Help with Frosty Ducks

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C

Cynchro

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Oct 22, 2024
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I've had Cayuga ducks for about 9 months now and in the past week or two, I've noticed the ducks have frost on their feathers when I feed them in the morning. A neighbor down the road keeps ducks also and his will bed down for the night in the open yard rather than their coop. I have a coop for mine also but stopped shutting the ducks up in it overnight a couple months ago. Now that it's cold here, (5°F this morning) should I be closing the coop at night? During morning feeding, the ducks come out to eat and then go right back into the coop. They are also going through their first molt and have stopped laying. I was getting an egg from each everyday before. I started feeding them some dried meal worms for extra protein, but . . . .

What's going on? The frost on their feathers is worrying me. This morning, one of them looked to be shivering.
 
My horses had ice on their fur, happy and healthy all the way, just wel insulated, so no bodyheat escaped to melt the ice or snow but we rarely get that stuff here. So as long as they are active and dry where they should be, the frost should only indicate well working feathers. Now molting can change that and it also takes a lot of energy to make feathers. So feed them well and yes lock them up for now, the molting being new to them they may not know they need to stay warm.
 
Ah. So normally the frost isn't cause for concern; that's good to know.
The ducks are not active. They just sit. My husband brought in one that was shivering(?) and gave her a bath. He made a place she can sit near-ish the fire and dry off/warm up. She seems very happy now. Her fathers are wet, so that must be the majority of the issue. We'll bring the rest of the flock in to bathe, I think (6 hens & a drake).

We took away the ducks' pool for the winter. I assumed they would keep bathing and preening from their water dish?
How can I ensure the ducks keep their feathers oiled?
 
Shivering like in all animals is a way to generate heat, but very energy intensive and an emergency measure. Could be they wont oil their feathers due to molting, but my knowledge of waterfowl is limited. From your indications they indeed needed the help.
 

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