Just got three female Muscovy ducks a few weeks ago, another new adventure in my continuing journey with animals. They've been great but after giving one or two eggs a day between the three of them there hasn't been any eggs now for a couple of weeks. I'm guessing they have a laying cycle similar to chickens and will slow down or stop laying completely in the winter.
How do those of you that have ducks prepare them for the winter? I have been under the impression that they always need water nearby and I have a bucket of water in with them that they apparently like to dunk their heads in. Do they handle winter as well as the chickens do? The chickens have done well the last few years outside in the coop with the water changed regularly but if the ducks need water to splash around in I'll have to rig something up to keep it defrosted. I don't have power out to the animals because I worry about fire as the coops and rabbit colony are basically tinder boxes of wood and straw under some giant pine trees that run up alongside the house. One spark and... boom, no house.
How do those of you that have ducks prepare them for the winter? I have been under the impression that they always need water nearby and I have a bucket of water in with them that they apparently like to dunk their heads in. Do they handle winter as well as the chickens do? The chickens have done well the last few years outside in the coop with the water changed regularly but if the ducks need water to splash around in I'll have to rig something up to keep it defrosted. I don't have power out to the animals because I worry about fire as the coops and rabbit colony are basically tinder boxes of wood and straw under some giant pine trees that run up alongside the house. One spark and... boom, no house.
opcorn:
