Raising ducks or guinea fowl in a cold enviroment?
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Anas rubripes – uncommon American duck raising its brood in a Bay View water storage pond Milwaukee County Wisconsin.
Question by 2626: Raising ducks or guinea fowl in a cold enviroment?
does anyone know any species of ducks or farm birds that can live in places with extreme weather? from 90 degrees to far below freezing?
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3 Responses to Raising ducks or guinea fowl in a cold enviroment?
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Chicks will not survive, but most adult fowl do. You can keep them in an enclosed are with a heat lamp. I live in Florida 2 weeks ago it got down to 16 here. My grown chickens made it, so would ducks and guinea hens I did not use a heat lamp. Their feathers keep them warm.
bjsuno
June 14, 2011 at 1:16 am
I keep a few kinds of ducks in cold and hot weather. I have kept blue swedish, khaki campbell (sorry about the spelling) and pekin ducks.
The pekins seem to do well but so did the others. In the summer I just make sure they have clean fresh water for them to swim in and in the winter I give them extra hay for bedding.
As far as chickens go my americana birds have done amazing in the hot and cold weather as well as my silver/golder laced wyndottes (again sorry for spelling errors). I have found that of all of the birds (I have owned many) they have dont the best. I would certainly NOT suggest ever getting white leghorns they just do not do well in extreme hot or cold. Just make sure in hot weather they have shade, fresh water and a place for dust baths. In cold weather fresh water of course and extra bedding to keep warm. If you want them to continue to lay in the winter i would suggest putting artificial lighting in your coops (they need 12 hrs of light to lay winter = shorter days). One thing that may take place w/ some birds that get large combs (both breeds mentioned do not) they will get frost bite and actually loose parts of their combs. There isnt much you can do about it and from what I have seen they grow back.
I have also kept guinea hens pearl and lavendar and again they did very well. They are tough birds. Just becareful and can be like watch dogs. Mine wouldnt even let new people out of cars. Which is why I no longer have them.
There are many other duck and poultry breeds that will do well in hot and cold weather, most do very well with a warm house and good bedding.
When growing any kinds of poultry or fowl I would keep them inside under a heat lamp until they are at least 8 weeks of age and if it is 60 degrees or higher out put them outside. If it is below that I would keep them under a heat lamp for 7 weeks and just inside an enclosure for 5-7 more weeks.
Good Luck and if you have any questions feel free to email me.
Sasha
June 14, 2011 at 2:04 am
It all comes down to the type of housing you have for your ducks or guineas. The better the housing the better the survival rate for both summer and winter. They need to have shade in the summer, a place to get out of rainy weather. Durning the winter they need to get out of the cold wind, snow or sleet. You will need to close them up at night to keep the weather and predators out.
The type of housing is very important, regardless of the breed.
shazam82054
June 14, 2011 at 2:21 am