frozen pond.
• Provide a windbreak for their pen.
• Provide outdoor shelter.
• Your coop should be constructed with treated wood to keep it warm and easy to clean.
• You can use a barn as a coop and a pen, this will help protect against the elements and predators. Remember the straw or hay. You can even use wood shavings as bedding. A barn is a large space to keep warm, it will take a lot of bedding to keep the ducks comfortable. But a barn is ideal as their feet will be safe and warm and they will have more space to move around. There is also less chance of desperate predators getting in to kill and eat them.
• Make absolutely sure your pen and coop are not accessible to starving predators.
• Double their food rations. You can add peanuts, oatmeal, shredded cabbage, and cracked corn to their food for a tasty treat. You should add these to their nighttime feed every night. Always give them water at every feed as they need the water to swallow and digest the food. You can even warm these items or partially cook them to give the ducks a warm meal.
• Remove the water sources every night. Water freezes affecting the temperature of the coop. it will also get slopped around causing the bedding to become wet and uncomfortably cold.
• Continue using the same food in winter as in summer. They need nutritious pellets, greens, and grains. Mealworms are a favorite delight to ducks, so add some of those.
• Place some floating snacks in the pond or pool, this has two advantages. One it helps prevent the water from freezing, and two it will give the ducks something fun to do.

Conclusion

Many years ago, I was called because a neighbor had a swimming pool. It had been hijacked by a flock of 30 to 40 wild ducks who were confused by a particularly long hot summer into thinking winter was still far off.

The ducks were too late setting off on their migratory path and found themselves in freezing conditions. They found the closest thing to a source of water they could find and settled in.

They would have starved or frozen to death if the homeowner had not taken such rapid action to help the ducks by calling a few of us local duck owners for help.

We each took as many ducks as we had space for until every duck had a roof over its head. We took them home, dried them off, treated their feet, and stuck them in the coop with the other ducks. We kept a close eye on the new ducks to make sure there was no fighting.

Well, there was no fighting. In fact, when summer came the wild ducks stayed put. They quickly became domesticated and when they should have taken off to migrate before the next winter set in, not one left.

I believe they felt safe enough to stay. We had built up trust with them and provided for their every need.

In much of nature, human intervention is not a good thing. We hand raise lion cubs and blame the lion when it attacks, kills, and eats a person. We keep boa constrictors and are shocked when they crush the owner’s child to death.

But there are many ways in which humans give mother nature a helping hand for the good of the animals. The ducks that were found in the swimming pool are an obvious illustration of humans doing a good thing to benefit the ducks who would have died.

Your ducks deserve nothing less than your undivided care and attention.

Successfully keeping ducks in winter is as simple as this:

• Make sure they have a warm dry place to sleep.
• Give them plenty of extra food.
• Protect them from hungry, desperate predators.
• Watch out for frostbite.
• Monitor their health and take action immediately if you see any signs of them being cold.

Do your regular check-ups.

I hope this article will help you understand caring for ducks in winter, how to recognize that your ducks are in distress, and how to help them.

The post How to Care for Your Ducks in the Winter appeared first on Modern Survival Online.

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