Pond heating??

[BlueO]

I need help. It is really starting to get cold here in Colorado and my duck pond is freezing. I’ve been looking into pond deciders but the lowest wattage I can find is 300 and my current limit is 100. I know it’s bad, we’ve been looking into getting our electricity upgraded but it’s very expensive and either way it’ll be awhile before we can get it. I get what the internet calls ‘extreme cold’ so a floating basket ball or black tub will not work (I’ve tried). What do you use for your animals water during the winter? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[DonyaQuick]

What kind of low temps are you up against? I don't know if it's big enough to be suitable for ducks' needs (I just have chickens) but I use these under my waterers:
https://khpet.com/collections/farm-ranch-products/products/universal-waterer-deicer
They are 80W. I've used both regular poultry waterers and larger shallow black tubs on them (but not filled too deep or it can freeze on top still). Heated dog bowls are another type where there are many <100W options although they don't hold a huge volume of water and I find them more of a pain to change out and clean.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I think OP is asking about de-icing their pond, rather than their waterer.

OP, if that’s so, you might want to edit your thread title.

 

[DonyaQuick]

I think OP is asking about de-icing their pond, rather than their waterer.

OP, if that’s so, you might want to edit your thread title.

I wondered if it was pond-specific...I don't know how many gallons of water is involved in the pond (would be useful to know from a wattage requirement standpoint) but I doubt there is anything with peak draw of <100W that will manage to keep more than a couple or so gallons worth of water thawed in serious cold.

 

[StinkyAcres]

What do you use for your animals water during the winter?

Mine only get heated water buckets in the winter so they can at least wet their feed and clean their beaks and eyes. No pool during the coldest part of the year. It's not necessary.

 

[RoseHawke]

How deep is their pond? If it's deep enough, a submersible fountain pump might help depending on what kind of extreme cold we're talking about. The pump would keep the water moving from the bottom to the top and theoretically the water at the bottom of the pond would be warmer (relatively speaking.) The entire volume of the pond would have to reach 32° for freezing to occur.

 

[Knobby]

I have 7 ducks, down from 22, and I've just been bringing out enough water for them to fill up a small tub so that they can wet their feet and clean out their bills. Then I empty their tub at night, so that it doesn't freeze over into a solid block of ice, then repeat the process until spring arrives.

 

[Penpal]

Our first pond was hand dug. Not my my hands. In the winter DH would heat up water in a dutch oven and set it on the ice. A Hole would magically appear in the ice. This was for the fish, not for ducks.

My current pond is larger and deeper. Ducks in the pond help to keep ice from forming because the water is moving from their swimming about. When the ice finally forms, the ducks don't go in the pond. It's that simple. They will wash their faces with snow. They will be fine. Some wild ducks stay in the same area all year. Nobody heats water for them.

 

[Huntmaster]

I run my pond aerator on my pond for my ducks. It keeps at least a 30' area clear from ice, so ducks have access to water for swimming and drinking all winter long. I just put it about 15' to 20' from shore and it works great.

 

[Penpal]

Walmart has a solar pond aerator for $13.32. I suspect this does not include the solar panel.