i know it's time consuming, and leaves the birdies with ice sometimes, but i fill each 1 gallon waterer (or bucket of water, depending on who it is for) in the morning, then run home from work at lunch and switch out frozen ones for the clean ones i washed, while letting dogs out for a potty break (elderly dog who can't make it all day regularly anymore), then right after work, if water is frozen, i clean up the frozen ones from lunch and give them to the birds again. They didn't seem to mind the routine last year, but the ducks didn't like it one bit! They like swim time all day every day!! but if the hose is frozen, they don't get swim water. Luckily, this past winter, at least every few days, we had one warm enough in the afternoon, after the sun was out for awhile, where the hose was thawed and I could give them swim time...but only for long enough to clean themselves up a bit, water got dumped so they would be dry by dark. This year, with more ducks, more chickens, and turkeys in the picture, I am sure it'll be much more of a chore! I have my spring/summer routine down to about 20 minutes in the morning now, but after work, it's much longer. They all get let out after work, and that's also treat time, and their time to interact with everyone they don't "live with". I'm interested to see if my rooster is still willing to get along with the little guys when they start acting like roosters!! (ready with net to catch anyone who gets out of hand!!) I will soon have to buy more waterers...as all i have are currently in use. Last winter, I had spares so if something was frozen, I could leave it in the sink to thaw and put out a fresh one...then once thawed, i washed the frozen one and got it ready for the morning fill.
