Summer Duckling Survival Guide: Heat and Fly Control for Happy, Healthy Ducks
🏖️Beating the Heat (and the Flies): Real-Life Tips for Happy Summer Ducklings
Let’s do a quick special topic on raising ducklings in the heat. We’re in the balmy region of New Mexico, where it stays a consistent 70 degrees all summer.
Just kidding… it’s about to top 100 degrees and only getting hotter.
So how do you know if your ducklings are too hot? And if they overheat, what can you even do? How can you prevent it in the first place?
We’ll cover all of that—based on what’s worked for us, and what we’ve learned the hard way.
🌡️ How to Tell If Ducklings Are Too Hot
Ducklings overheat quickly, so keep an eye out for:
Panting or open-mouth breathing
Wings held away from the body
Lethargy or lying down a lot
Refusing to eat
Trying to avoid your heat source
If these symptoms sound familiar, they should—they’re nearly identical to the ones you already watch for with an overheated brooder. So the good news is, you’re already paying attention to the right things.
❄️ How to Keep Ducklings Cool
When the heat ramps up, a few simple adjustments can go a long way:
Cool, clean water — Always available, and shaded when possible. Outdoors, drop a frozen water bottle in the dish to keep it cooler longer. Just don’t use icy water—too cold can shock them.
Keep things out of direct sun — That goes for ducklings, water bowls, and feeders.
Ventilation over AC — Indoors, a small fan near (but not blowing directly on) the brooder plus a cracked window can help a lot. Avoid hot, enclosed areas like garages or laundry rooms.
Cold snacks — Older ducklings may enjoy frozen peas or chopped greens in cool water. It’s fun enrichment and a nice way to cool off. Just like with any treats, keep it in moderation.
🛠️ Adjusting Your Brooder for Summer
Hot weather might mean it’s time to tweak your setup:
Reevaluate your heat source — Depending on age and room temperature, your ducklings may not need extra heat during the day. Check growth charts and let the behavior of your ducklings guide you.
Raise or remove your brooder plate — A group of ducklings can generate a surprising amount of heat on their own.
Be mindful of brooder materials — Especially outdoors. Dark or metal walls soak up heat fast.
🚨 What to Do If Ducklings Overheat
If you notice signs of heat stroke, act fast:
Move them to a cooler spot immediately
Offer cool (not icy) water
Dampen their feet and legs — Don’t dunk them, just gently wetting the extremities helps draw heat out
Monitor closely — If they don’t improve soon, call a vet familiar with waterfowl
🪰 Tips for Managing Flies Around Ducks
Ah yes, flies: the inevitable companion to duck ownership. You’ll find plenty of advice out there about how to keep them at bay—most of which hinges on keeping your coop clean and dry.
But let’s be real for a second: you have ducks now. Clean and dry isn’t really part of the deal.
Sure, you can stay on top of the mess to an extent, and that will help, but nothing short of divine intervention is going to make your setup unappealing to flies forever. We’ve tried a few things over the years, and here’s what actually worked—and what didn’t.
💸 The Fly Predators Experiment
Fly predators are one of those things that sound great in theory. You sprinkle out the tiny parasitic wasps, they destroy fly larvae before they can hatch, and poof—no flies.
Except… not really.
We gave them a solid try over several years (and a not-insignificant amount of money), and while they may work in some setups, we didn’t see any noticeable reduction in our fly population. It may work for smaller flocks or drier areas, but for us, it just wasn’t enough.
✅ What Actually Works: Fly Bait Stations
The one product we do recommend: fly bait stations.
These are the plastic jars or bags you can grab at any local farm store. They’re filled with a potent fly attractant that lures in adult flies, where they enter and drown. Morbid? Yes. Effective? Also yes.
But—and this is key—placement matters.
🟡 Do NOT put them inside your duck coop.
🔵 Put them near—but not in—the area you want to keep flies out of.
Otherwise, you’re just inviting every fly in the neighborhood to hang out right where your ducks sleep.
We’ve found the sweet spot is about 15–20 feet away from the coop or pasture, ideally downwind and somewhere easy to access—not for the flies, but for you, so you can top off the trap as the water inside evaporates. A shady tree or a fence post works great, and trust us, you'll want it somewhere you don’t mind walking to regularly—but not where you want to enjoy a snack or a breeze.
We also hang a few stations around the perimeter of our pastures to keep flies off our horses, dogs, and goats.
Since starting this routine, our fly population has dropped dramatically and stayed manageable.
🕒 Timing Is Everything
For best results, get your fly traps out around the time of your last frost—the earlier you get ahead of the breeding cycle, the fewer flies you’ll have to deal with as things warm up.
Trust us, it’s a lot easier to prevent a fly explosion than to recover from one.
🧡 Final Thought
No fly management plan is going to make your setup totally bug-free—this is farm life, not a hotel.
But with smart placement and early action, you can drastically reduce the buzz and keep your ducks, and yourself, a whole lot happier.
As for the heat? Stay alert, stay shady, and when in doubt, let your ducklings tell you what they need.
And remember: if the trap smells bad, it’s working. Just don’t hang it by your hammock. You're welcome.