How to Prevent Birdbaths From Freezing

Place your birdbath in a place in your backyard that has the most amount of sun during winter days. This is easy if your birdbath is mobile or you are just preparing to install one. If the birdbath is already located in a shady or a less sunny place, you will need to do more to keep the water from freezing throughout the winter. There are also special models of heated birdbaths available in the market.

Pour warm water in your birdbath. The water doesn't need to be boiling or extremely hot, usually slightly above lukewarm temperature is good enough. If the temperature on the outside is not too extreme, this simple trick will keep the water in your birdbath in a liquid state and keep it from freezing through a bigger part of the day.

Place a wooden stick into the birdbath so one half sticks outside. This way you can pop the ice as soon as a thin layer on the surface forms. However, this method implies not only a certain, not too low, temperature but a lot of interaction from you.

Purchase a small heater designed to operate at a small height of a few inches. These heaters can easily be found at hobby and aquarium shops, hardware stores or garden home centers. Note that a lot of aquarium heaters are not designed to work on temperatures below zero, so make sure to buy a model that can work even in those harsh conditions.

Place the small heater into your backyard birdbath according to its instructions.

Locate an outside outlet in your backyard and find a cable long enough to reach to the small heater in the birdbath. Make sure that the outlet you want to use is protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). If you are not sure that the outlet is protected by a GFCI, you may want to consult a professional electrician.

Plug in the heater inside the birdbath to the outside outlet or a cable leading to it. Check if the heater is working by observing the thermometer which is usually the part of the heater assembly itself. Never touch the water to check its temperature, not even if you are sure that the outlet is GFCI protected.

Regularly clean and scrub your birdbath to prevent it from getting dirty and unhealthy. Use warm water, antibacterial soap and a strong, thick scrub brush to clean the bottom and the sides of your birdbath. A clean backyard birdbath is the key to a healthy bathing and drinking station for the birds. Always remember to turn off and disconnect the heater before cleaning the birdbath. Rinse thoroughly and fill the birdbath with fresh and clean water before putting the heater back in.