Freezing Ponds

[seaneduck]

I have a plastic pond that I bought at Home Depot that I'm using for my call duck and wood duck pairs. It's about 60 gallons, and as the weather starts to get colder I wonder if the ducks are smart enough to not be in the pond all night and get frozen in, when the pond freezes over. Surely that wouldn't happen right? I mean wild ducks aren't freezing in ponds all over the country during the winter. Anybody have experience with this? Can't afford a de-ice thingy right now, so I'm just covering the board with plywood at nights.
THanks!

 

[KansasKid]

When hunting i've actually came across a few ducks that have been froze in the ice, some alive, some not. Looked like they were sleeping and the water was still enough it froze all around 'em

 

[sianara]

Yep, wild ducks can and do freeze in ponds at night and sadly then they are predator feed.

I agree with you... if you can't afford a deicer then covering it up is the safest bet. For the last 7 years I gave my ducks a bucket of warm water to bath/preen in once a day and that got them through the winters just fine. They also had their heated waterer to drink from.

But this year, they're going to have their new pool with it's pumping water available all winter/year long! https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=405350&p=1