Heated Bird Baths

Even though it may seem to you that birds would have no need for a birdbath in the cold winter months, you couldn’t be more wrong. All animals that don’t hibernate during the winter, like birds, are in constant search of a source of open, unfrozen water from which to drink. Depending on how cold it gets in your area, this could be very difficult to find. Besides needing water for drinking purposes, birds also need water to bathe. Birds must maintain their feathers clean and flexible and all their plumage healthy or their ability to fly will be severely compromised; and if they can’t fly, they will be highly susceptible to attack by predators.

Providing a source of open water to birds during cold winter days can often mean the difference between life and death for some individuals. There are a variety of solutions on the market to make sure that your birdbath remains useable even in the coldest of conditions. You can purchase a fully functional heated bird bath, like an Allied Precision heated birdbath, or thermostatically controlled bird bath heaters that can be placed directly into any bath that you’ve already purchased or constructed. Most models of either heated bird baths or birdbath immersible heaters can be installed quite easily. You can choose an electric heated birdbath or bird bath heater that can be plugged in to your outside socket; many heated birdbaths come with convenient compartments to hide the cord when heat isn’t needed. If you think a cord running from your birdbath heater or heated birdbath to your outdoor socket is inconvenient, you can always purchase a battery heated birdbath or a battery birdbath heater; popular alternatives to both these solutions are the solar heated bird bath and solar bird bath heaters, powered by solar panels. Some of these solar units, though, will still need to come equipped with battery packs.

Some bird enthusiasts like to get creative and invent their own bird bath water heater system. Some suggest heating a brick or stone on a stove top or in an oven; this will not only keep the water warm, but it avoids the use of electricity and gives birds a place to perch; if you don’t mind the use of electricity, but like the idea of giving birds a natural looking heater, you can always opt for an electrically powered birdbath heated rock. Other birders will place their birdbath on a rubber mat sold for the purpose of keeping a pet or human feet warm. Still others have used heaters that hang inside coffee cups; problems reported with this latter solution, though, have been the absence of a thermostat, the fact that they use a lot of electricity, and the absence of a grounding plug.