Preparing ducks for winter

[PirateGirl]

I have 4. I am planning to block off part of the bowl so that they can't climb in.
I would think if you unplugged every night, you would also have to bring the bowl inside so that it doesn't refreeze. For the wiring to work so hard to thaw water every day, it would definitely burn out.
I work part time, so am not available to refresh water twice a day or more every day.
I kept hearing bad things about the heated fount I use for the chickens. It was given to me by the previous owner along with the chickens - it worked for him for the season and then me. That is two seasons that it has worked. I am hoping for a 3rd.
If the heated dog bowl doesn't work out, I'm out $15. I will then figure out another option. I might have another dish of water out in a rubber basin that will be blocked off too so that they cannot swim in it. I might have left some things out of my plan.
I will figure out what works for my set up - just like I did for my chickens. I was just throwing out my ideas.

I should have said unplug and dump any remaining water. I suspect with 4 ducks and a dog bowl there won't be much water left in there anyway. Blocking off part of the bowl is a great idea to keep them from climbing in and I think it will work well. I don't think the bowl is working any harder if the water in it is frozen or not. They just have a heating element that kicks on and off at a certain temperature and it's only running at barely above freezing, it's not heating the water to 80 degrees or anything like a fish tank heater. If the little water left in mine froze overnight I would just pour a pitcher of warm water into the bowl and it would melt out whatever ice was in there.

 

[chickens really]

Also having a GFI cord is a safer option. I have those for my Horse water heaters.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I should have said unplug and dump any remaining water. I suspect with 4 ducks and a dog bowl there won't be much water left in there anyway. Blocking off part of the bowl is a great idea to keep them from climbing in and I think it will work well. I don't think the bowl is working any harder if the water in it is frozen or not. They just have a heating element that kicks on and off at a certain temperature and it's only running at barely above freezing, it's not heating the water to 80 degrees or anything like a fish tank heater. If the little water left in mine froze overnight I would just pour a pitcher of warm water into the bowl and it would melt out whatever ice was in there.

I know how the heating elements work. If it has to work to heat frozen or partially frozen water, it is working harder than if the water was kept consistent - like heating and cooling elements for the home air or heater.
When the gfci breaker would kick off and the fount moat froze, that is what I did pour warm water to thaw the moat. But, it was a good thing the whole container didn't freeze.
I will figure it out if it doesn't work with my set up. Thanks.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Also having a GFI cord is a safer option. I have those for my Horse water heaters.

Mine always kicked off and then the water froze this past winter. My in-laws ripped theirs out when they had cattle because the water would freeze and then the animals wouldn't have water when the gfci breaker kicked off.

 

[chickens really]

Mine always kicked off and then the water froze this past winter. My in-laws ripped theirs out when they had cattle because the water would freeze and then the animals wouldn't have water when the gfci breaker kicked off.

...Zero issues here. Do you mean the breaker tripped?
Possibly an over loaded circuit?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

...Zero issues here. Do you mean the breaker tripped?
Possibly an over loaded circuit?

I have no idea. As I didn't live at their house, just what my husband told me.
Mine that I hooked up, would shut off about once a week. We have a great electrical set up too.

 

[PirateGirl]

Freezing temperature is freezing temperature. I'm not sure why starting with ice in the bowl vs. an empty bowl would make a difference, I don't know enough to argue here. Perhaps this is just another reason I shouldn't be an HVAC tech. Just my experience that my dog bowl worked great for awhile, but once it got to the coldest part of winter where it's never above freezing day or night and the bowl was running 24/7 it burned out. I didn't even get a full winter out of it, but like I said, it could have been a fluke from a bad bowl, or maybe my weather extremes. You may have better luck in your environment. I'm just offering advice based on my experience to try and extend the life of your heating element. Again... I meant to say to unplug and empty the bowl each night so it's not running all night.

 

[chickens really]

I'm home so use rubber livestock bowls that are easy to flip over and knock all the ice out of. I haul water twice a day and the Ducks keep it from freezing just by beings in it so often. Definitely when it's super cold it freezes quickly..

 

[chickens really]

Freezing temperature is freezing temperature. I'm not sure why starting with ice in the bowl vs. an empty bowl would make a difference, I don't know enough to argue here. Perhaps this is just another reason I shouldn't be an HVAC tech. Just my experience that my dog bowl worked great for awhile, but once it got to the coldest part of winter where it's never above freezing day or night and the bowl was running 24/7 it burned out. I didn't even get a full winter out of it, but like I said, it could have been a fluke from a bad bowl, or maybe my weather extremes. You may have better luck in your environment. I'm just offering advice based on my experience to try and extend the life of your heating element. Again... I meant to say to unplug and empty the bowl each night so it's not running all night.

Also don't they burn out or trip if run dry?

 

[PirateGirl]

Also don't they burn out or trip if run dry?

That I don't know. I only used one with my chickens last year and it was more than enough water for them and they were unable to flip the bowl and spill it. My ducks are bigger and naturally go through more water than my chickens and the dog bowl isn't really a viable option for them so I stick to big buckets. I find the ducks dunk so often in the water it rarely freezes all the way through (despite the weather), and that's usually once they've mostly emptied the bucket and there's very little water left in the bottom.