Goose Watering

I gleaned a great tip for watering the geese and ducks from Katiegirl. I had replaced their leaking metal water fountain, only to have the water heater base stop working. I gave up and decided to just provide bowls of water for the rest of the winter. But most bowls get tipped over too easily, creating a treacherous ice skating rink when the geese step into them. Then I tried small rectangular plastic storage bins, but they cracked after a couple days in the freezing-thawing cycle. Finally, I read about the rubber bowls Katie uses- all you do is tip them over and stomp on them to pop out the ice; they are pretty much indestructible. I found some on sale at Tractor Supply. They have flat bottoms so don't tip over and the geese seem to like them too.

I have been filling the bowls with tepid water, thinking it will help warm the geese up from the inside out and take longer to freeze up. On cold mornings, the warmish water creates a fog around the geese.