Cold Duck
                                                                    By – Bill Karcher

How are you handling the cold weather? Have you noticed you need warmth?? This is so very true for our waterfowl! Yes, we all recognize the warmth of down, but we tend to forget the birds need more than just down. Cold duck in this case is not a beverage! The layer of fat beneath the skin has a huge effect on the bird’s comfort in this very tough cold weather.

To insure the bird’s comfort as well as survival, you need to provide a well balanced diet in a free choice situation. Be sure you are feeding the appropriate feed. Growing birds need to be on a grower ration, birds in egg production need to be on either a layer ration or a breeder ration. DO NOT cut the feed with corn or other grains. The feed is balanced for protein, fat and fiber. Follow the feeding directions and the birds will do fine.

Be sure to give your ducks and geese water daily! Keep the ice broken out of the waters and give them a good quantity. Some folks offer warm water, is there an advantage? Not really, just be sure the birds have plenty of water! DO NOT rely on the birds getting their water from snow, it is a poor substitute. Remember, it takes 10 gallons of snow to get 1 gallon of water, again, not a good scenario for your birds. Keep in mind, you can offer an endless supply of feed, but without water, little will be eaten!

Can your birds swim in this weather? Sure! As long as you have open water. Do not let them on a pond during the night; many times they will freeze in. You may find your ducks and geese frozen to the ground if they sat in the same spot all night. How do you handle that? Release them using warm water poured slowly around them. Even with this, they may still lose some breast feathers.

Offer a dry building to the birds with plenty of dry bedding. This offers warmth, protection from the elements as well as from predators. It’s fine to allow outside access as the birds tend to enjoy the cold and snow, but they need shelter as well. Go the extra mile; give your flock the winter care they need!