Runner duck egg question/ housing questions

[Frosttekk5]

Hello I’m new to this site but have been looking up information here for a while but I think one of my runner ducks finally laid an egg not sure because the chickens and ducks go into the run together at night but this egg is a whole lot bigger then what I’ve been getting out of my speckled Sussex so I just assumed but what I read I thought they would lay till spring? Anyway my question is we live Northern Arkansas and it’s gonna be getting cold this week idk 30s and I want them to go ahead incubate it but I’m afraid it’s gonna be to cold. Dunno if I should bring it in to do myself or what. But no one’s in there sitting on it. I can add pics of the housing I got set up for them (another question I have if it’s adequate enough for winter coming) but it’s just a dog house I re used and attached a heat lamp to the back of it ( witch is another question if that’s to hot for them because the drakes freak out over the light when I turn it on? Idk I just don’t want em freezing)
I have 2 rooster/ 3 hen speckled sussex
1 Indian/ 1 chocolate runner female with 2 chocolate runner drakes. Sorry if this post is everywhere I had several questions and didn’t know where to post

Edit : I’ll post housing questions in right spot

 

[HollowOfWisps]

That’s a duck egg, but mallard derived duck breeds often do not go broody until they are at least 1 year old and even then many of the Hatchery lines never go broody. I have had many runners and not one ever went broody. If you want ducklings you will have to incubate them inside yourself, but wait until she has been laying for at least 1 full month. Those first eggs she is still working the kinks out and if you incubate them it can result in a very poor hatch rate along with affecting the health of the ducklings that hatch.

 

[Frosttekk5]

Thanks for the information, these chickens and ducks are my first so I just wanna do it right!

 

[NatJ]

housing... heat lamp... (question if that’s to hot for them because the drakes freak out over the light when I turn it on? Idk I just don’t want em freezing)
I have 2 rooster/ 3 hen speckled sussex
1 Indian/ 1 chocolate runner female with 2 chocolate runner drakes.

we live Northern Arkansas and it’s gonna be getting cold this week idk 30s

Temperatures in the 30s are find for most chickens and most ducks. Yours should not have any trouble with temperatures down into the 20s and probably much lower yet. Some people keeps chickens and ducks in temperatures down below zero without supplemental heat and without problems.

They do need water available. If the water freezes during the night, give them fresh water in the morning. If the weather gets so cold that water freezes during the day, either change it more frequently, or heat the water somehow (heated waterer or heat lamp or something of the sort.)

For now, I would not use the heat lamp. I would probably not use it at any time, but definitely not in above-freezing temperatures. If you do use heat at some point, try not to get it warmer than about 40 degrees. Each bird is wearing a feather coat all the time, and they cannot take it off when they come inside, so inside their house should not be much warmer than outdoors.

 

[Frosttekk5]

That’s a duck egg, but mallard derived duck breeds often do not go broody until they are at least 1 year old and even then many of the Hatchery lines never go broody. I have had many runners and not one ever went broody. If you want ducklings you will have to incubate them inside yourself, but wait until she has been laying for at least 1 full month. Those first eggs she is still working the kinks out and if you incubate them it can result in a very poor hatch rate along with affecting the health of the ducklings that hatch.

Well I went in to grab that duck egg and found a hen laying on it oh just take it from her?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Well I went in to grab that duck egg and found a hen laying on it oh just take it from her?

I would. Those first few eggs often result in hatch issues.

 

[Frosttekk5]

Temperatures in the 30s are find for most chickens and most ducks. Yours should not have any trouble with temperatures down into the 20s and probably much lower yet. Some people keeps chickens and ducks in temperatures down below zero without supplemental heat and without problems.

They do need water available. If the water freezes during the night, give them fresh water in the morning. If the weather gets so cold that water freezes during the day, either change it more frequently, or heat the water somehow (heated waterer or heat lamp or something of the sort.)

For now, I would not use the heat lamp. I would probably not use it at any time, but definitely not in above-freezing temperatures. If you do use heat at some point, try not to get it warmer than about 40 degrees. Each bird is wearing a feather coat all the time, and they cannot take it off when they come inside, so inside their house should not be much warmer than outdoors.

Right on thanks, ya this week ain’t so bad but we ain’t in winter yet but when it does hit it can get down to negative temps. And from what I read there hardy till like 20s but I don’t want the supplement heat be to much directly inside there place or if I should move lamps elsewhere but as you an other point out saying they should be fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I lived in Prairie Grove, Arkansas for several years and kept chickens. The coldest I saw was about -4 Fahrenheit. I never heated the coop, the chickens did not need it. What they needed was adequate ventilation so the coop would dry out from the moisture in their breath, their poop, and any drinking water. This was to protect against frostbite, which is only a risk when the temperatures are below freezing. With decent ventilation they can handle temperatures well below freezing.

They also need protection from breezes strong enough to ruffle their feathers while on the roost. If their feathers get ruffled they can lose the insulation effects or tiny air bubbles trapped in the feathers and down. I gentle draft doesn't hurt them, that helps get moisture out. It's strong breezes that can be the problem.

The way I got good ventilation and good breeze protection was to have lots of ventilation above their heads when they are on the roost. I never had a problem with frostbite or cold birds.

 

[NatJ]

Right on thanks, ya this week ain’t so bad but we ain’t in winter yet but when it does hit it can get down to negative temps. And from what I read there hardy till like 20s but I don’t want the supplement heat be to much directly inside there place or if I should move lamps elsewhere but as you an other point out saying they should be fine.

If you do need to add a bit of heat for the water, you can also use a heat lamp with a different bulb. The big red bulbs are usually 250 watts, but sometimes you only need 100 watts or 40 watts or something like that. Any incandescant bulb will produce a useful amount of heat, but LED or fluorescent bulbs will usually not.

Chickens and ducks do adapt to the temperature somewhat. So they would probably have trouble with negative temperatures right now, but they may be fine by the time the temperatures actually get that cold. The same goes for heat. If you gave them mid-summer temperatures in the winter they would have trouble, but as the weather gets warm in the spring they adjust so by summer they are ready for heat instead of cold.

 

[Sondraa]

Hello I’m new to this site but have been looking up information here for a while but I think one of my runner ducks finally laid an egg not sure because the chickens and ducks go into the run together at night but this egg is a whole lot bigger then what I’ve been getting out of my speckled Sussex so I just assumed but what I read I thought they would lay till spring? Anyway my question is we live Northern Arkansas and it’s gonna be getting cold this week idk 30s and I want them to go ahead incubate it but I’m afraid it’s gonna be to cold. Dunno if I should bring it in to do myself or what. But no one’s in there sitting on it. I can add pics of the housing I got set up for them (another question I have if it’s adequate enough for winter coming) but it’s just a dog house I re used and attached a heat lamp to the back of it ( witch is another question if that’s to hot for them because the drakes freak out over the light when I turn it on? Idk I just don’t want em freezing)
I have 2 rooster/ 3 hen speckled sussex
1 Indian/ 1 chocolate runner female with 2 chocolate runner drakes. Sorry if this post is everywhere I had several questions and didn’t know where to post

Edit : I’ll post housing questions in right spot

I am concerned that you have a disproportionate number males to female ducks. Ideally you want 1 male to 3 or more females. Get some advice from the more experienced on here re this. I am a newbie myself.