Duck Bowl/Bucket for Winter - Will they drown?

[wordgirl]

I'm trying to decide on a heated bowl for my ducks during the winter. I only have four ducks, so they've been using a gallon ice cream bucket for a while - they go through about two of them a day. The only problem is that with the temps in the single digits (or below at night), the bucket's freezing over between changes. I'm going to get them a heated bowl or bucket, but I'm wondering whether they'll get stuck and drown in a bigger bucket. Have you ever had a duck have problems with a bucket this size?

These are the two I'm looking at. Which one would you choose? I'd prefer to have the bigger bucket if it would be safe for them, but if it'd be an issue, I'll go for the shallower, smaller bowl.

9 quart bucket: http://www.tractorsupply.com/allied-precision-heated-bucket-2-25-gal-capacity-2170071
5 quart bowl: http://www.tractorsupply.com/api-all-45-seasons-electric-heated-pet-bowl-5-qt--2411794

Thanks so much!

 

[dennin7418]

Is this a serious post or a good bit of humor for this short holiday work week?

 

[Kevin565]

I think either one would be able to work but I personally would go with the pet bowl rather than the bucket

 

[Backyard Munith]

I have the 5 quart bowl from TSC. It' has worked great. My ducks always have water. I have 6 Ducks.

 

[Going Quackers]

This is what i keep in my barn



This is the smaller bucket so 2GAL this size the girls won't swim in! the larger 5GAL buckets they will swim in, this bucket filled is for 7 ducks and it's never empty by morning. It's in the "ladies area" of my flock.

I don't like a bowl for a duck they will swim in it, i like a heated bowl for chickens because they don't bathe like that lol

 

[wordgirl]

THank you all so much! I decided to get the 2-gal/9-quart one - the one you have, Going Quackers, and it worked great overnight - they still had water AND it wasn't frozen! I'm so glad - now they'll always have water to drink and clean their heads in. And if I don't fill it all the way, I think it might keep some of the splashing down. This is my first winter with ducks (I've had chickens, which stir up the litter) and I'm wondering exactly how I'm going to clean out their house if the litter gets too deep, because they get water in the bedding and then it freezes - like a big ice cube.

At least I'll know to try to work around that if I can build a new house next spring.

Thanks for the advice about the heated bowl/bucket! Much more convenient than my ice cream buckets.

 

[duckluck]

I worry about heated buckets which some folks have known to melt through the plastic. Don't know what size ducks you have, but I have Calls and I use rubber feed pans like you'd use for horses, and these sit in plastic rabbit pans to help keep some of the mess out of the shavings. Warm water in them every night, but even when they freeze, no ducks have ever gotten stuck, and they are easy to break the ice loose from because they can be bent in any direction (the rubber feed pans, not the rabbit pans!) This system works pretty good; we have had sub-zero temps and only then does the water usually freeze solid. Right now it is not freezing at all, but this is also inside a barn. Hope this gives you some ideas; I have seen those buckets after they've melted and that's scared me off of them.

 

[Going Quackers]

I worry about heated buckets which some folks have known to melt through the plastic. Don't know what size ducks you have, but I have Calls and I use rubber feed pans like you'd use for horses, and these sit in plastic rabbit pans to help keep some of the mess out of the shavings. Warm water in them every night, but even when they freeze, no ducks have ever gotten stuck, and they are easy to break the ice loose from because they can be bent in any direction (the rubber feed pans, not the rabbit pans!) This system works pretty good; we have had sub-zero temps and only then does the water usually freeze solid. Right now it is not freezing at all, but this is also inside a barn. Hope this gives you some ideas; I have seen those buckets after they've melted and that's scared me off of them.

A heated bucket is thermostatically controlled so melting makes NO sense, i have used heated bowls/buckets for years and never had an issue. I do use rubber livestock bowls outside but in extreme temps they re-freeze making them useless.

 

[Going Quackers]

THank you all so much! I decided to get the 2-gal/9-quart one - the one you have, Going Quackers, and it worked great overnight - they still had water AND it wasn't frozen! I'm so glad - now they'll always have water to drink and clean their heads in. And if I don't fill it all the way, I think it might keep some of the splashing down. This is my first winter with ducks (I've had chickens, which stir up the litter) and I'm wondering exactly how I'm going to clean out their house if the litter gets too deep, because they get water in the bedding and then it freezes - like a big ice cube.

At least I'll know to try to work around that if I can build a new house next spring.

Thanks for the advice about the heated bowl/bucket! Much more convenient than my ice cream buckets.

Perfect! I love ours, i am about to set one up outside next week as i am now having issues keeping water open outside with the plunging temps.

 

[gryeyes]

I keep the coop waterer on a pad of upside down nursery flats, the plastic ones with grids, in a corner of the coop. I dug down a bit (soil floor) and put gravel under the plastic grids, so the splashed water doesn't get into the bedding in the rest of the coop. (I also have a 2x4 separator bar to keep the bedding from getting into the watering area.)

This may help you prevent frozen-together chunks o' wet litter.