Hello! I am new to owning ducks and I am already stressing on what I will do in the winter to keep their water thawed. I do not have access to electricity to heat their water for them. I sort of have an idea, but I am unsure if it would be a waste of time. I was thinking of getting a trash can like this, and burying it underground so it would be insolated and retain some warmth from the deep soil. And using a syphon to drain the water out and refill as needed. I was looking for others input or if anyone has any other ideas and methods that have worked for them? I am prepared for the worst case of going down multiple times in the day and changing out their water, I am a stay at home mom so this wouldn't be impossible for me, but more of an annoyance. I appreciate any advice! 🙂
by saraskw9542
11 Comments
Id look into a solar heater or water pump before I tried this.
Your idea is actually pretty smart! Underground temp stays more stable than surface, so buried container should help keep water from freezing as quick 🔥
I saw someone do similar thing but they added some rocks at bottom for thermal mass – holds heat better through the night. Also maybe consider putting some kind of cover or partial lid to reduce heat loss from top, but still allow ducks access
The syphon drain idea is clever too, makes refilling much easier than lifting heavy container. Just make sure you can reach it easily in winter when everything is covered in snow 😂
What region are you in and how cold does it get
The idea is smart and will get you further into the winter. But once January rolls around, I’m guessing it’s going to be an ice cube
Maybe try to make an insulated lid that you can use to cover at night or when not in use when it’s starting to get cold.
This sounds like a good idea, but I know for sure a siphon to drain it will not work. The outlet of a siphon must be below the inlet. To change out water, you will need to either install a drain or to use a pump.
Lol. Ducks fly south!
Ducks tend to get a lot of muck into their water, do you jave a plan to clean that build up out of the bottom of the can?
I can tell you’re new to ducks, if you have more than 2 or 3 ducks you are going to be changing the water out daily and a siphon will not get it clean, there will be a lot of sediment at the bottom, food waste, poop, dirt etc that a siphon will struggle to get
I have 13 ducks and 3 geese right now and I use a kid pool that’s about 20 gallons and within about an hour of changing the water out it’s dirty again and if I don’t change it out daily it gets absolutely nasty.
In the winter I switch over to a couple 5 gallon rubber feed pans that I fill in the morning and then when I get home and before bed. In the morning I fill their water first when doing chores and they all clean themselves and after I’m done with all the other chores I’ll refill them again if they get the water really dirty, mine tend to clean themselves first thing in the morning.
I like the rubber feed pans for water because when they freeze up you just flip them over and stomp on them a couple times and knock the ice out.
Also once you get snow they will eat a lot of snow and can actually survive on snow if there’s no water around but of course it’s best to still give them fresh water twice a day.
When I get temps below 0f the water will freeze up in under a hour and they do just fine with only having fresh water for a half hour to an hour twice a day.
Also make sure their food and water is close together.
I think itd be easier to just get a submergable bucket heater and use that in a 5 gallon with steps leading up to it if thats possible. If not maybe heavily insulate a bucket, including a lid with only enough room for the ducks to drink out of, and put some large hot rocks in the bottom that you refresh each night to keep the water above freezing?
What I did is I buried a large insulated cooler in the ground where my ducks and geese had access to it. At night I would put the lid on the cooler to prevent heat loss overnight when the birds are sleeping anyway. In the morning I would boil a kettle of water and bring it out, take the lid off, and pour it into the cooler. Then the birds were able to drink as much as they like. On colder days, or days when the water was low, I would boil up another pot and pour it in.
Your plan sounds completely doable and if the water ever develops an ice layer, a pot of boiled water should take care of it. I think you will be fine.