Another cold duck thread

[loofa]

I posted this in another cold duck thread, but decided to make a new one as I'm a bit worried about my ducks and it's likely to get lost in other thread.
Okay, so my ducks just want to sit on the ground, little duck lumps, keeping their legs/feet warm - they aren't eating or drinking other than a sip or two of water when I lure them to the water bucket with peas. It looks like it's actually painful for them to stand as they will hardly walk a few feet without plunking back down. It's 18ºF here (with a "feels like" of 3º), which I know isn't as cold as some other parts of the country, but they are not just going back into their cozy coop as people say they will, yet they are clearly unhappy. I've put pine shavings down on top of the snow since it's stopped coming down for the moment, just hoping to give them a bit of a barrier to sit on.

Is there a point at which I should force them back into the coop? Or should I trust that they will do what they need to do? The coop isn't huge, so I can understand why they don't want to spend all day in there, but they seem miserably cold.

 

[MGG]

I posted this in another cold duck thread, but decided to make a new one as I'm a bit worried about my ducks and it's likely to get lost in other thread.
Okay, so my ducks just want to sit on the ground, little duck lumps, keeping their legs/feet warm - they aren't eating or drinking other than a sip or two of water when I lure them to the water bucket with peas. It looks like it's actually painful for them to stand as they will hardly walk a few feet without plunking back down. It's 18ºF here (with a "feels like" of 3º), which I know isn't as cold as some other parts of the country, but they are not just going back into their cozy coop as people say they will, yet they are clearly unhappy. I've put pine shavings down on top of the snow since it's stopped coming down for the moment, just hoping to give them a bit of a barrier to sit on.

Is there a point at which I should force them back into the coop? Or should I trust that they will do what they need to do? The coop isn't huge, so I can understand why they don't want to spend all day in there, but they seem miserably cold.

When it's cold it's normal for them to want to just lay in one spot with their feet tucked in and their heads tucked back. I usually just offer some corn to give them energy and let them be. It's almost impossible for a duck to freeze to death unless they starve or get stuck in water or on ice.

 

[loofa]

When it's cold it's normal for them to want to just lay in one spot with their feet tucked in and their heads tucked back. I usually just offer some corn to give them energy and let them be. It's almost impossible for a duck to freeze to death unless they starve or get stuck in water or on ice.

okay, thank you for that reassurance. I scanned a bunch of other cold duck threads and just saw talk of how cold is too cold, but nothing about ducks behaving this way.

 

[WallyG74]

Just remember, ducks in the wild do it everyday without our help.