Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions New Aeration Install

re: winter depth.

I haven't seen where the position is critical, but here's why I place mine close enough to shore so that the water is thawed to the shore.

Winter of 2007. The pond is iced over, and there is a Canada Goose and a Toulouse (Grey barnyard) goose that have become a pair, swimming in the ice free area in the center of the pond. The Canada goose has a broken wing, and they've been together at the neighbors for about a year. They must have come to my pond for the open water.

The open water was about 15' from shore. The temps were in the low 30's/high 20's. I was outside, and let the dogs out with me, and the one to the right in my avatar must have seen the geese in the pond. I wasn't paying attention to the dogs, and shortly she came up to the house with the grey goose, (alive and unhurt except for it's feelings). She brought the goose to me like she would with any wounded bird that I had shot. Of course I didn't scold her for it, just took the bird and let it go, making her stay by me. She must have seen them out there, ran out on the ice, jumped in, chased down the fatter of the 2 geese, grabbed it, climbed back up on the ice and brought it to the house.

Fast forware a week later. It's -5�F, wind is blowing 20 mph. I let the dogs out to go potty and a couple minutes later I realize that they weren't back by the house to be let in. Then I hear the Canada goose honking towards the pond. I know exactly what happened, so I get dressed and run to the pond.

There they were, both of them, swimming in the pond chasing the geese. With the much colder weather, now the pond is frozen about 20' out from shore. I call them, but they are too tired and cold to climb up on the ice. The hair on top of their heads is frozen, and they look at me as if to say "Now What"? I can't just stand there and watch them drown.

I ran to the barn, grabbed a long extension ladder and ran back to the pond. I put it on the ice, and tried walking on it, but the ice started to crack. I really didn't want to go swimming in 10' of water in -20�F windchill. I grabbed the ladder and by turning it on it's side, used it like an ax to break the thin ice. I couldn't break the ice all the way to the open water, but I must have cracked it enough so that when they tried to climb up on it, it broke. They had a narrow area (about as wide as the ladder was if you were to walk up on it) to swim through to get to me. Just as they almost got within reach, Dottie (the one on the right) put her paw on top of Cal's head, shoving him under the water. She then was close enough to grab and I yanked her out of the water. Cal still hadn't come up, and just as I was set to go in after him, he came up from under the ice. I yanked him out, and had to make both of them "heel" so I could walk them back to the house. Cal didn't have as much fat on him as Dottie, and was all hunched up. Neither of them wanted to run, and Dottie still wanted to go after the geese. Cal was all hunched up, like an upside down "U" and both were shivering pretty badly. She listened tho, and I was able to get them both back to the house pretty quickly, and threw both of them in the shower. I turned on the shower, and turned up the temp so it was like a hot shower for a human. It took them 20 minutes of being in the shower with me constantly running the water over both of them for them to stop shivering.

After that, I now run the diffuser so the ice is melted all the way to the shore.