Ask the Swan Specialist

swan cold tolerance
By:Tom <fuzzy@etcmail.com>
Date: 29 November 2011

We have a black swan on our 3-acre pond near Atlanta (someone dumped him here -- he is aggressive) and we want to make sure he is safe and sound for the winter. There are a lot - an acre - of Nymphoides lilies (tasty small roots that he likes) and we feed him chicken layer crumbles daily, which he happily eats. He has several good "nesting" sites around the lake and in the bog. He seems totally happy here -- what marvelous dances and honks -- and has not run off. The pond freezes maybe one year in three for a day or two. (We can fence off his nest sites around the pond to protect him from predators.)

Q: What type of winter shelter does he need? Will an unheated shed do? We rarely get below 20 degrees F. How much cold can he comfortably take?

Messages In This Thread

swan cold tolerance -- Tom -- 29 November 2011
Re: swan cold tolerance -- The Regal Swan -- 29 November 2011