Duck pool freezing in winter

[Sowas Ark]

Help??!! I have a little pool ~3 feet around for my ducks and I'm concerned the water will freeze over the winter. I change the water everyday and this will be my first winter with my ducks. Any suggestions???? (We don't get snow, but we do get very cold weather)

 

[wallawu]

I don't know if they'd work for something that large, but there are bird bath heaters/de-icers that would probably work if your freezing temperatures aren't too ridiculous. They don't necessarily need pools, so if you just want to keep their water from freezing there are heated drinkers at places like Tractor Supply.

 

[Adalida]

I got a small stock tank heater last year for my ducks, and a heavy duty rubber tub. I don't think the stock tank heater would melt the plastic of a kiddie pool though because it never made the water warm, it just kept it from freezing. I had to keep it on for weeks at a time because of our temperatures, it should work fine for you if you're just turning it on to thaw their pool.
I can't find the picture but last year, the first time their pool froze, my ducks all stood on top of the ice and shouted their heads off. It was hilarious!

 

[Sowas Ark]

Oh thanks, that's interesting. I'll look that up. I just figured they loooovvvved their pool and didn't want them to be without it. hehe

 

[Sowas Ark]

They're so cute!!! That would crack me up to see them stand on the pool like that. If they do it again this year, please make a video and share!!! LOL!!!

 

[Sundevill11]

Help??!! I have a little pool ~3 feet around for my ducks and I'm concerned the water will freeze over the winter. I change the water everyday and this will be my first winter with my ducks. Any suggestions???? (We don't get snow, but we do get very cold weather)

Winter is always the time when you take for granted the ease of just emptying the pool and turning on the hose to fill it back up. Based on our experiences, here is the best solution we found. We have full-blown Winters with below freezing temps, snow and ice.

1st. Ditch the kiddie pool. Go to a tractor supply store or wherever sells stock tanks. These are beefier pools that will be able to better stand the elements (especially winter). We purchased (2) thick plastic tanks and installed drains on them. I'm not saying they will prevent water from freezing, but they won't be immediately destroyed when you have to break ice that has formed at the surface.

2nd. Keep your hoses drained after each use. And, keep a well-insulated spigot cover on your spigot at all times during the winter. The first winter we had the ducks we replaced 2 spigots that froze and split (even with a moderate cover) and 2 hoses that we forgot to drain after use. This last winter our spigot never froze and still have the same hoses and we were changing their water in the morning and evening. Once we get the water flowing it is always warmer than outside and it will eventually melt the ice. (We are on a well).

3rd. Keep a large container on hand (like old gallon jugs, Ice Tea pitcher, etc.) to use for pouring hot water from inside on the frozen top of the surface. If you can't physically break the ice, you may need to facilitate the melting with some hot water. Keep an implement nearby your pool to break the ice when necessary(we use a small hatchet).

4th. Lastly, when nothing else is working, pull an extension cord and hair drier. (We've done this).

In conclusion, we've had to learn the hard way with multiple kiddie pools busting, ball-valve splittings and bumbling with manually dumping the pools that eventually just turns into an icy mess. The pools we installed simply have a drain stopper that is pulled and with partially buried pvc, and pool backwash lines that run far out and away from the coops, it makes for a much easier time replacing their water. This will take you some time and cost a little bit of money but I assure you it is worth it.

 

[Going Quackers]

Stock tanks with heaters will work. I used them for my larger livestock. My calls i just downsize to small pools i can dump nightly and re fill several times a day i shut down the pools for the main flock though... mind you some sneak off to the lower sheep trough.

 

[chickens really]

Just a note:
Ducks do not need water to bath in everyday...It has snowed here the last couple of weeks and my Ducks have only bathed once...You can run a heater to a pool or tank but not necessary..On a Mild day I pull out the pool and put it close to my hose tap..I have a short hose and fill the kiddie pool...They bath and play and then I dump it out...They get to oil up and have fun at the same time...

Cheers!

 

[RubyNala97]

Winter is always the time when you take for granted the ease of just emptying the pool and turning on the hose to fill it back up. Based on our experiences, here is the best solution we found. We have full-blown Winters with below freezing temps, snow and ice.

1st. Ditch the kiddie pool. Go to a tractor supply store or wherever sells stock tanks. These are beefier pools that will be able to better stand the elements (especially winter). We purchased (2) thick plastic tanks and installed drains on them. I'm not saying they will prevent water from freezing, but they won't be immediately destroyed when you have to break ice that has formed at the surface. 

2nd. Keep your hoses drained after each use. And, keep a well-insulated spigot cover on your spigot at all times during the winter. The first winter we had the ducks we replaced 2 spigots that froze and split (even with a moderate cover) and 2 hoses that we forgot to drain after use. This last winter our spigot never froze and still have the same hoses and we were changing their water in the morning and evening. Once we get the water flowing it is always warmer than outside and it will eventually melt the ice. (We are on a well).

3rd. Keep a large container on hand (like old gallon jugs, Ice Tea pitcher, etc.) to use for pouring hot water from inside on the frozen top of the surface. If you can't physically break the ice, you may need to facilitate the melting with some hot water. Keep an implement nearby your pool to break the ice when necessary(we use a small hatchet). 

4th. Lastly, when nothing else is working, pull an extension cord and hair drier. (We've done this). 

In conclusion, we've had to learn the hard way with multiple kiddie pools busting, ball-valve splittings and bumbling with manually dumping the pools that eventually just turns into an icy mess. The pools we installed simply have a drain stopper that is pulled and with partially buried pvc, and pool backwash lines that run far out and away from the coops, it makes for a much easier time replacing their water. This will take you some time and cost a little bit of money but I assure you it is worth it.

This was a great post! This is my first winter with ducks also. After reading your post I had a questions. I just checked tractor supply for stock tanks-check!
As for number 2...I had to look up spigot covers and I'm wondering if you leave your hose attached during winter or do you unscrew it from the spigot after each use? I saw on google that some people modify the spigot covers and looks like you'd be able to keep the cover on while still having the hose attached...? Like this:

Or does that defeat the purpose of the cover all together?
Thanks!

 

[Sowas Ark]

Why did you buy plastic tanks over the steel/metal ones??

Thanks for your post by the way, it was very helpful!!!!!