Icicles on my polish

[TreeFever]

Hey guys, just a question about winter water for crested breeds. I use a plastic dog dish for winter water because it's easier to thaw.
My problem is that my crested Polish dip the ends of their crest feathers in it when they go to get a sip of water. They grab a drink inside and then head out where the water on their feathers freezes up solid! Gradually layers of ice build up and now they have these pea sized icicles on the tips of their feathers. As they bob their heads, the icicles knock together and all I hear when I visit them is "clinkyclinkclink" while they run around.
After I had a good laugh at their musical abilities, I began to wonder is the ice is harming them at all?
It's not frozen near their skin but maybe it is uncomfortable or heavy?
Should I swap waterers or thaw the ice somehow?

 

[antiquebuff]

I found with my polish I had to set the dish up a little higher or they had
"wet heads " all the time. I did order an automatic dog dish from Amazon that keeps their water from freezing. Its a big help, but I had to set it on a cement block so they would stay dry. Hope this helps!
I guess that was a sight to see...............................

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello... no matter where I put my water dish, my crested duck always has frozen icicles on her head. I guess it doesn't bother her too much as she does this constantly.. Its funny to see. She is the one in my avatar, very large crest.

 

[seminolewind]

Same thing here, only it was summer, and they had mud cake on their head from the wet feathers and dirt.
I had to get them a regular waterer for chickens. Solved the problem

 

[Jenski]

Is it possible to lightly trim the crest of a Polish? Does anyone have experience doing this? I guess I would take care not to nip any blood feathers . . .

 

[chickenlady]

Only problem with trimming is that it will not grow back until they molt out each feather. Which could be a couple molts, not every feather will come out during a molt. I would try and resolve it with a different waterer, even if it means a little extra work. Good luck.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Happens to our girl, too. She doesn't seem to have any problem with it at all, though it's a poor sight to see. She'll walk around clanking all day!

I've tried a rubber-band around her head to keep her crest feathers up, but she hates it. She shakes her head until the thing comes off.

I find that the next day, after a nice night of sleep on the roost, the icicles are gone and she's back to nromal. Just a typical part of being a not-typical chicken, I guess.