How I'm Winterizing My Duck Pen and House

Our first really cold night is expected tonight. The temperatures are predicted to dip into the high 20s tonight. I originally winterized my duck coop a while ago but we had some bad storms that destroyed my work. I covered the pen area where they are fenced in and can have space to roam with plastic. The man at Lowes who sold me the plastic said it would work for my purpose. It didn't. The plastic was too thin and a bad windstorm ripped it to pieces.

Today, armed with extra thick plastic and a staple gun I re-winterized my duck coop and their pen. We're heading out of town this week and I needed to get their pen covered in plastic to keep them safe from rain and wind while we're gone since they'll be caged for a while.

I covered all open parts to the pen with the thick plastic. I stapled all around the frame to keep it in place. I made sure the roof and any places that could leak water in bad weather were covered. This will also be nice when it snows so the ducks can keep their webbed feet safe from having to walk in the cold snow. Ducks can get frostbite on their feet so giving them a place to roam around safe from freezing water is necessary. I also leaned the ladder on the front of the pen and some closet doors I took off a closet in the house in the back of their pen to prevent the wind from blowing the plastic up in the middle where I can't attach the plastic to anything. A ladder and doors are all I had on hand when I got the idea. I'll find something better later.

I also put down fresh hay. I'm using something called the "deep-litter" method. Basically, poop can help with keeping birds warm. You let your ducks poop up some hay. Then, you put another layer over that and let them poop on that layer. Then, do the same over and over again over the winter. So right now they have a fresh layer in their pen and in their house. They can make deep nests in the house to keep warm.

I also set up an emergency heat lamp in the pen. In case temperatures dip into the 10s then I'll have a heat lamp to give them some warmth right outside the door to their house. Their pen use to be a child's swing set so it has hooks at the top still where swings use to hang. I used one to hang the heat lamp. I'm not sure if this will work but I'll do some testing over the next few weeks to see how it goes. The heat lamp is high enough that it can't catch anything on fire but low enough you can feel a bit of heat radiating if you lay on the ground. Yes, I laid in the duck coop. It was gross but you do what you gotta do.

Inside their house

Update: It's now 11:00 PM and its 28 degrees out. I went in the duck coop in short sleeves to see how it was. The plastic really does keep it slightly warmer than outside. At least I don't feel the wind hitting me. The heat lamp you can feel warmth but not a great amount. It might be good if the ducks get right underneath it. I'm not sure if the lamp is helping the overall temperature of the pen or if it's just the lack of wind. So far my work is effective. I might need to work on a heat source if it gets frigid cold later this winter. We had single digits last year so I need to be prepared for that. If anyone has tips to keep ducks or chickens warm in frigid temps let me know in the comments!